Online marketing for restaurants
Online marketing became the standard in the current marketing approach of many restaurants. And they're right. If you're not shifting your traditional marketing efforts towards a digital approach, you're missing out on big opportunities and convenient features. It doesn't mean that you should abandon traditional marketing but you better find a healthy balance between the 2 to ensure that your marketing remains relevant and tempting. Have a look at how Coupontools can help you optimize your online marketing for your restaurant.
- Offer digital (gamified) coupons
When you choose Coupontools, you choose user-friendly software to design the most interactive digital (gamified) coupons. Digital coupons are a proven way to boost your business and reach your objectives. There are various approaches to distribute your coupon based on your business's objective.
- Traffic generator
If you're using digital coupons as a traffic generator, you should keep in mind to always include a deal that's valuable for the customer. If it isn't, the customer feels that it isn't worth it to make the effort to pay your business a visit.
- While in restaurant
Compared to the traffic generator, this deal could be less valuable. People are already in your restaurant and have to wait for their meal. If you provide them a gamified coupon to kill time and the chance to win a discount, they'll be happy to redeem it right away. The deal shouldn't be as valuable as the traffic generator because they're already there. A great strategy could be to limit it in time though, so that they're kind of pushed to redeem it right away. It's a great approach to reach the money spent value per visit.
- Traffic generator
- Coupon directory
A mobile coupon directory / mobile coupon catalog is a great tool if you're planning on launching multiple campaigns at once. Instead of promoting those campaigns separately, you only need to promote the mobile coupon catalog. This is a huge cost-saver. Furthermore, it's easy to add or delete deals and require users to register or/and complete a purchase before they're allowed to access your coupon directory and enjoy your fantastic discounts.
- Digital payment vouchers
Digital payment vouchers / digital gift cards are a great addition to digital coupons. These vouchers are mostly used to gift to other people. You can easily complete the purchase on the voucher and then present it to one of your friends. Since the pandemic, it has also often been used as a way to generate some revenue while being closed due to the lockdown. It was a great tool to have some revenue come in while delivering the goods later on.
- Birthday program
When you have the customer’s personal data, you can set up a birthday program for your restaurant. You get this personal data by asking the customer to fill in a form before they access or claim the coupon. With the Coupontools software, you can send automated birthday messages to customers. This is personalized marketing at its finest! You just have to set it up, but once in place, it's all automated and you can sit back and relax.
Advantages of online marketing for restaurants
- Boost your sales
People are most sensitive in their wallets and are always on the lookout to save money. Offering digital coupons is a great solution to respond to that. Customers love to think that they're getting a deal while your business ends up being the actual winner.
- Improve your brand awareness
Every coupon designed with the Coupontools software can be completely rebranded. This means, that if people are playing a gamified coupon of yours, your logo and corporate identity is constantly in the picture. It helps you improve brand awareness and recognition. Especially because humans better remember the unique experiences they had with a brand.
- Viral marketing
If people love your digital coupon campaign, allow them to share it with their friends. This is free exposure and maybe one of the best marketing approaches there could be. People are more likely to believe people from their circle if they're convinced that something is great. So if you allow them to share the coupon on their timeline, they're basically generating free exposure for your marketing campaign.
- Capture data and statistics
Doing online marketing has another significant advantage. Every digital coupon interaction is completely trackable. You'll know exactly how often your campaign has been opened, claimed, and used. Therefore, you'll end up with an accurate ROI overview of your campaign's performance. It's even possible to capture user's personal information before they can benefit from your coupon. So you're handing out valuable discounts for data in return. Isn't that great? Just be aware to make your discount valuable enough to make it worth it entering personal information. If you don't, you'll see that a lot of people have interacted with your coupon but didn't claim nor validate your coupon because they're not willing to leave their details behind for such a tiny discount.
- Increase the customer experience
It's all about experiences. Digital (gamified) coupons are a great way to provide your customers a unique experience. For example, provide them gamified coupons while they're waiting in your restaurant.
- Generate more visits
Online marketing is a great way to generate store visits. Promote your digital discount coupons through social media, google banners, website, app,.. or just forward them to your audience through email or SMS. Make sure its a valuable discount that's worth paying a visit to your restaurant. If you neglect it, you'll end up burning money with no visits in return. I wouldn't make the effort to redeem a 5% OFF coupon on 1 drink but would consider a visit if the discount was worth a free drink.
Are you looking for ready-to-use digital campaign ideas or strategies for your restaurant? Have a look at this article!
Conclusion: online marketing ideas for restaurants
Online marketing is here to stay. It goes beyond traditional marketing and provides many advantages. Digital coupons are a great add-on to your existing marketing efforts and will help your reach your business objectives. The possibilities are endless with online marketing.
Do you want to try out our software? Create a free trial account and start today!
Do you have any questions? Don’t hesitate to get in touch!
