One of the most common question that comes out when we talk about social media with the restaurant owners is that “Why do I have to be on Facebook or Twitter or any other social media platforms?
Let me tell you one thing for sure that Social Media will change the way the restaurants do business now and in the future.No more can a restaurant afford to do business without leveraging social media if they want to survive and thrive in this new digital age.
I still remember when I wrote the first blog post about Facebook last year, there were only about 37 million people on Facebook in US and now after a year there is over 100 million people. More and more people are joining on Facebook, Twitter and many other social media network. As a business owner I’m sure you agree that you should go where your customers are. Right? Right now they are on Facebook and Twitter.
In the video the author Penny Power talks about New Entrepreneurs that are emerging now. She is absolutely right that there is this new breed of entrepreneurs who understand that business can be created inside the virtual world based on the value they create for their community.
If you look at the world of restaurant business then there are these new social media restaurant entrepreneurs that are emerging like @AJBombers , @KogiBBQ @CoffeeGroundz @NakedPizza You can follow them on Twitter to find more about them. They understand the power of social networks. They have created a community inside the virtual world of Facebook and Twitter to name just a few. They engage with them on a regular basis to make sure that their customers are taken care of and that they are happy. If any thing goes wrong with the service, product or anything they are right beside to help them out. They don’t wait 3-4 days for the complain letter to arrive via snail mail. Those days are gone. Now the same letter will be broad casted publicly in 140 characters or less on Twitter if they don’t act immediately. I hope you follow them on Twitter and Facebook to learn more about how they do business on Social Medial.
Word of Mouse Advertising
Word of Mouth Advertising comes only when you wow your customers. These new entrepreneurs understand the importance of exceptional service that goes beyond just serving food to the customers. They also understand the power of social media and would not hesitate to leverage it to create a viral effect of the ravings they get from their customers. I like to call it “Word of Mouse Advertising” powered by the clicks on the mouse. Restaurants are well know as a business where word of mouth advertising has been used for a long time. But now with the power of social media the advertising of your restaurant can go viral in less time if executed well.
New Business Model
“We will all win and not just I win.”
This is the new set of thought process of new restaurant entrepreneurs who are redefining the new business model. They believe that their customers deserve the quality service, respect and dignity. In order to achieve this they go an extra mile to WOW their customers. The customers pay them back with loyalty to their business and in return the entrepreneurs reach out to help their own community. In this case every one wins and not just one party.
Those who are ready to grasp this new set of rules in new era of Facebook and Twitter will rise up to dominate the restaurant market. Those who are not they are eventually going to be wiped out by their competitors who embrace the social media.
It is just a matter of time that “The new world will emerge from the ashes of the old world.”
Do you believe that Social Media will change the way restaurant does business now and in the future? I would appreciate your thoughts on Why Social Media is essential part of the success for restaurant business?
16 responses so far ↓
1 Lara Dickson // Mar 10, 2010 at 8:13 am
Word of Mouse - love that!
2 Pete Kane // Mar 10, 2010 at 9:17 am
Most definately. I see the independent restaurants making a come back ..sort of. Only if they learn how to use SM. If restaurant owner engage with their customers, make them apart of thier family..listen to them then people have the ability to spread information quickly. I for example have over 1000 friends on FB. I could recommend a restaurant to all 1000 of my friends and post on their restaurant fan page a comment about how wonderful the service and food is at this place. The old way …I couldn’t reach that many people. The rules are changing for restaurants and the ones who change and embrace SM will win.
3 Carla Fugit // Mar 10, 2010 at 10:01 am
I absolutely believe Social Media is the immediate answer for increasing traffic in the restaurant business. This industry has been hit hard by the economy. Social Media allows people to see what is happening immediately. People don’t make dining decisions a week before they go out. They make them minutes before they go out. Your SMS TXT coupon may be the deciding factor. I do seminars for restaurant owners to increase profitability. Social Media is the #1 Marketing Strategy!
