Think of a serial entrepreneur, running three businesses out of my home. Think of a home-maker, or a senior citizen who finds it hard to leave the confines of my home, or a group of friends who like hanging out indoors and playing board games.
What do all these people have in common?
Time or space constraints. So, of course, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief when on-demand food apps and ordering platforms became mainstream, assuring the services we need are just a click away. In 2019, the digital presence that a business has (especially if it’s in hospitality), projects how relevant that brand is, and how committed they are to serving their customers better.
If you’re old-school or on-the-fence about embracing a digital presence for your restaurant business, here are some pointers that might change your mind; I also tell you a few ways in which you can garner the attention you need by conquering the digital space-
Open 24×7
A huge advantage of establishing an online presence is that your business is open 24×7 with no added labour cost. An online store faces no time zone barriers and never sleeps, like the city of Mumbai.
Economical Way To Trade
Online portals, it is widely recognized, is the most economical way to trade and supplement your brick and mortar business. Without shelling out for additional marketing, you can build your base of customers, dealers, suppliers and manufacturers, just like that! Everyday, more and more customers are going online. and the online commerce space is now worth trillions. If you could make the whole world your playground, why pick only a local park?
Stay Relevant
As I mentioned before, if your brand is to be perceived as relevant and competitive in today’s marketplace, it has to make that crucial leap into the 21st century. It is analogous to being listed in the local Yellow Pages. If someone can’t find you, how will they know who you are? This is even more crucial for small businesses, since a well-designed website is a great calling-card, so to speak. It’s the ideal way to create credibility and look like one of the big corporations, at a small cost.
When one compares the cost of building a website to what it costs to promote a business in traditional media and BTL advertising, it is evident that a website is the cheapest form of marketing.
It’s Eco-Friendly!
Marketing never felt this good! When you take your business online, you are actually contributing to the sustainability of the planet by not wasting print material.
Feedback
You can gather information about your existing and potential customers by using online forms and surveys. Provide a feedback form to make it easy for your customers to send their input.
For example, on Zomato, restaurants receive tons of reviews whether good or bad, and based on the purview of these, app users will be either tempted or dissuaded from trying out a new restaurant.
Owning A Domain
The value of a domain for a small business is far more significant than many realize. Not only does it provide the foundation for one’s home page, but it can also be used to point to one’s Facebook or other social media site. It may even be used for branded email – a hallmark for “real” businesses.
A Few Tips On How To Leverage Social Media
- Make the most of the social media phenomenon with Facebook, Instagram, Snpachat, Twitter, Pinterest, Reddit, Quora, Tumblr and the likes! Not only do they have an extremely wide reach, they are also closely integrated for hassle-free inter-connectivity. You should have a different game-plan and strategy for each platform, for optimum social media virality. Not all platforms and users respond to the same content in the same way, so craft your communication accordingly.
- For instance, make your company a set location to tag, if applicable. Users like to tag their location when posting so this is a good way for other users to be introduced to your business and exact location. For example, if a user posts a photo of a meal and tags the location, other users will be curious and click the location to find the business as well as see other posts to that location.
- Hashtags on Instagram serve a specific purpose – to group together photos and videos that have commonalities or share a meaning. Businesses can use dedicated hashtags when posting photos and videos so that when that particular hashtag is clicked, it bring up all the posts also tagged with that hashtag.
- Treat your fans like real people. The key to a successful social media presence is online engagement and communication. This is just as important on Instagram or Facebook as it is on other networks and in real life.
- Everyone likes to be the first to know… well… anything! Make your Instagram followers feel special and give them exclusive previews of products and services, or virtual tours of your new stores, production facilities or offices in the making.
Chantelle Menezes Brand Solutions 