How are you communicating with your customers?

Have you stopped to consider how many different ways we can communicate with our customers? In this picture alone I see 3. In your restaurant, there may be more.

First of all, your sign outside should reflect what your guests will find inside. Make sure you relay the feeling you want to impart with the logo and its design. Then make sure your entry adds to that by expressing the type of service you offer. Make the expectations clear, and then exceed them with the service they receive.

Next, you can see the signage on the wall behind the coffee bar. Any and all information you create should express the type of service you offer and the feelings you want to create in your guests. This includes any type of menu - on the chalkboard, printed or on-line. You are speaking with your customers through these things.

Consistent social media posts are important. There are so many platforms now, and they are all free. Yes, you can pay to "boost" posts, or create ads but the general posting is free. Stay front of mind, get yourself some followers, and be consistent with your posts. You can schedule posts for the week and create them all in one day. I also ask a front line worker to post throughout the week. Those will be less consistent, but they add to what you are already doing.

Now to the nitty gritty - are you consistently communicating with your guests through e-mail? If not, you should! Don't be annoying, just regularly, consistently send something out. Always include a photo of something that creates the feeling you want to provide for your guests - fun, comfort, amazing food, the ability to show off due to the high end wine list... whatever your style is. And, you want to include an offer - something that makes opening that e-mail worthwhile; a discount on a meal or specific dish, an invite to an exclusive dinner, a sneak peak of a new menu item, a specialty cocktail - use your imagination, the sky is the limit.

Some websites allow you to create the newsletter through the backend, others do not. I use mailchimp - which is free until you get a certain number of e-mail addresses. The charge after that is very reasonable and once you pay that fee, you are able to schedule when the e-newsletter will go out. The free version doesn't allow you to schedule the send. I know there are other programs out there, so do some research and find the one that works for you.

Why am I telling you to create an e-newsletter? Because I know it works. The last restaurant I worked with increased revenue and attendance to special events by 30%! I know the e-newsletter was a huge part of that. We had open rates of over 35% when industry average is less than 30%. I was consistent, I created a feeling of belonging, and made them feel special due to the advance info they received.

When creating your customer contact list, be sure to include phone numbers and addresses. This will allow you to communicate through text, and mail out special invites when promoting events. People rarely get mail these days, its a nice change! Addresses also give you ways to segment your list and send out specific e-mails for other offers.

Be creative and use your imagination. The sky is the limit here with what you can offer your customers. Think about how to make them feel like they have the inside scoop on something exclusive. Everyone wants what they can't have and that is especially true in restaurants. When there is a line outside, folks think "It must be good!"

Here's to your success!