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What to Talk About on Social Media

Posted by Tim on February 11, 2015
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How a Restaurant Doubled Its Online Business in Two Months

Posted by Tim on January 20, 2015
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Recent articles about a Florida-based restaurant chain focused on how they doubled their online ordering in their restaurant in two months, from 2 to 3 percent of their volume to more than 5 percent.  Some of what they did was just good sense.  Other things were a bit more innovative.

Here are three that worked well:

  • Revamped their website.  Their new website was easier to navigate and, more importantly, the button for online ordering was moved right up to the front where visitors could find it quickly.
  • Updated Directory Listings.  Each store did a painstaking search of all the directories they were listed in, correcting erroneous info and making updates.  Google algorithms like correct, consistent information. Click-through rates skyrocketed after that information was corrected.
  • Wooed Influential People.  Food bloggers and Yelp Elite members were invited for special events and private tastings.  This resulted in a lot of buzz on social media – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and blogs.  Some locations jumped as many as two stars in their Yelp rating.  A half-star increase in your Yelp rating can result in a 19% increase in business, according to a 2012 report by Economic Journal.  That’s worth the investment. 

Tips for Effective Facebooking and Tweeting for your Restaurant

Posted by Tim on October 3, 2014
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You regularly send out messages to your social media followers – Facebook and Twitter – about news, deals, restaurant online ordering, takeout, and other general information about your restaurant.  But how do you know that your messages are effective, and you’re not just throwing meaningless content out there?

Here are a few tips:

Maintain your brand voice. Whatever your brand image, make sure you keep it consistent.  It’s who you are – don’t deviate from your image.

Watch what gets action. If you see spikes in comments, likes, or sharing and retweeting, then you have hit a nerve with your audience. Did you get a lot of action when you posted info about your new recyclable takeout containers?  Or, something simple like Taco Tuesday?  If so, that’s important to your audience.

Include photos and video. People look before they read. Photos of attractive dishes, a video of the final preparation of a menu item, or just your chef slicing onions faster than the eye can see. All are interesting to the social media follower.

Keep an ear out for oversaturation. There is such a thing as too much. Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. You don’t want to annoy people. 

And for Twitter only…

Pin important Tweets. This makes sure it stays at the top of your profile. Do this to attract attention to special offers and information that you don’t want your followers to miss. 

Request a retweet. Ask specific folks to help spread the word about your restaurant and let them magnify your voice. 

Word-of-Mouth Has to Start Somewhere

Posted by Tim on July 18, 2014
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Recent research by the National Restaurant Association reveals stats that show just how important your restaurant's online ordering business is to certain customer segments:

Consumers that own smartphones or tablets:
  • 90% of 18 to 34-year-olds.
  • 89% of 34 to 44-year-olds.
  • 62% of 45 to 55-year-olds.
  • 60% of 55 to 64-year-olds.
  • 34% of those 65 and over.
Takeaway: Mobile devices are quickly becoming the instrument of preference when it comes to online ordering.
 
Consumers that report they use restaurant technology more than they did two years ago:
  • 53% of 18 to 34-year olds (Millennials).
  • 43% of 35 to 44-year olds.
  • 26% of 55 to 64-year olds (Baby Boomers).
 
Takeaway: Millennials are still the sweet spot for online ordering, but the customer base is expanding in all age segments.

Serving the “Need States” of Online Customers, Part 2 – Routine Customers

Posted by Tim on October 29, 2014
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This is Part 2 in a series of articles about attracting the “need states” of online customers - the needs and key decision-making points of each customer segment.  The last piece addressed Special Occasion Customers.  Today we address Routine Customers.

Routine Customers.  According to a recent survey in the restaurant industry, about 30% of patrons account for 60% of the traffic in a restaurant.  These are the customers you want.  What interests these Routine Customers?

