Americans spend an average of 5.4 hours on their phones every day. How do you get customers walking in to your physical location using the device that’s already in their hands? Here are a few tips:
ONLINE REVIEWS
According to a recent Upserve study, 90% of people look up restaurants and food places online before visiting them. People want to see what you’re offering, complete with images and descriptions. Images should be crisp and clear, and should showcase the items listed on the menu.
They want to know what’s available, but they also want to know what other people think about your restaurant. They’ll be reading reviews on social media, Yelp, Google, and more.
However, don’t rely on people mentioning your business casually on social media. The sheer number of businesses that are being mentioned there casually mean yours will likely get lost in endless feeds that your desired audience may not even see.
WEBSITE
If people look at your website, can they really get a feel for your ambiance and food? Do they know what to expect when they arrive in person? Will they be shocked that the look and feel of your website is not at all similar to the setup of your restaurant?
The majority of people are browsing menus and eateries on their phones. It’s very common for people to be away from their house when they start thinking about which restaurant to eat at that night. They could still be at the office, with friends, on the train, or at school. Wherever they are, they grab their phone and start searching. Everything you offer needs to be mobile-friendly. Customers need to be able to see the menu, operating hours and reviews quickly and easily on their phones.
In addition, depending on what type of restaurant you’re operating, you will probably need a fully-functioning online ordering system, which can increase trust in people who are finding you online.
MENU
Since you know people are looking at your offerings online well before they come into contact with you, remember that your menu is just as important as the website itself.
Obviously, your pictures need to be attractive and trigger a sense of hunger in your customers, but online menus are more than that. How easy they are to navigate, the availability of desired information (nutrition data, cost, ingredients, etc), and the entire mood of the layout play important roles in your menu’s success.
GOOGLE MY BUSINESS
Setting up a business page on Google helps you to show up in local search results. When people look for “tacos near me” and you have specified on Google that you sell tacos, you’re more likely to show up as a result for them. Of course, having positive reviews and website traffic increase the likelihood of both appearing in results and having people patronize your restaurant, but it’s important to get started with the basics.
SOCIAL MEDIA
We hate to sound like we’re on repeat, but social media is a huge attention-getter. It can reach people that wouldn’t otherwise see your advertisements or website, it can make your business more personable and thus more attractive, it can keep your business on people’s minds, and it can allow word of mouth to spread faster than through any other medium. It is, of course, a double-edged sword in that it can also do the opposite of those things – negative comments and reviews can turn people away before they even give your restaurant a try.
You probably don’t have time to focus on a bunch of social media accounts, but be sure you’re keeping an eye on it. It can be crucial.
In the same vein, advertising on social media is actually much cheaper than traditional media based on reach and impressions. You may want to consider advertising, if your business isn’t getting enough attention to help you make ends meet. You may also be interested in our blog articles on Instagram and Facebook.
CONCLUSION
At the end of the day, the most important thing as far as online presence goes is to make it easy for people to find you. Be where people who eat what you’re making are doing their browsing and searching, and you’ll get their attention!
