3 Marketing Strategies To Follow To Increase Restaurant Sales during the pandemic.

The impact of the pandemic has changed the way businesses operate. The restaurant business is one of those industries that have witnessed the most significant change.

From promoting more takeaways, implementing safety measures to investing in customer success, the industry understood that it needed to adapt and change to survive. 

Regardless of all the changes that have happened, the need for marketing remains constant. Marketing to customers who have spent the past few months isolated at home is a challenging task indeed. Persuading customers to dine or do takeaways while the fear of the pandemic is still at an all-time high has got restaurants thinking. Choosing the right marketing strategies and implementing the same is the key here for the survival of any restaurant. 

We want to give you five solid marketing strategies that would positively impact your sales and revenue. Let’s begin.

5 Marketing Strategies To Follow To Upsurge Restaurant Sales Post Covid

1. Capitalising on Video content Marketing

Videos are a great way to exhibit any content. It is effective because it helps capture users’ attention, retains their attention, leaves an impression in their minds, and pushes them to conduct an action. ‘’Viewers retain 95% of a message when they watch it in a video compared to 10% when reading it in text.’’

When all your diners are hesitant to dine in restaurants, videos can play a significant role in eliminating those fears and compel them to book a table. Videos can be used to convey the safety measures that are taken, your brand, the experience that you provide to just about anything that creates meaningful engagement with your customers.

To create compelling videos, you can consider the following:

• Remember to convey the message in the form of a story.
• Make it as relevant as possible. Content without the proper Context is a recipe for disaster.
• Provide quality information. The information you provide should be resourceful.
• Use the first 3 seconds wisely as it takes people 3 seconds to decide whether to watch your video or not.
• Try to connect to the emotional side of your customers.

The topics of the video content can range from:-

• How the food is prepared. The hygiene level maintained. How the staff is masked and working in accordance with the covid-19 precautions.
• About your brand, your story, the experience you provide.
• About your menu, the different types of delicacies you provide.
• About the chef, the staff and owners.
• Content related to your current marketing campaigns, your offers and your target market audience.

2. Partnering With Influencers

Word of mouth marketing through social media is a pretty effective way to promote your restaurant during this pandemic. The best way to capitalise on the benefits of word of mouth marketing in social media is through the influencers on social media. Influencer marketing is booming. 

Influencers are individuals that have a good number of followers. The content that they post sparks the interest of a specific set of people. These followers may be identical in terms of demographics, likes or interests. Based on your ideal target market audience, you can partner with the perfect influencer for that specific target market audience.

Your restaurant can capitalise on Influencer Marketing by following this step by step process:-

1) Choose your platform- Choose the social media platform that would be the best to promote your brand. Keep in mind that each platform has its uniqueness.  

2) Set your Objectives- Once you have selected your social media platform, define your goals and objectives based on your requirements.

3) Target Audience- Understand your ideal target market audience. You could try creating a customer persona as well.

4) Select the Influencer- Once you have an educated guess on who your target audience is, choose an influencer with a following similar to your ideal customer persona.

3. Capitalising on the power of SMS.

The power of an exemplary communication medium can convert potential leads into becoming loyal customers. Despite understanding this, businesses tend to invest in effective communication channels but aren’t as effective as they should be. SMS is an underrated medium of communication. For marketing, improving processes or customer success, SMS is a cost-effective alternative that can positively impact meaningful engagement.

‘’70% of consumers think SMS marketing is a great way for businesses to get their attention.’’

Loyal customers helping out their favourite restaurants during this pandemic has once again shown us the importance of a quality customer success methodology. SMS is an excellent channel for creating meaningful engagement with your customers and build upon customer loyalty.

SMS Marketing is one of the most potent marketing tools out there. SMS is simple, instant, easy, and works well to enhance engagements with customers. It contains the highest open and response rate compared to other communication platforms. ‘’Text marketing is incredibly effective, with SMS open rates as high as 98%.’’ it is a direct medium of connecting to your customers with just one click. SMS Marketing stands on top if you compare the ROI to other mediums of engagement like E-mail and Social Media.

Some of the main benefits of SMS Marketing are:-

• Cost-effective.
• Better ROI.
• Better engagement and reach.
• Direct channel.
• Greater audience reach.

Wrapping Up

So these are the three main marketing strategies that you can implement in your restaurant business. Out of the three, SMS Marketing remains the best practical option regarding cost, ROI, & engagement. 

If you are looking to capitalise on the power of SMS, the Guni SMS– Australia’s number one SMS Gateway is the best solution out there. Restaurants like Little Bonnys & P’sghetti Bar based in Australia partnered with Guni during this pandemic and benefited. 

Was your business affected by the Covid-19 Pandemic? Are you looking to bounce back?

Are you looking to increase more dine-in and take-aways for your restaurant?

Are you looking to increase customer loyalty through meaningful engagement?

Do you want to capitalise on the power of SMS Broadcasting to improve your business?

Guni can help you for free. Guni can help your restaurant double up on sales, improve customer and brand experience with the help of an SMS Gateway. Call us today!