Word of Mouth Increases Marketing Campaign Effectiveness
Credibility is often the first word that we think of when it comes to understanding the power of Word of Mouth Marketing. It would great for all of your efforts to show an immediate return on your marketing investment, but that is just wishful thinking. Even when you check all the boxes and include SEO, Email Marketing Campaigns and Facebook Ads, a well-crafted marketing strategy for restaurant will include ways to increase sales using referrals from your current loyal customers.
When I say credibility, I mean the honest feedback from friends, family and colleagues that have nothing to lose by suggesting that you try a particular location; or worse, suggest (in a very aggressive manner) that you stay the heck away from the place they went to last night. With each positive engagement, you are building trust and simultaneously creating a legion of brand ambassadors that will amplify your all of your marketing restaurant’s marketing efforts and allow you to outmuscle the brands with larger staffs, bigger budgets and higher profiles. If credibility is the name of the game, then a having a legion of loyal customers singing the praises of your restaurant levels the playing field.
Word of Mouth has an invaluable impact on your effort to grow sales for your restaurant. In the hypercompetitive world of restaurant marketing, we know that people that have been referred by a peer typically have a stronger attachment than those that came in by other means.
Many successful restaurant marketing campaigns have driving topline sales as their target. Various discounts and offers are used to attract new guests with the hope that they will want to come back when there is no offer. That happens in some instances, but overall, there is a better chance to generate a group of loyal customers when someone they are comfortable with are makes a referral.
Establishing A Customer First Reputation
Establish a culture in your restaurants of putting the customer first and you will achieve a successful local brand. Not only does a great experience turn one-off customers into repeat purchasers, it improves your chances to get customers to refer your restaurant to family and colleagues. Or to put it another way, your customers do your marketing for you.
Word of Mouth Increases Marketing Campaign Effectiveness
We have often been told that the other channels and platforms drive marketing effectiveness. The truth is, however, it is the other way around. Word of Mouth has been shown to improve marketing channel effectiveness by over 50%. Content Marketing and Social Media Strategist Jay Baer contends has written that 92% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know directly, and anonymous reviewers have a 70% trust rate whey they post online about a brand. When trust is such a difficult thing to obtain and an even more difficult to hold onto, it is the old case of perception IS reality.
By building trust with customers, companies are simultaneously creating brand ambassadors that are willing to share products or services with their networks. A recent study stated that consumers trust recommendations from people they know directly and anonymous reviewers have a 70% trust rate whey they post online about a brand.
Acquiring new customers can be a challenge, but with referrals, either in a formal referral program or by a peer, it does not have to be. People that have been referred by a friend or colleague typically stay loyal to a business longer than those that are found through other means. In a related study by a national university, it was found that customers recommended to a business were 18% more likely to stay with the company than other customers.
Generating Sales With Referral Progams
As I mentioned earlier a well-crafted referral program will help you generate sales for your restaurant even when you don’t have a large marketing budget or marketing team to support you. Having a strong group of loyal customers is quite possibly a better path, as when you are able to get referrals from your existing customers, you are also able to tap into the network that they influence. Three quick ways you can increase referrals to your restaurant include:
Email Segmentation
Most reputable Email Service Providers (ESP) will can help you with your segmentation efforts. With segmentation, you can identify specific customers and send emails to them based on the Call To Action. For example, if you have a group of 200 new customers that just signed up with their email addresses, you can offer them a really special incentive for referring a new guest.
Services such as Convertkit are really good providers and they can simplify the process of guest referrals for you. If you need help with your email marketing, click HERE.
VIP Program
Inviting a group of your loyal customers and their guests in for a preview of new entrees or hosting a special wine tasting are a couple of examples of ways to properly incentivize your customers to talk up your restaurant. When folks come to these events, they should receive bouncebacks to bring them back to the restaurant in the next 10-15 days.
Community Giveback Cards
Even though your restaurant may offer a military or police discount, a personal touch is always the better move. Engaging your current loyal customers with a “Thank You” to their favorite First Responder, Teacher, Veteran or Police officer is a special touch that is a tremendous way to grow your business from referrals. It is as easy as creating a card with a simple giving a small amount of cards with a “Thank You” message to some of your most loyal customers.
Managing Your Reputation
Word of Mouth Marketing will continue to be a Game Changer in the online marketing world (Social Media, SEO, Reviews, etc.) because, when given the appropriate level of attention, it is a huge opportunity to gain new customers. In today’s battle for customers, word of mouth interactions are readily available through email, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Word of Mouth isn’t a new concept -but with the emergence and immediacy of social media, it is more important than ever for brands to harness its influence.
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