Following our previous article on using digital marketing to increase sales for Hotels and Hospitality business, I have put together another mind-blowing tip for Restaurants and Bars in Nigeria.
Every business, regardless of whether it is an online or offline business, can benefit largely from digital marketing. This is even more beneficial to offline businesses as they will always be ahead of their competitors who have no idea of digital marketing, or who are yet to leverage on digital marketing. Most restaurant and bar owners are comfortable with doing everything traditionally and might not buy the idea of digital marketing. If you are a restaurant & bar owner and you fall into this category, please take a few minutes to read this article and see how digital marketing can be beneficial to your business.
In more developed countries like the United Kingdom where TopYouGo Digital Marketing Agency also has a presence, many restaurants and bars get more customers through companies like Uber Eat, Hungry House, Just Eat and many more. These intermediary companies have invested heavily in digital marketing, which makes it easy for your customers to find you and your competitors through their marketplace. As an intermediary company, they will charge you fees and commissions for listing your restaurant and bar on their platform and for getting you sales. So, the question is why can’t you also put in some effort to get the sales yourself without paying extortionate fees and commissions that is eating deep into your profit margin?
Restaurants and bars are scattered across Nigeria. So you have to do something to make yours stand out from the crowd especially if you are the “new kid on the block”. You can take advantage of the numerous opportunities the digital world has to offer by being open to new ideas and doing your marketing differently; doing more of what works.
In this article, we will introduce you to some digital marketing strategies that are beneficial to restaurants and bars in Nigeria, and why you need them.
How Restaurants and Bars in Nigeria Can Benefit From Digital Marketing Strategies
1. Branding
I know you won’t expect this, but the truth is if your brand is cheap and confusing, you either lose your potential clients or attract the wrong audience. This digital marketing strategy will help your restaurant and bar stand out from the rest. Create a unique identity for your restaurant that will leave a lasting impression on the minds of your prospective customers. Your branding will be evident on your signboards, doors, windows, signage, menu, apron, t-shirts, business cards, websites, letterheads, invoices, social media and more.
Branding helps you to maintain the identity of your restaurant and bar, and shows professionalism on your part. This will not only maintain your brand’s credibility but also attract more customers. Most digital marketing agencies in Nigeria offer branding as a service. You can contact any competent creative designer in Nigeria to carry out your branding project effectively. If you have already gone past this hurdle of branding, you can also perform a brand auditing to ensure brand consistency and effectiveness.
2. Website Design
If you are running a restaurant in this modern day without a website, then you are not ready to take your restaurant and customer experience to the next level. Honestly, you will always be outclassed by your competitors who already have a web presence – website.
We are in the era where people research and read reviews about restaurants and bars online before setting out to patronise them. The absence of a website means you have lost out completely on the majority of prospective customers continually searching for restaurants and bars online. Your website should contain much information about your culture, menus, special offers, reviews, testimonials and tips on healthy living. You can also have a booking form and online payment functionality, where your customers can check for table availability, choose and pay for their food and drinks even before turning up at your restaurant or bar. That helps your business to handle less cash and makes your more prepared before your customers arrive. This will improve the overall customer experience and feedback.
Nothing good comes easy, so you should also be wary of amateur web developers as they will cause more harm than good. Always look for a reliable and professional website developer with experience in your industry and niche to help achieve even better results.
3. Social Media
The social media is one of the best things that have happened to this generation. It has made running a business easier and more fun. When most people go out to restaurants & bars, they take photos, upload them on social media instantly and say nice things about the place or the food. Having social media pages mean your customers can tag your business when uploading images taking in your restaurant, follow your pages and even leave reviews on platforms like Facebook. This is a FREE advertisement and will result in more popularity for your restaurants and bars.
The social media has also offered a platform for restaurants & bars to post lovely photos of their mouth-watering menu and friendly environment that will leave people with no other option than to check you out. You can also attract customers by frequently posting about promotions and offers. Social media is perfect for lead generation and getting customer feedback.
Deciding on what social media to use for restaurants and bars can be quite tricky as there are many options to be considered. So if you ever need help to decide on the best one for you or how to go about your social media branding, optimisation, integration with website, and management, feel free to contact us as we will be happy to help.
4. Local SEO
Millions of prospective customers are on the internet daily searching for restaurants and bars in different locations. Having local SEO done for your restaurant means internet users will be able to find and contact you with ease at your local area. People are no longer interested in burning fuel and wasting precious time driving around town trying to locate restaurants and bars when they can easily get all the required information by searching on the internet using their phones and laptops.
Local SEO is a ‘must do’ for restaurants and bars that are serious about gaining more customers online. The idea is to make sure your business comes top when potential customers are looking for restaurants and bars in your location. Imagine a restaurant on Isaac John Street in Ikeja, and someone is searching online for “restaurants in Ikeja”, “restaurants on Isaac John” or “restaurant near Maryland”, if the restaurant owner has strengthened his or her local SEO, his or her restaurant should be listed amongst the option, if not at the top of the list.
Local SEO can only be done efficiently by certified SEO experts, so don’t settle for less. Local SEO will also take into consideration directory listings, NAP consistency and many more strategies that can help achieve the best results.
5. Email Marketing
Email marketing helps you to know your existing and potential customers better. As people patronise your restaurant or contact you online via your social media pages or website, it is a good step to keep their contact details (name, telephone number and email address) as this can be used for sending marketing email newsletter, requesting for feedback and sending offers and discounts later down the funnel.
To get the best from email marketing services, you need to employ an avid and experienced email marketer who can engage in positive communication with your customers at the right time. They will take care of email segmentation, email design, mobile responsiveness, email copy, email sending, email tracking and more.
Emails have its way of connecting with people more intimately, hence, the reason why it is a good digital marketing strategy for restaurants and bars.
Now that you have the necessary information to get started with adopting digital marketing strategies for your restaurant & bar business, what will you do with it? A smart move will be to act now or contact us on +234 809 063 7632 to help you get started.