I have been a customer of Trip.co for years, mostly using their restaurant finder tool. But I have slowly started to realize that the platform doesn’t work for everyone, especially those who want to grow their business. So I did some research and came up with a list of alternatives that might be better suited for your needs.
1. Create a Buzz Word
When a potential customer or consumer searches for your product or service on Google, you want to be the first result they see. But if they have never heard of you, how can they find you? The answer is to create a buzz word for yourself. What is a buzz word? A buzz word is a word or phrase that is often repeated in conversation as a means of remembering a person or thing. For example, the term “blogging” has recently become popular as a means of self-promotion, but it wasn’t always so. At one point, “blog” was a somewhat unpopular word, used mainly by computer programmers. But in the last few years it has become highly desirable as it is currently used in many different contexts. So if you decide to use blogging, or some other form of content marketing, as part of your marketing strategy, you will find that it is already ubiquitous in your industry. Similarly, if you decide to advertise your restaurant on social media, you can find a list of “keywords” that are typically used to find restaurants online. These are the terms that people are likely to use when searching for your restaurant on social media platforms such as Instagram or Facebook.
2. Use Local Platforms To Find Your Customers
Trip.co is a great place to find restaurants, but why should you only consider them? Why not use tools like Google Maps to find your customers as well? Google Maps can actually help you find any business, including restaurants, using the platform. Just type in your destination and you will see a map with all the places that have been listed on Google Maps that match your search criteria. You can filter the results by rating, distance, and more.
Of course, you don’t have to limit yourself to Google Maps. Yelp is another widely used local platform that you can use to find your customers. Just enter your destination and you will see all the restaurants, cafes, and bars that have been reviewed on Yelp in the surrounding area. When it comes to choosing where to eat out, it is important to look at what type of restaurant you want to patronize. If you are the type of person who would regularly eat at a Starbucks, for example, than you might want to consider one of their restaurants instead of trying to find a niche restaurant that only serves Korean food.
3. Host Your Own Events
If you are the type of person who enjoys networking, then why not host your own event? You can take advantage of the many benefits that a networking event has to offer. First, you get to meet new people in your industry who could become customers or collaborators. Second, you get to showcase your products and services to the people who you most likely already know, your colleagues.
What is more, you can create a theme for your event based on the type of industry you are in. For example, if you are in tech, you can use software such as Eventbrite to create an event that is specifically geared toward techies.
One of the great things about hosting your own event is that you get to decide when it ends. If you want to extend your event for another hour because you met so many interesting people, you can. But you might consider how other people in your industry are using social media to get their message across, or whether or not people are using their lunch breaks in a meaningful way.
4. Use The Right Placement For Your Advertising
Where should you place your restaurant’s advertisement? This is a question that you need to ask yourself, especially if you want to improve your chances of securing new customers. The answer is in the placement of the ad on your website and social media accounts. People who use specialized software to analyze the effectiveness of their advertising will tell you that the answer is: right here, on my site!
Why? Because when someone is searching for your product or service, they will often visit the websites of the businesses they are considering patronizing. In most cases, people who visit a restaurant’s website are also planning to dine there. So if you want to attract potential customers to your restaurant, you should consider investing in an ad on your website and in social media.
5. Use Discount Codes & Loyalty Programs
If you are regularly giving your customers discounts, why not extend that courtesy to potential new customers? You can give away a free meal for every week that you post on social media, for example, or you could give a $5 discount for every birthday that someone makes a reservation at your restaurant using the code “Birthday”.
Creating a loyalty program is a great way to encourage customers to return, and it’s a win-win for businesses and customers. For instance, if a customer is enrolled in your loyalty program and they decide to visit your restaurant a handful of times, then you know they are interested in what you have to offer. Now, when they come back you can suggest something that they might like. Alternatively, you could give them a special deal that is only available to people who are already members of your loyalty program.
Loyalty programs can be complicated, however, so you need to think about how you will manage the process. Also, make sure that you have the resources to track customers who join your program and see what they do.
6. Measure The Performance Of Your Marketing Campaign
Once you have launched your marketing campaign, you need to track the results. How many people clicked on your advertisement? How many people visited your website after seeing your ad on social media? How many people signed up for your loyalty program?
The good news is that there are numerous tools that can help you measure the success of your marketing campaign, whatever form it might take. Some of these tools are free, such as Google Analytics. You do not need to purchase expensive software to track the results of your campaign. With these tools, you can track the performance of every aspect of your campaign, from the time it was launched to the point where it resulted in a conversion (i.e., a person became a customer or signed up for your loyalty program).
Measuring the performance of your marketing campaign is vital to determining whether or not you should extend it, change it, or cancel it. The key performance indicators that you will want to track are the “conversion” rates for each advertisement, the number of signups for your loyalty program, and the amount of time that users stay on your site after they have visited once.
7. Use Surveys & Focus Groups To Find Out More About Your Customers
Tired of guessing how to serve your customers? Why not ask them what they want? You can do this by conducting surveys and focus groups. In a survey, you will ask a series of questions that will hopefully reveal to you what your customers want. You can give the survey to existing customers, potential new customers, or even people who have visited your site previously but have not made a purchase. This will help you figure out what type of products and services your customers want, and what needs to be changed to meet their demands. Focus groups are slightly different. With a focus group, you will get a chance to listen in on the conversation between potential customers or consumers and a company representative. The representative will ask questions about the customers’ experience with products or services similar to what you offer, and will try to get a sense of whether or not they will continue to use your product or service. You can find customer feedback on Twitter by searching for “@your_company” and following the instructions.
These methods can help you figure out what your customers want, which products and services to offer, and how to present yourself to the public in the most effective manner. They can also help you figure out what type of advertising and content marketing you should be doing, and if any changes need to be made to your product or service.
8. Experiment With Different Forms Of Marketing
Marketing is always changing, and evolving along with the times. What worked for your mom might not work for you. Your grandma might love shopping on social media, but your customers could find that marketing on platforms like Twitter is more effective.