With more than eight percent of the population unemployed during what economic forecaster Joseph Kasputys has already called “The Great Recession”, restaurateurs are making savvy marketing moves in order to fill seats in their dining rooms. While existing foodies are likely to rationalize spending on a night of gastronomic bliss, restaurateurs—like all smart business owners—must continuously stuff the pipeline in terms of garnering new clients. Across the nation, food blogs are springing up, social media like Facebook and Twitter is being utilized, and new generations of food lovers are being born. A few chefs and owners are ahead of the curve.
Connect Online
Sam's Chowder House proprietor Paul Shenkman in San Francisco, celebrated chef and restaurateur Jean-Georges Vongerichten, and Tom Douglas of Seattle’s Lola are all blogging about their experience. From dreaming up specials to opening a small window into the world of running a restaurant, these blogs are another way to connect to guests.
“We have found that when a new blog post goes up about a restaurant in particular, calls and reservations at that restaurant go up,” says Jean-Georges Management spokesperson Tamara K. Wood. On the West Coast, Sam’s Chowder House saw a 45 percent year over-year increase in sales, or nearly 18,000 covers in January 2009 compared to more than 12,000 in January 2008.
Meanwhile, The Forge in Miami is promoting initiatives via email blasts and Facebook, and Seattle chef and restaurateur Jon Sundstrom hired a search engine optimization specialist to target search for his restaurant, Lark—plus, he plans to jump on the blog bandwagon. This flurry of digital activity indicates a trend toward courting millennials. Sundstrom went even younger by partnering with child dining group Future Foodies to transform Lark into a fun-for-the-whole-family venue during certain events—a blog post topic with potential.
“Most everyone in Seattle is feeling the crunch,” says Sundstrom. “We’re just trying to be a little more flexible.”
Becoming a Brand
Sam’s Chowder House benefits from Shenkman’s wife—veteran marketer Julie Welch Shenkman—who peppers the Web site with hyperlinks to menus and awards, a newsletter sign-up page and a webcam called, appropriately, “SamCam” to lure guests to the restaurant’s azure view of the San Francisco Bay. Further, she has created a seminar on restaurant marketing—branding the couple as experts in the industry.
Some may balk at social media, but Lola’s Douglas gets becoming a brand. “Anywhere you associate yourself with your food and your kitchen [helps],” he says. This mini brand not only blogs, but has podcasts on his Web site, a weekly NPR-style radio show, “Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen,” featuring guest food bloggers and other experts, signature kitchens in Seattle housing developments and a line of kitchenware available on Amazon.com.
Practice Localism
For most industries and markets, there is no turning back from the digital tide. Restaurateurs and chefs should continuously connect with new and younger audiences, as well as stay in touch with existing ones—a local-focused marketing initiative best realized through digital platforms. In fact, “hyperlocal” marketing is a result of the multitude of Web 2.0 tools available.
“Local businesses are becoming more familiar with the online tools they can use to build their businesses,” says Mark Josephson, CEO of Outside.in, a digital, “hyperlocal news and information service”.
“Social media tools like Facebook and Twitter allow [business owners] to talk directly to their customers in a simple and effective way. Savvy marketers can drive sales and leads by using these tools to bring their brands to life in the context of their customers’ lives,” Josephson says. Change can be intimidating, but a little Web 2.0 know-how goes a long way when marketing a restaurant.
Interesting post. Restaurants should absolutely look beyond traditional means for advertising and promoting their establishments in a time of recession.
Free services like facebook, twitter and www.chef2video.com enable innovative ways to reach out to people and increase buzz and PR opportunities. Facebook and Twitter through instant viral communication of updates, specials, promotions, events etc. Chef2video through a simple engaging concept: place a webcam in your kitchen and broadcast live online.
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