Gone are the days that you simply create a great space, hire a good barista or handsome bartender, open the doors and expect business to keep coming in day after day.
Hospitality venues across Australia are still using old tools to operate in a completely new marketplace. In the current climate, businesses can’t afford to miss out on opportunities.
It’s time to change your attitude from ‘if you build it they will come’ to, ‘how do I engage with my audience when they aren’t here to stay top of mind and build my business?’.
The good news is that the answer is probably already in your business. Looking at the systems and tools that you use every day can help unlock customer data to help drive your business. Here are some practical examples:
- Got a heap of followers on your socials and spending lots on boosting your posts? Great, why not invite them to have a direct line to your business by joining your customer database to receive invites, news and offers from your business
- Guest WiFi – are you giving out a password, letting people access your WiFi and getting nothing in return? You can turn it into a customer acquisition tool by collecting customer data in return for free WiFi. Don’t think customers will log on? Free coffee on their next visit is a simple but powerful incentive and you get another visit
- Turn your coffee stamp card digital – how many free coffees or muffins are you up to? What do you do if customers stop coming, can you contact them to remind them it’s only a few more visits before their free coffee? If you are still using a piece of paper to run your loyalty program, it’s time to talk to your POS partner about a better solution
- Do you take bookings over the phone and hide that valuable data in a paper diary? It’s time to look at an online table booking partner that will not only help you manage your bistro better, but it will also create a valuable source of customers for you to re-market to
- Giving away points but not talking to your customers? One of the most common issues we see in business is a great loyalty program for your customers when they visit but forget the engagement strategy to make sure your business is top of mind and keep the customers coming back.
Simply opening the doors and hoping they will come is not enough anymore. It’s time to engage with your customers when they aren’t in your business to stay top of mind and get them back more often.