Building a Community Around Your Restaurant: How to Create Loyal Guests
When it comes to a culinary business, your community must be as tasteful as your food. Loyal guests who continuously return and enjoy your services aren’t just a form of repeat business – they’re also valuable marketers who love to recommend your business to the people around them. With this in mind, connecting with your community is the best way to draw in loyal guests and add value to your brand.
Why Your Community is So Important:
Connecting with your business’s community is essential for long-term success. The other businesses in your community – bakeries, wineries, even schools and sports teams – are an excellent way of improving your brand awareness, fostering deeper loyalty amongst guests, and creating more trust amongst the people interacting with your business. Let’s go over a few of the best ways to strengthen your community presence!
Tips for Building a Stronger Community:
From reviews to favorite meals, learning what your guests want and need from your business is the first step to making your restaurant stand out. Read online reviews, ask guests in your dining room what they enjoyed and disliked, and create a digital community where feedback is encouraged and accessible. If you find online reviews lacking, create a Yelp page or set up comments on your business’s Google account!
Host Events
Hosting unique events – paint and sips, game nights, live performances, and more – are great ways of bringing attention to your business and drawing in more foot traffic. Events can be an impactful way of bringing more people through your front door under the glamour of a fun activity, but they also enable people to consume your delicious food.
Partner with Local Businesses
Other local businesses are another excellent form of outreach. Your restaurant or cafe can partner with local bakeries, wineries, and even local farms to increase your presence and loyalty amongst your market. Display their products and encourage guests to support their business, and watch other businesses do the same for you!
Contribute to Local Causes
Another way of partnering with your community is to support local causes, such as school events, donations, or sports teams. Hold discount fundraisers, hang sports team pictures, and offer catering services to local events. Holding space for local causes is an excellent way of showing your support for your community, which will garner support for your restaurant!
Create User-Generated Content and Promote Your Socials
The best way to reach out to your community is through digital marketing. Social media, websites, and other forms of digital advertising are crucial to getting your restaurant’s attention in the community. Build your digital brand, stay consistent, and upload steady, high-quality content to strengthen your online presence.
Work With a Marketing Partner to Reach Larger Goals
Solidifying your name in your business’s community is a must, but running your restaurant can take up a lot of time. Partnering with a marketing expert can help you reach your long-term goals and strengthen your community presence without forcing you to sacrifice the time you spend running your business.
Invest in Your Brand’s Community Presence
Your food is your biggest priority, and marketing partners understand that. However, building your community presence remains an important part of improving your long-term business model. If you’re short on time – or don’t know where to start – Forkful Expressions is ready to help you meet your goals! Reach out to our creative team today to learn how we can help you improve your restaurant’s community outreach!
