We've got the perfect gift for you! Here's a free playbook to help you reach more guests.
Since you're on the nice list, we've also got tips on how you can keep them coming back.
First and foremost, be easy to find for holiday festivities.
Make Google your biggest promoter.
When people look for a place to eat, they go to Google. If your restaurant shows up on the first page of search results, you're more likely to catch their eye—which is especially critical when dining options abound. Here are a few best practices to get more people to your website and through your door:
Serve up fresh and dynamic content
When it comes to search, Google ranks websites based on volume of relevant content. Because interactive menus treat each dish as a separate page, you have multiple pages for Google to consider. A PDF only gives you one page.
Connect your Google Business Profile
Linking your Google Business Profile to your website ensures that your address, phone number, and hours of operation are always up to date on your Google listing.
Google likes websites that perform well...so make sure your site checks the back-end boxes that matter the most:
Speed
Security
Accessibility
Mobile-friendly
Be the obvious choice for guests.
Competition for guests is fiercer than ever—make sure you're giving guests everything they're looking for to make their dining decision easy.
Make your menu visual and responsive.
Guests eat with their eyes first. Include photos with every dish.
Ensure your menu entices on all devices: 80% of guests visit restaurant websites from their phone.
Speaking of reviews...let's use your raving fans to drive more revenue.
57% of consumers say that reviews are a top reason they choose a restaurant. The number one reason? Photos! (Ahem...see above.)
Make reviews easily accessible on YOUR website.
Promote great reviews on social media and via emails and texts to create buzz.
Respond to reviews in a timely manner.
The number one way to gain more reviews? Just ask.
Incentivize guests to leave reviews with a special offer or discount.
Prompt guests to share reviews through website popups, social media, email, and text promotions.
Create a contest to see which staff can get the most reviews.
Print QR codes on table tents to encourage reviews while guests are still at the table.
Holiday phones are ringing…
Hand-in-hand with the special menus and events you’ve planned for the holiday season come questions from guests, and lots of them. Tech-savvy restaurants are leaning more on automated answering services to handle the influx of inquisitive guests to allow staff to focus on in-person diners.
Turn phone calls into marketing opportunities.
“Hello, thank you for calling The Black Cat Bar & Grill. Join us this weekend for a holiday party and enjoy spiked cocoa and honey-baked ham. How may I help you today?”
With custom greetings and responses, you can highlight upcoming events, special offers, new dishes, and send links to revenue-driving actions like reservations, online ordering, and waitlisting.
Kapow Noodle Bar in Florida used AI phone answering to field 89,000 calls and, in turn, saved nearly 1,000 hours for staff. The AI tech sent more than 22,000 links for reservations, generating an estimated $1.6 million in revenue.
Grow your guestbook.
Myth: Guests don't want to share their contact info. The reality? 80% of guests are willing to provide their email to receive info on special offers, events, and updates from their favorite restaurants.
Here are a few ways you can easily capture key info:
Create automated prompts across your website that promote the benefits of signing up.
Invite guests to become a VIP on social channels and table tents.
Entice them to join with a special offer.
Make it personal.
Whether it's saying "thank you" for a review or offering a birthday reward, your guests love a little somethin' special in their inbox. Use what you know about guests (like their favorite dishes and dining preferences) and other data to create marketing materials that hit the spot!
Reward regulars for their loyalty with an automatic email that sends whenever they spend a certain amount.
Create timely offers tied to preferences to drive orders and reservations.
Steam Boys generated over $18,000 in revenue with automated rewards.
Automated Emails
Automated messages triggered by follower engagaement.
Your open rate is 36.1% higher than industry average.
18,885
Delivered
55.8%
Average open rate
$18,480.66
Pop ordering revenue
The Metropolitan American Diner & Bar drove big results with a little help from AI.
3x monthly marketing impressions and revenue.
67% increase in monthly traffic to reservation page.
25% increase in overall monthly website traffic.
Who else is using this playbook?
The Hampton Social increased website traffic 63% within 3 months and gained 58,000 guest contacts within 6 months.
Poppy’s Pizza earned $76,000 in online orders in 3 months—$26,000 from an offer shared via email, text, and social.
Local's Pub quadrupled social media impressions and ordering in 6 months.
Winking Lizard Tavern gained 43,000 followers and 3,250 reviews.
Learn more about the tool that automates most of this playbook.
Schedule a demo to see how you can reach even more guests with Popmenu.