Best Digital Marketing Strategies for Hotels, Restaurants, and Cafés

We all recognize that effective marketing represents good business.

Let’s learn how to develop a digital marketing strategies and which key topics you should focus on for restaurants, cafés, and hotels. 

Primarily, restaurants, cafés, and hotels represent location-based industries. Potential customers will visit within a 5-10 km radius. If customers come from various cities or within a 15-25km radius, then your marketing strategies need not be aggressive, and you don’t require much effort. Because your business is famous among outsiders, you should focus on customer satisfaction.

Since it is a service-based industry, the focus should be on hospitality sectors, such as Infrastructure, ambiance, staff, and Seating arrangements. The customer will broadly seek Parking facilities, WIFI, and Lift services, they might not use those, but they will judge you on these.

Your core focus should not be on the product or the service but on how you prepare for it. It is mainly a geological location-based segment, and there is competition, but in some cities, the level of competition is exceptionally high. According to customer behavior analysis, repeated customers visit more than new ones. From a business point of view, it is excellent. If repeated customers are not returning and new customers are frequent, the price is very high, or the service is not good.

You will receive orders in other vital cases regarding Swiggy, Zomato, and other food delivery services. In case they increase the commission and price, or in case they shut down their business, then you will have difficulties. For this reason, it is better to do personal branding.

Some Scenarios :

In the first scenario, you have invested lakhs of rupees and launched a new restaurant. You, your friends, and your relatives know you Own a hotel, but the public doesn’t know about it or is unaware of it.

In the second case, you already have a restaurant, but customers are not visiting it, and you need to increase your customer database and don’t know how to. Or you have launched a creative dish and want to promote it and don’t know how to do so?

Whatever the scenario, the answers can be found in the marketing funnel.

Marketing Funnel:

So, let’s see the solution for these various scenarios with the help of the marketing funnel.

Let us start with the Awareness stage, and since it is identity-based, outbound marketing is required, you can use digital marketing strategies like social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google. Running ads on TV, in newspapers, in banners, and more is a great way to attract customers. Since it is identity-based marketing, you should reach out to the customers from your end.

It is best if you use digital marketing strategies such as listing your business profile on Google, Bing, Justdial, Facebook, and Instagram business accounts. You should also have a website, if you don’t have one in this era, you might find many difficulties. A Website is not necessary for digital marketing, but it provides added benefits. It would help if you gain the trust of your customers by posting natural photos related to the ambiance, dishes, and customers. 

It is preferable if you use a digital marketing strategies and create a buzz on social media platforms, and conduct events and contests. For example, in a biriyani fever contest, the winning price is ₹ 10,000. To participate and win in this contest, they will need to follow your account, like the page, tag other people, and share. This will help increase your restaurant’s awareness, and you will have to reach for your social media and get visitors.

Try getting honest reviews from your customers. A business always has positive reviews as well as negative reviews. If you get negative reviews, try to reply and do not ignore them. On the other hand, people mainly focus on reviews, so try to get a good review with images (if possible) on social media and use local guides.

The next digital marketing strategy, Data Collection, collect customers’ data like their Name, Phone number, and Email ID. Announce special offers to keep engaging with the social media audience by providing offers like 70% discount, terms and conditions applied. Instead of giving recommendations to everyone, try providing offers eligible to a select audience.

Attract customers with physical elements like a kid zone where customers will post photos on their social platforms and tag us. This helps in user-generated content. Try approaching local celebrities or any other influencers. Like social media, this allows for reach and exposure.

Lastly, run attractive advertising campaigns on social media such as Instagram and Facebook, where you can create brand awareness. Try to get the audience’s attention by using tempting video, audio, images, and value proposition. Use short video formats like reels, shorts, and stories.

Digital marketing is time-consuming, a digital marketer’s 2 to 3 months is an experimental period. Analyze the marketing activities and keep improvising. digital ma