6 Biggest Marketing Fails in Hospitality
You know you’ve got a great product, decked out venue, and fantastic staff, so now you need to get the word out! A great marketing strategy can be the difference between a venue taking off, or taking a nosedive. We’ve highlighted the six biggest marketing fails hospitality venues make, and the easy fixes to ensure you’re growing your customer base as effectively and successfully as possible.
Putting on a special, but not getting the word out
No matter how great value or delicious your special is, if no one knows about it, it isn’t going to sell. Make sure you’re getting the word out via your social media accounts (and don’t neglect your stories!), your EDM list, and the traditional, tried and tested techniques of sandwich boards outside your venues and signage if foot traffic allows.
If your venue is harder to locate for passing foot traffic – whether it’s a laneway location or a second-floor venue – make use of high traffic area advertising where possible including information on how to find you, such as “Upstairs”, that will help draw in more customers.
Singing your own praises to existing customers
Your database of existing customers has signed up to hear from you because they’re interested in what you have on offer. Don’t waste an opportunity to get a return visit by sending them the information they already know. Creating EDM content that offers more than just a rundown of your services will create an interested audience who want to hear what you have to say. Value add ons, such as offering a birthday program with a complimentary special is always appealing, as are loyalty programs.
Consider, also, content that provides entertainment, rather than dollar value. An interesting and insightful narrative will engage your customer base, and provide a point of difference that can help your venue stand out. If you’re passionate about seasonal, locally sourced produce, expand on that – share a backstory about your supplier, or a quick Q&A with a local producer you work with – sell the sizzle, not the steak.
Not expanding your audience
While getting return customers back into your venue is a great move, expanding your audience and creating connections with potential customers will grow your business exponentially. The more customers you can reach, the more your reputation as a venue worth knowing about gets out. Posting to your socials is important, but if you only have a small but loyal following, you won’t be getting the word out beyond your established database, and that’s preaching to the choir.
Making use of targeted hashtags on your social media platforms will help expose more potential customers to your venue. While it can be tempting to flood your posts with the maximum amount of generic hashtags, hoping to spread the word as far and wide as possible, this can often have the opposite effect, and your message can get lost in a sea of similar posts. Creating a concise list of tailored hashtags with industry and geographical specificity will ensure your posts are making it to your target audience. To learn more about how to make the best use of hashtags for your business, check out our guide here.
In addition to maximising the efficacy of your hashtag game, taking advantage of Instagram and Facebook’s paid post boosting and sponsored advertising content will help expand your audience, as can engaging in collaborations with social media influencers, such as a well known, high engagement foodie accounts.
Creating specials around cost rather than what the customer actually wants
Who doesn’t love a great deal? A special that appeals to your customer base is a great way to get return customers, as well as new customers. Often, when crafting a special, cost to the business is the first consideration. But, while on the surface this can seem like a great way to make as much profit with as little outlay as possible, if your special doesn’t speak to your customers then it’s not going to generate interest and get people through the door.
Finding a balance between low cost to the venue, and enticing value to your customer will see more patrons taking up the offer and a larger profit even if it’s not the cheapest per unit dish or item to move. For example, a free glass of house wine would certainly be enticing to someone who is either already at your venue or already intending to visit, but it won’t bring in a customer who is looking for a venue. On the other hand, the offer of a free round of cocktails on a customers birthday is very attractive and will bring in not just one customer, but a group of customers who are then likely to purchase further rounds of cocktails and food. Finding a cost-effective and easily mixed cocktail can make what seems like a larger initial outlay significantly profitable – something that works for both the customer and the venue.
Know your audience, know what they want, and balance it against the cost.
Collecting data from customers and then never talking to them
There are a number of ways to create a list of existing customers who have shown an interest in hearing from you. Whether it’s adding an opt-in mailing list for customers who book online on your website, crafting a competition or promotion around EDM sign up lists, through third party online booking websites, or even creating a value add on for customers who follow your venue’s social media accounts. These are all great ways to build up a database, so make use of it.
Keep your social media accounts updated with fresh, relevant, and interesting posts, and make the effort to engage with them. The value of a nice comment or a quick like on a customer’s post is immeasurable. Ensure EDM content is sent out with relative frequency without being overwhelming. Email your database too frequently with your latest specials, and you risk becoming white noise and your audience won’t even notice. You can learn more about crafting killer EDM here.
Not keeping your website up to date
An up-to-date website is the best way for your customers to get accurate and appealing information about your venue.
While sleek websites were once a significant expense to both host and maintain through a third party, easy to follow template websites such as Wix and SquareSpace allow venues to design and manage their own websites with ease, while still maintaining professional polish. But with self-management of a website comes the responsibility of keeping the info up-to-date to ensure it reflects your venue accurately.
Your website is the first thing potential customers will see when they seek you out. Make sure information is clear and easy to access.
Keep an eye on the following to make sure it’s always accurate:
Opening hours – make a note of public holidays or closures that affect your usual hours.
Menus
What’s On – highlight upcoming events, and remove links to completed events
Contact details such as phone number, email address, and physical address.
While maintaining the relevancy of the information on your website is important, don’t forget about your social media accounts. Always ensure any old or dead links in your Facebook or Instagram bio are updated, with old events removed. It’s great if a new customer finds you on your socials, so make it easy for them to follow the bouncing ball to find out everything they need to know to make your venue as appealing as possible.
When you know how to engage proactively and effectively with your customer base, you’ll create strong and long-lasting connections that will help establish your venue and ensure business success.
