In this day and age, Social Media Marketing is a must for business owners in any industry. Traditional methods can be used and are effective to some extent, but to stay ahead of your competitors you need to meet the people where they're at - and that's online.
You won't find people that don't use a device or the internet in some form. Social Media is so heavily relied on that businesses know having a digital presence is the way to target their customers, get their brand out there and advertise new products and offers.
You may have heard that if Facebook were a country, it would be substantially bigger than China with over 2 billions users.
To be visible to potential customers and stay connected with existing ones - you should be utilising tools such as social media, customer relationship management system (CRM), blogging and apps to allow people to find your business on a platform they're using every single day.
We'll go through how your online presence can increase your sales, and how online traffic can be turned into customers.
Social Media
Consumers are always on their mobile and devices. They're looking for places to visit, finding venues close to their location, getting directions and placing orders online because of how easily accessible it is to get that information and service.
In 2017, the use of mobile payments grew 75% as ordering from your mobile device speeds up the process significantly, meaning your business can benefit from the people wanting that simplicity.
Hospitality businesses and brands should be using different social media platforms to allow consumers to find them easily, get the information they need, and quickly make a purchase.
People also tend to reach out to businesses via social media for customer support if they're having any issues. Again, this is because it's convenient and cuts down response time, whereas email support could take up to 3 days depending on how the business operates.
Social Media is integral to businesses, and the amount of people you reach online will translate into sales with careful digital marketing. It's the first step to interacting with potential customers online and an easy and accessible way to get information, offers and new products out there.
SPARK's CRM
Using a Customer Relationship Management system is a fantastic way to retain existing customers, and also attract new customers using customer loyalty. A CRM will store data about customers that visit your venue such as names, their contact number, any dietary requirements etc.
CRM allows you to start creating customer relationships as you get to know them, and see which dishes they favour at your restaurant. You can then recommend sides or wines that compliment their dish, or suggest desserts they may enjoy - further building those all important relationships.
Those loyal customers will then promote your business through positive word of mouth within their friendship circles, all because you and your staff used CRM to build relationships and provided quality customer service.
With SPARK's CRM, you can also tailor specific discounts and promote events that would appeal to your customers. Using the information you have, send personalised notifications and emails to encourage them to visit or to place an order with an exclusive discount code. Your marketing can be customised to help maintain that customer loyalty, and to encourage positive word of mouth.
Blogging
Creating content and writing about your products and venue is a great way to provide information and promote your business. You can advertise new items, exclusive offers or produce content about your venue that would appeal to potential customers.
Posting content online to driving traffic to your website, to then prompt customers to buy your product or service, is a journey.
But with careful digital marketing strategies, it can be done, and helps boosts your online presence on one of the biggest advertising platforms - Google!
There's always new developments and events changing within the Hospitality Industry, as well as in your own business. There are people who want to read about it, or want an in-depth blog post about a certain aspect of your business which you can provide.
Blogposts are also a great way to encourage customers to visit your venue, or place an order by directing them to a specific menu or page.
This is the same with consistent social media posts and making sure new content is available with information people will find interesting and valuable. You'll get better reach and online engagement the more you build your digital presence.
Streetaway App Integration
With the Streetaway app integration as part of SPARK's basic package, you'll automatically be reaching a larger audience using the Streetway platform.
Your venue and discounts will be visible to the Streetaway app users, and the more you update your discounts and offers, the more users will see and ultimately increase your sales.
You can work alongside the Streetaway team to boost your digital presence on the app, and expose your business to a larger audience.
There are many ways to utilise the internet as it's an incredible advertising tool. By creating an online presence, you'll be giving consumers what they want which is convenience, and being able to buy your products or services from the comfort of their home.
Do you want to take advantage of SPARK's CRM and Streetaway app integration to maximise your sales? Book a FREE demonstration of SPARK and experience it for yourself.