• Convenience.  There are things you can do to enhance convenience beyond just the ability to order from a mobile phone – specified takeout parking and a separate pickup line for takeout orders inside your restaurant are both great.  If possible, you can step it up another level and add curbside delivery in your parking lot.

• Outreach to the local area.  We know of a sandwich shop that partnered with a property manager, supplying complementary salads as part of a tenant appreciation day at a local office complex.  Each complimentary salad included a card with an online ordering promo code.  Every person within the office complex immediately knew about their restaurant, how good their salads are, and had a discount on their next online order. 

• More outreach. Respond to what’s going on in the community.  Harsh weather?  What kind of special offer can you email to your customers to help alleviate their pain?  A well-known burger chain in California sent their mobile truck to the site of some local flooding a number of years ago and handed out free burgers.  Talk about developing word of mouth!

Up Next: Part 3 - Attracting impulse customers to order online.

Tips for Effective Facebooking and Tweeting for your Restaurant

Posted by Tim on October 3, 2014
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You regularly send out messages to your social media followers – Facebook and Twitter – about news, deals, restaurant online ordering, takeout, and other general information about your restaurant.  But how do you know that your messages are effective, and you’re not just throwing meaningless content out there?

Here are a few tips:

Maintain your brand voice. Whatever your brand image, make sure you keep it consistent.  It’s who you are – don’t deviate from your image.

Watch what gets action. If you see spikes in comments, likes, or sharing and retweeting, then you have hit a nerve with your audience. Did you get a lot of action when you posted info about your new recyclable takeout containers?  Or, something simple like Taco Tuesday?  If so, that’s important to your audience.

Include photos and video. People look before they read. Photos of attractive dishes, a video of the final preparation of a menu item, or just your chef slicing onions faster than the eye can see. All are interesting to the social media follower.

Keep an ear out for oversaturation. There is such a thing as too much. Don’t sacrifice quality for quantity. You don’t want to annoy people. 

And for Twitter only…

Pin important Tweets. This makes sure it stays at the top of your profile. Do this to attract attention to special offers and information that you don���t want your followers to miss. 

Request a retweet. Ask specific folks to help spread the word about your restaurant and let them magnify your voice. 

Increasing Loyalty and Other New Data About Online Ordering

Posted by Tim on August 1, 2014
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A piece in PMQ Pizza Magazine reveals some new data about online ordering.  It’s good stuff to review: 

  • Online ordering has an average customer return rate of 95%.  This means you can boost customer loyalty with minimal effort, other than implementing an online ordering system.
  • The younger generation (i.e. millennials) is much more comfortable online, compared to talking with someone.  That’s how they’ve grown up.  It’s not hard to imagine why they flock to online ordering. 
  • Some restaurants report that a popular promotion to drive customers to their online ordering site, and keep them coming back, is a weeklong offer of deep discounts; 25% to 50% off a high-profit menu item seems to do the trick.
  • According to one restaurateur, twice-a-week email blasts from your NetWaiter Management Console to customers with a special offer is another way to generate more business.  NOTE: Be careful with this type of customer engagement, you don’t want to alienate customers by emailing them too much. 

Snacking and Online Ordering

Posted by Tim on June 11, 2014
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It’s not uncommon for some restaurants to get a surge of takeout orders in the afternoon.  While some may be late lunch or early dinner orders, they aren’t always full meals.  A lot of the time it’s a snack-type order.  A recent report reveals that about 50% of eating occasions are snack related.  Experts attribute this largely to busy lifestyles, but there are other contributing factors: 

  • 73% of snacking is physically driven – combatting hunger (44%), nutritional support (15%) and the need for a sudden burst of energy (12%), which explains the late afternoon aspect. 
  • 36% is emotionally driven – 23% of the people in this category use snacking as a time-marker in their day. There is also boredom alleviation (13%) and those who use snacking as a way to reward themselves (6%).
  • 28% of snacking is socially and culturally driven, including people who are bonding around food. 
  • Then there is something called ‘aimless snacking’ (27%), which is attributed to the constant availability of food and beverages. 