4 Jessica Smith // Mar 10, 2010 at 2:49 pm
Great article! It’s remarkable how fast the area of Social Media is growing! Companies do have to stop an rethink their marketing campaigns in 2010! Social Media Marketing is driving all sorts of changes and new businesses. A new website that compliments restaurants’ marketing efforts is http://www.DineOutCheap.com. It is a free site where users nationwide can search for restaurant deals in their area. Among other criteria, users can search for deals by location, Kids Eat Free Nights and Happy Hours. It’s an exiciting time to be part of the Social Media world!
5 Nash // Mar 10, 2010 at 5:53 pm
Thanks Lara
for your nice words.
6 Nash // Mar 10, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Hi Pete
You are right! Rules are changing.Those restaurants who embrace the change are the ones that are going to win.
Today, leveraging social media you have an ability to reach all your 1000 friends on Facebook.I hope restaurants see this opportunity and take advantage of it.
7 Nash Sherchan // Mar 11, 2010 at 1:27 am
Thanks Carla for your comment.
I agree with you that Social Media can be a very affordable marketing solution for the restaurants. It makes even more sense especially when restaurant industry is hit hard by economy.
By offering incentive using texts restaurants can attract those first time customers who are just deciding which restaurant to visit.
Nice to connect with you and look forward to sharing more marketing ideas.
8 Nash Sherchan // Mar 11, 2010 at 1:48 am
Thanks Jessica.
Indeed it is remarkable how fast social media is growing.No doubt, companies have to rethink now about their marketing campaign if they want to compete and thrive in this new digital age.
BTW I had a look at your site.Looks good. Would love to know more how independent or franchise restaurants can participate on your program.
9 Pam // Mar 18, 2010 at 12:41 pm
This is a great article worth sharing with our oc restaurants…thanks!
10 Nash // Mar 19, 2010 at 1:01 am
Thanks Pam,
for for your encouraging words.
With further discussions and exchanging ideas, hope we can help the small restaurants with new innovative marketing that is effective and affordable.
Look forward to sharing cool marketing ideas.
11 Josh Pearlstein // Jul 12, 2010 at 6:40 pm
I believe that social media will and should change the way restaurants do business now and in the future. Restaurants will be able to communicate critical information (the information the consumer wants to know) in the most efficient and real-time fashion imaginable. In return, they will get instant feedback from customers, and have a better idea of what their customers really want. Also, because social media is not going anywhere, starting the conversation now is just laying the base for building a long term relationship with their consumers.
I could go on about why social media is an essential part for the success for the restaurant business, but do not want to take away from your article. However, I would be more than happy to discuss it with you further some other time. Please feel free to contact me at anytime.
You should checkout SinglePlatform. We are a social media and marketing platform specifically for restaurants and bars, and we are already working with thousands of restaurants across the country.
12 Nash Sherchan // Jul 13, 2010 at 1:15 am
Hi Josh,
thanks for your thoughtful feedback.
Saw your site.Do you have any video demos?
I find it easy to watch than read. It explains visually what a service or product can do. It’s easier for the clients too.
So I’d appreciate if you can pass the links to the demos if you have.
13 Josh Pearlstein // Jul 14, 2010 at 12:45 am
Hi Nash, thanks for the response!
We, at SinglePlatform , are actually in the process of updating our video. We just launched our newest addition, the Facebook Today tab, which can be seen on McFadden’s Fan Page . However you can view our powerpoint presentation here.
Let me know what you think.
Best,
Josh
14 Nash Sherchan // Jul 16, 2010 at 12:02 am
Hi Josh,
the links are broken.
15 Josh Pearlstein // Jul 16, 2010 at 2:59 pm
Hi Nash, sorry about that, here it is again with working links.
We, at SinglePlatform , are actually in the process of updating our video. We just launched our newest addition, the Facebook Today tab, which can be seen on McFadden’s Fan Page. However you can view our powerpoint presentation here.
Let me know what you think.
Best,
Josh
16 Nash Sherchan // Jul 17, 2010 at 11:57 pm
Hi Josh,
thanks for the link. I joined McFadden’s fan page. You have done a great job of integrating lots of social media into single platform and making marketing easy for restaurants.
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