
Hospitality marketing trends tips and tricks to boost your business in these crazy times..
After a rollercoaster ride in 2020, businesses are visualising how to get back on track and increase their revenues in the new year. If you are looking for some result-orientated marketing for restaurants 2021, you are in the right place.
Like any other business, customers or guests are of utmost importance for restaurants, cafes and venues. In this blog, we’ll discuss why customer satisfaction is important and how you can benefit from happy customers.
Word of Mouth Travels Far and Wide
Here goes a story which everyone can relate to. Sam goes to a restaurant and is greeted by Vanessa with a smile. She suggests the best dishes for Sam after asking for his preferences. When dishes are served, Vanessa pays close attention to the customers’ needs and makes sure all his requirements are tended to instantly. Sam feels extremely valued and satisfied. Next time when his friends plan a brunch, he suggests the same restaurant and revisits with his friends. His friend Jack is a foodie and writes great reviews for the restaurant on various platforms. Imagine what could be better than this?
All the customers have similar thoughts like Sam and Jack. It is said that you take months to find a customer but minutes to lose them. So, if you desire to get a spike in your business graph in 2021, the key is customer service and customer loyalty. Believe it or not, when your customer leaves with a smile on their face they are a walking advertisement for your business. Word of mouth marketing for a restaurant is the most powerful and undying trend which you can trust.
Your loyal customers also help to transform your venue into a brand. Although new customers are always welcome, research confirms that 5% boost in guest retentions can lead to a 25% increase in profit for your food business. And these loyal customers tend to spend 67% more than the new ones, so you must focus on customer retention to get free marketing for restaurants in 2021.
There are a few other cool restaurant marketing trends and ideas that can help boost your sales-
Significance of Interior and Ambience
Four important factors that decide success for your restaurant are food, wine, service and last but not least – ambience. Yes, you heard it right! Dining selections are made by looking at the overall experience. The venue owners usually look for perfection in the food and wine they serve, but they forget that ambience or the interior décor is an equally contributing factor.
Even though you impress the customers in smell and taste, your place should be equally pleasing to their eyes. Presenting a flawless and memorable dining experience is what helps your restaurant realise an ambience appreciated by customers.
3 things are included in new hospitality trends which you should consider while making your place extra special for your customers –
Interior design
Space and lighting
Sound
Interior Design
As we all know, before the customer tastes your food, they assess your enterprise based on décor and colours encircling them and how those elements make them feel. Make sure you choose happy colours which increase the customer’s appetite and bring out positivity. Avoid difficult décor that is unpleasant to eye at a diner place.
Space and Lighting
Spacing and arrangement to tables need to be handled carefully because if customers feel cramped, they’ll not feel at ease while eating. Most Guests prefer to linger around and catch-up with friends and family. You need to consider a seating-design that makes people warm and welcome.
Same goes with lighting. It creates an atmosphere that customers can enjoy. The wrong lighting can spoil the experience of other elements that you have infused. So, make sure the effectiveness of lighting is embracing enough to enhance the other elements.
Sound
The type of sound that enhances your interior depends on the type of restaurant you are and the crowd you serve. If you are into a lively and upbeat mood, loud music gives you perfection. If you are more of a family or romantic venue, soothing music is the evergreen marketing trend.
Take Your Social Media Game to the Next Level with Food Photography
Wondering where the thought ‘feast for the eyes’ came from? Our roughest guess is pictures of food trending over social media! The most popular innovation in restaurants marketing ideas and trends is food photography. One shouldn’t underestimate the power of visual impact on the memory.
Food was first seen through an artistic lens in the year 1845. With the growing recognition of Facebook business pages and Instagram, people are hunting for good places to eat on their smartphones, making it a new hospitality marketing trend. Sharing your moth-watering and drool-provoking images of your daily specialities can engage your customers and catch the eyes of new people.
Celebrity Endorsement and Food Bloggers
Have you ever stumbled across one of those crazy foodporn pictures with hashtags? Have they made you drool urging you to tag all your mates asking them to join you for a feast? Well, there is no surprise in how responsive we have grown to be influenced by what we view on social media.
In the past few years, as a part of new hospitality marketing trends, Instagram influencers and food bloggers have risen on the marketing uproar as a cost-effective approach for elevating your café or restaurant. There is no refuting that these influencers, celebrities and food bloggers have the talent to touch customers feelings and influence large audiences.
Partnering with food bloggers and celebrities to elevate your venue could be one of the chicest business moves you’ll ever make! But we recommend choosing a partner who is already a genuine supporter of your venue or is passionate about food. This can build expression and have a worthwhile impact on your brand awareness and perception. The quality of photos and subject matter can increase your followers and level of engagement.
In a Nutshell
If you are looking for enhanced marketing for restaurants in the year 2021, a combination of the above factors can prove to be a good indicator for improving the value for your venue or café. Follow the ideas and tips above and it will give you a good footing in the industry, choose your bloggers and venue ambassadors wisely.
Stay safe out there..
Well – it certainly looks like we’ve hit all the landmarks at our place here in Kampot Cambodia.
Great read – interesting and factual
Thanks.
Simple, yet profound information !
Agree completely with the thoughts and advise..
Tim, ✅ WELL DONE! I enjoyed your great tips and it certainly ticks so many boxes for anyone / everyone looking for hospitality ideas and tips.
I have always been fascinated with the psychology of colour in hotel and restaurant spaces. At hotel school all those years ago we were taught that hot red colours increased the heart rate and are not always appropriate for a relaxing calm space. They advised against red for restaurant spaces – light greens and blue are best at this. But I’m not entirely convinced – big and bold colours DO have a place in hotel and restaurant design, however they have to be used in moderation I feel.
Which feeds into another ‘rule’, when we were taught that interior design should have 20% of contrast colours to lift a space and provide ‘eye’-lights. Usually achieved with contrasting colourful soft furnishings like cushions and fabric choices; artwork or even flowers/fruit attractively presented .
The old rules are there for guidelines. Actually some of the best spaces – the memorable ones – are those that threw out the rule book!
Warmest
Andrew J WOOD
Bangkok
12 February 2021
Highly interesting Tim, valuable tips for everyone in the hospitality.
Thanks very TJ. Very kind words.