The numbers add to more than 100% because there is a good deal of overlap in consumer motivations for a snack. 

What does this mean for restaurant online ordering?  1) Make sure your appetizer and snack selections are listed on your online ordering menu, and 2) consider adding items that are both ideal for an afternoon snack and are a sure bet for takeout popularity. 

Some Statistics to Kick Around

Posted by Tim on May 30, 2014
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Here are some interesting statistics from the 2014 Restaurant Industry Forecast, put out by the National Restaurant Association, and how they can be interpreted regarding restaurant online ordering. 

It often comes down to your website – The NRA reports that 61% of those consumers responding have visited a restaurant’s website. If you offer online ordering and your NetWaiter site is prominently linked to your site, you can capture the customer’s order when they visit your site.  It’s all about convenience. 

If you offer it, they will use it – 52% of customers said they would use a smartphone or tablet for delivery or takeout if the restaurant offered that option. That’s over 50% of your customers, who would likely increase the frequency of visits to your restaurant, if they could order from their mobile device. 

More reasons for mobile – Another survey finds that restaurants are the most searched industry on a mobile device and that 75% of those searching will make their dining decision based on the restaurant’s mobile site producing the information they were seeking. NetWaiter will make sure the important parts of your site (i.e. your menu) can be easily viewed from a mobile device. The good news is that your mobile site instantly reflects any changes made to your regular site through your NetWaiter Management Console. 

Don’t Ignore Restaurant Search and Review Apps

Posted by Tim on May 16, 2014
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Here are two numbers that will catch your attention – 200,000 and 250,000.

According to Yelp, during a recent business quarter, consumers called businesses through Yelp's mobile app 200,000 times a day and generated over 250,000 directions a day.  These numbers refer to all businesses, but as we all know, restaurants represent a sizeable chunk of Yelp’s listings.

These aren’t numbers to ignore.  There are a variety of mobile apps available and some of them can play a big role bringing in business.  Here are some tips on how to make the most of them:

Find out where customers are hearing about your restaurant – Yelp is the 800-pound gorilla of restaurant search/review, but there are others, both locally focused, as well as broader reaching apps.  Have your wait staff survey customers to identify your top three sources of referrals.  You should monitor your listings on those sites regularly.

Use what’s available to help you promote your restaurant – Each site is different, but many of them allow photos (which you should include), the opportunity to make special offers, and a place to add a business description.  According to Yelp, people stay on a business page two-and-a-half times longer when it has photos.

Don’t forget Online Ordering – Make mention of your NetWaiter online ordering capabilities as prominently as you can.  Include a link to your branded online ordering site so customers have easy access to order from your menu.  If a customer links to your NetWaiter site from their mobile device, they will automatically be routed to your mobile NetWaiter site.

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Here are some tips on how to use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to increase the awareness of your restaurant and online ordering site.  Most digital cameras have a video function, so consider substituting still photos for video when the opportunity arises.

Show, Don’t Tell - People love pictures.  Ask one of your takeout customers to pose with their order when they come in to pick it up.  Maybe include the employee that assisted the customer too.

New Dishes - Offering a new takeout item on your menu?  Offer it first on your NetWaiter site, and promote it with photos sent out via social media: “Checkout our new dish – available only online!”

Pitch Your Promotions - Offering an incentive for ordering online?  Perhaps 50% off a dessert for orders over $15?  Make sure that gets posted via social media and include a photo of a dessert.

Tip of the Week – A lot of restaurants let their customers in on recipes.  Promote it online (as long as it’s not a secret family recipe).

Updates - New things are always happening at your restaurant.  Talk about them on Facebook and other platforms.

Tell Stories - Catering a special event, or hosting it at your restaurant?  Talk about it online.  Maybe a customer has a special story?  Ask them if you can share it online.

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