Restaurant Marketing is Inbound Marketing

Posted on 19. Jul, 2010 by Guest Blogger in Daily Tip, Inside Hospitality, Marketing, Operations

Post by guest blogger Michael Hartzell

OR should I say instead: Inbound Marketing is Restaurant Marketing?

To train a restaurant owner or manager how to be the best inbound marketer on the planet, I believe you put a manager in a marginal restaurant with low sales and tell them: “You have $50 a month marketing budget, low staff, bad operations and sales are down. Turn it around yesterday.”

Yes. This is a part of my past. More than once. More than twice. In fact… let me count – - - Too many to remember.

Inbound marketing in my mind starts a bit like this:

Ignasius wakes up in the morning. He is already hungry. It is in fact part of the human condition that he must eat to stay comfortable through the day. You could say that he is … well, addicted to food. In other words, he will not go a day without taking action to reduce his personal craving. Ignasius woke up this very morning and as usual he is already pining for a double tall latte with just a bit of sugar.

Will he have time to make a latte for himself? Is he feeling up to it? Of course he knows that caffeine alone will not be enough and he must also have something called breakfast. Soon after that there will be lunch and how lucky is Ignasius, because he gets to have dinner just a few hours after that!

Food stays at the edge of his mind all day long. It is part of his passion. Eat or die.

Now comes the best part. A restaurant serves food. Restaurant owners have a ready and willing audience. There is already a top of mind passion and need in place. This is what Inbound Marketing is about. Finding a passionate audience already looking to fill their needs and wants.

Ignasius might ask during the day about 15 minutes before lunch, “Hey, do you know any good barbecue restaurants around here?” Someone will refer Ignasius to a location they feel will not only meet his need but also a place they can proudly show off. (They know the best place to go, after all.)

For Inbound Marketing, someone will type their passion or interest into the Google search box online. They already know what they are interested in. The world is a giant database. GoogleFriend (my new name for Google by the way) refers the searcher to the point of interest. (Along with a million options.)

Inbound marketing is about getting found at the right time by the person searching. A website can get found by having links to a website or a referral via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Restaurant marketing is about getting found at the right time by the person who is hungry and has a pang for a specific flavor. A restaurant can get found by having a referral which could also be in the form of a link on Facebook, email or Twitter.

Inbound marketing is about “converting”. The person coming to a website page must be impressed, have trust, find it easy to use, and definitely believe there is value.

Restaurant marketing relies on every aspect of what a visitor sees online and offline. Even the flowers that die, the broken tiles, the dark exterior, the smelly bathrooms, the 20 year old menu can add up to, “We heard good things but let’s go across the street. That restaurant looks better.”

Inbound marketing is about measuring results and eliminating the bad while doing more of what makes people glad. Measuring Inbound Marketing can be done with Hubspot software (I’m Hubspot Certified so I had to mention it) or a variety of other tools such as Google Analytics.

Restaurant marketing is about measuring results and eliminating the bad while doing more of what makes people glad. GuestPulse is not the only tool Inside Hospitality provides. Every business will have its own Point of Sale computer system that breaks down every aspect into measurements. What were people interested in?

When restaurant owners hears about “social media” and the various tools, they should shout with glee. Social media tools are key to Inbound Marketing. If the purpose is to “get found”, “convert” and “measure results” and social media tools help to make this happen more quickly, then why the heck wouldn’t a restaurant owner say, “I am going to Vegas!”

If you could double your marketing speed and reduce the time to test and measure by half, would you take the time to learn how? That is your next move: “Learn how to leverage the social media tools to my best advantage.” (I hear there is a Restaurant & Hospitality Social Media BootCamp in Las Vegas)

Will you think about how to listen better and connect better?

I hope so. Ignasius wants to eat at your restaurant but he does not know where you are or what you serve. The buzz has not yet reached his ears. Don’t worry. There are thousands of other restaurants that will take care of Ignasius. You keep working hard and maybe he will find you. Maybe.

P.S.

Remember last week? All about HTFCSM Labeling?

See the snapshots below. Notice how people will talk. You don’t even know they are. Sure, you can save time and have everything delivered to your inbox. www.guestpulse.com (free trial)

PPSS

I know. It sounds a bit like a commercial doesn’t it? Sorry.

I have learned bucket loads over the years. It starts with a spark. These came from events, workshops, college classes and people on the street in the community. There was one common rule for the best ideas: “Go outside the normal path.” Restaurant ownership can make a person feel trapped (and indispensable.) At least twice a year, go where you can get fresh thoughts and think about the path you are on. You will double business just as I have.

Michael Hartzell –, Inbound Marketing Certified Professional, entrepreneur, writer, speaker, restaurant marketing coach. Member of the American Marketing. Read more at www.michaelhartzell.com/restaurant-marketing

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