Thursday, March 4, 2010

Premium Food Marketing Hits the Road

The idea of using a mobile platform to distribute premium food is not a new one – Schwan’s made a name for themselves in the early ‘50s as a profitable ice cream delivery service and has since grown into a multi-billion dollar company.

 

Mobile food is more popular than ever. Instead of relying on the customer to come to them, more food establishments are hitting the road to bring the food to the customer. Even more established restaurants are jumping on the bandwagon, so to speak.

 

One reason for the resurgence is social media tools, such as Twitter. Food trucks are able to connect with their fans and tweet current locations, specials and where you can expect to see them next. The Los Angeles market has so many mobile mini-restaurants, a web directory has been created to help you keep track of them – complete with real-time tweets and GPS tracking, where applicable.

 

Milwaukee based Streetza Pizza’s mobile marketing has been so successful that they are making plans to expand their business to include 50-100 mobile pizzerias reaching all the way to Cleveland.

 

The marketing potential is huge. From hot and trendy Sprinkles Cupcakes to sushi, hot dogs and everything in between, going mobile helps premium food marketers reach a larger and different audience. Just like the excitement we all felt as kids when we heard the tinkling sound of the ice cream truck headed down the block, finding our favorite traveling eatery evokes the sense of partaking in something special – a treat that we might not have sought out due to time or location restrictions.

 

By combining the power of social media and thinking outside the restaurant walls, premium food marketers have harnessed the ability to reach larger audiences and offer potential new customers the opportunity to try their goods without committing to a sit-down restaurant experience.

 

Have you eaten at a mobile food cart? What was your experience like? What restaurant or type of food would you like to see adopt a mobile platform? Please share your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Thursday, January 21, 2010

5 Social Media Tips to Market Premium Food

Are you keeping up with the rapidly changing social media landscape? It’s changing daily.  

 

Inc. magazine created a list of 30 useful social media tips. Here are my Top 5 Social Media Tips from that list that are most relevant for premium food marketers.

 

Offer a peek behind the scenes

Are you proud of your operation? Let your customers take a step behind closed doors to see how your product is made. This can be particularly useful for premium food marketers because customers are increasingly interested in what goes into their food. Or, give customers a sneak preview of what products are to come. John Doyle, founder of chocolate company John and Kira’s in Philadelphia, posts photos of new products on Flickr and invites comments from customers.

Put your Web site’s content to work

Increase traffic to your Web site by encouraging visitors to share content they enjoy. For example, GotCast a Web site that connects television casting directors with aspiring actors, draws new visitors by posting audition videos on Digg and allowing others to share video links on the site. Another easy option is to enable users to easily share your Web site’s content by adding a widget like AddThis that automates linking to popular sites.

Interact with visitors – really

If customers feel like they’re engaged by your social media efforts, they are more likely to come back and share with their friends, which gives you social relevance. Matt Mullenweg, founder of blogging platform Wordpress, lists not participating in comments as a surefire way to kill a community. Mullenweg and his team field the many suggestions users have for Wordpress through his blog.

Reward customer loyalty

Bring your loyalty program into this decade by running promotions through your social media platforms. For example, Sprinkles Cupcakes, a bakery chain based in Beverly Hills, California, uses Twitter to send out daily promotional offers. The tweets, which ask customers to whisper a “password” to receive a free treat, have helped the company draw more than 17,000 followers.

 

sprinkles-cupcakes

Make amends with dissatisfied customers, quickly

Twitter can be a great platform for customers to share their experiences with your product, but that won’t necessarily always be positive. Be proactive and respond to your dissatisfied customer in a timely matter. The owner of an Ace Hardware store in Denver, once came across an angry Twitter update from a customer who had bought a tool that broke after one use. He resolved the issue in a matter of minutes by referring the customer to an area store and notified him of Ace’s lifetime guarantee.

 

To view the entire list, visit http://bit.ly/6UaYBa

 

Don’t forget – all social media efforts should return to your strategy. Treat social media like you would any other channel of communication.

 

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