{"id":383,"date":"2017-11-02T21:18:24","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T21:18:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.simplebooth.com\/blog\/how-restaurantbar-owners-managers-can-increase-sales\/"},"modified":"2023-11-02T17:12:51","modified_gmt":"2023-11-02T17:12:51","slug":"restaurant-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.simplebooth.com\/blog\/restaurant-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Bar & Restaurant Marketing: Get Customers to Advertise For You"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

With more choices available to consumers than ever, it\u2019s an ongoing challenge for brick-and-mortar establishments like bars and restaurants to increase brand awareness, drive more traffic, and increase sales. Marketing techniques like social media marketing, email marketing, text message marketing, and SEO are vital for building a strong online presence and brand identity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, keeping up with all the bar and restaurant marketing strategies can get exhausting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why not just advertise?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Facebook ads, Google ads, and now TikTok are topping the lists of bar and restaurant marketing ideas. And we agree, online advertising is one of the easiest ways to reach local demographics directly. However, it has become more expensive and difficult as competition for keywords and ad placements increases for small businesses as well as big ones. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another great marketing idea, which worked great in the past, were apps based on consumer reviews like Yelp and TripAdvisor. They were amazing tools to bring in local customers and even foreign ones. However, they gained a reputation for putting up paywalls and holding restaurants and bars hostage.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s often impractical for small businesses to rely on “buying” new customers like big companies that have deep pockets and teams of sophisticated marketers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

All too often, money spent on online advertising is never seen again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Customer loyalty is what counts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you can get new customers in the door through online ads, it’s still going to be hard to make a profit if they leave and never come back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A better, long-term goal for any bar or restaurant is to give customers a reason to come back<\/em> and tell their friends\u2014or better yet, bring their friends with them. Let your customers be the real influencers. Word-of-mouth coming from our friends works better than all the thought-out restaurant marketing strategies. Positive reviews (and negative reviews, too) stick out to us more when coming from a friend that a random Yelp reviewer.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Party-goers pose for a moving GIF outside Terminal Bar in Denver<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Perhaps the most compelling reason that a customer would come back to your bar or restaurant, and bring their friends with them, is when they have a great experience.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experience economy is here<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Have you heard of the experience economy yet? It’s the forward-thinking theory that experiences are set to become powerful economic drivers, right at the top with big categories like goods and services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Consumers unquestionably desire experiences, and more and more businesses are responding by explicitly designing and promoting them.<\/p>\n-Harvard Business Review, Welcome to the Experience Economy\ufeff<\/a>
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When you’re first opening a new restaurant or bar is a great time to harness local enthusiasm with a grand opening party. However, what about after you’ve been open for years? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news is that experiences don’t have to just be one-time. Experiences can be ongoing and a sustainable marketing channel for your bar or restaurant for years to come. And not just the dining experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

SPIN got the formula right<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

SPIN is a ping pong social club with a full restaurant and bar at each of their eight (and counting) locations. When you walk into a SPIN restaurant, you instantly feel the energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From modern architecture and decor, to the baskets of bright orange ping pong balls lining the tables, to the glowing photo experiences\u2014SPIN is an example of practical, experiential marketing that we can all learn from.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A girl uses the photo booth from a tub of ping pong balls at SPIN (Austin, TX)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In particular, the HALO photo booths bring the beautiful backdrops around SPIN to life. That wall of street art? It’s a photo op. The tub of ping pong balls? Jump in and take a photo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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