Are your clients and customers willing to pay for premium-priced food and dining during a recession? We say yes, but it comes with a caveat: you have to know what motivates them, their palates and their wallets.
Mary Ellen Slayter of Smart Blogs reported how restaurants are using social media tools, such as Twitter and Facebook to promote their menus, deals and, in the case of highly sought-after Kogi™ BBQ, their mobile location.
Koji is Korean BBQ to go – literally. Driving around the Los Angeles area, the mobile food cart Tweets along their route, alerting hungry customers as to their locale. Lured by this digital age pied piper, customers have been known to wait for hours to nab one of their tofu or calamari tacos, quesadillas or tres leches cake.
· Dining establishments such as City Winery in New York City or Freshii offer discounts if you become their fan on Facebook or mention their Tweets.
· Upscale Madison, Wis. Harvest Restaurant posts their menu and specials on Facebook and even quaint cafes in the college town, like Mermaid Café and Café Soleil, are listing deals and asking customers for menu ideas.
o A quick trip to these eating establishment’s “walls” illustrate that customers are indeed chiming in, and happily so.
Slayter notes, “To successfully market a restaurant, sitting on the social media sidelines won’t be an option. Social media will continue to foster strong, personal connections between restaurants and diners.”
Consider using the tools available to bring customers to your products.
· Invite chefs or recipe developers to post new ideas, flavors and menu ideas via social media channels
· Consider hosting a live Webinar on the various applications of your product
· Since most social media tools are free, there is no longer any excuse to limit reaching out to your customers where they are searching for deals and discounts.
Even during a recession, people are hungry for tips, promotions and, of course, the food.
Read Slayter’s article here.
Labels: Kogi BBQ, Premium Food, social media, Stephan & Brady, Twitter
