Restaurants open with a purpose of sharing a passion for food with others by serving delicious dishes to guests, resulting in smiles on patrons’ faces. Restaurants treat their guests like their family members in an effort to keep them coming back repeatedly. But restaurant guests’ presence is never a given at the time of opening a restaurant, so restaurant owners must ensure that every guest knows that he or she is welcomed into the restaurant.
Not long ago, online presence was not an option, and restaurants generally hired a crier to catch potential customers’ attention in front of the tavern. This has since changed, thanks to the era of social networking and smart phones. These days, a more tech-savvy approach is necessary to face the competition and add to the bottom line. Restaurant owners must implement modern tools to attract guests to the restaurant.
Now, thanks to smart phones, people are connected online at any given time. About 90% of restaurant guests check new introductions, menus and reviews online. Because of this, restaurants’ online presence cannot be ignored. Additionally, your restaurant’s internet connection should not be erratic, and a Failover Internet is essential.
By creating a web presence for your restaurant, you will keep up with the competition, increase restaurant exposure, and gain access to inexpensive and time-saving marketing methods that attract the millennial generation and others. Here are a few tangible reasons why your restaurant needs an online presence and the many benefits:
Benefits of Online Presence of Restaurants
- Helps to tell your story: Restaurant businesses can fail due to its anonymity. Customers want to have a good reason to visit your restaurant. You can provide connection for them to visit through the good food you serve in the restaurant. An online connection through a website helps you to achieve the goal of connecting guests with your restaurant and provides you a space to tell your story to guests.
- Social media presence is possible: Without an online presence, there is no way for your restaurant to go viral with young customers who live on their phones, “checking in,” posting comments, engaging on social media about their dining experiences. It is only possible if your restaurant has an online presence through a website and mobile app.
By having a robust and active social media profile, your restaurant can give young guests something to interact with and transform casual guests into fans of your restaurant, creating an army of loyal customers. You have the opportunity to engage your guests 24/7. Take advantage of social media, and let everyone know about your restaurant, including what you have to offer.
- Brand identity is strengthened: With an online presence, your customers will become acquainted with your restaurant, and thus you can strengthen the brand’s identity. With a crisp, informative website filled with interesting content, people will get to know your restaurant, and people who have never eaten in your restaurant can put their trust in your restaurant. Seeing the content on your website and your brand will help you to gain more footfall in your restaurant.
- New territories can be explored: Being online brings you to places other establishments aren’t. When thinking of opening a restaurant, you never know how your location will become known to the public. An online presence allows you to be everywhere! It doesn’t matter whether your restaurant is on a busy street or in back lane… The only thing that will truly matter is your culinary skills, which will help get you noticed. With online menus, social networks and reviews, you are not only developing an online presence, but also conquering new territories.
- Customer feedback is possible: Having an online presence helps your restaurant know what guests think about your restaurant. This feedback attracts guests to your restaurant. After all, most people check reviews online before they book a table, either through the website or over the phone. Google even displays ratings of certain venues in the search results.
As a restaurant owner, you are most-likely not a big business entrepreneur, and you can make appropriate decisions about your business without having to jump on every trend that hits the restaurant industry. By not being online, however, you are cheating your business. You have the ability to turn your business into a profitable venture by utilizing inexpensive marketing tools and transforming patrons into returning customers.
If you are thinking of opening a restaurant in Boston, or you have a restaurant and want to have an effective and continuous presence online, Little Gecko Technology Consultants are here to provide solutions, such as failover internet, Wi-Fi routers, IT components, cabling to connect computers printers and related equipments, Toast POS systems and Toast POS install for restaurants. You can focus your attention on other important aspects of your restaurant business and leave the rest to us.