Tiana Hendrix

As the restaurant industry deals with massive change, we’re spotlighting the brands that are spreading positive messages and uplifting their customers during an isolating time. Many have lessons to teach us all as they work to foster a deep emotional connection with their community.  

Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant and Silver Diner

Our lives turned upside down. Between social distancing and staying at home, our lives are quite different from the busy, on-the-go existence that we typically lead. Kids are temporarily out of school, young adults in college have shifted to online classes, and those still fortunate enough to be employed are working from home. To help their customers get through the trapped-at-home blues, Iron Hill Brewery & Restaurant changed its offerings to create an activity that families can do together: cook! 

Iron Hill has make-at-home meals available for curbside pickup. Instead of taking a trip to a grocery store the brand offers three kits filled with high-quality ingredients. They can choose from the “steak and bake”, “fun on a bun”, or  “pizza party”. 

During this time, lots of customers are missing the joy and comfort of dining out and socializing. Iron Hill offers a way to make dining more personal within families by turning a takeout dinner into an experience. […]

Throughout this crisis, brands are searching for a way to maintain their strong customer relationships. A number have lessons to teach us all as they work to foster a deep emotional connection with their community. Here, twice a week, we’ll spotlight specific brands that are spreading positivity.

Thursday, March 26, 2020 Spotlight: The Pasta Bowl

The Pasta Bowl, a chain of neighborhood pasta shops, has maintained its fun and friendly tone throughout its customer communications. Still, it is serious about addressing the current environment. Take this snippet from a recent communication:

“Lots to be frustrated about these days. Lots to disagree and argue about too, it seems. We can all agree on one thing, though: we ALL wish none of this was going on.” […]

Building customer loyalty can be a challenge, but if your goal is to motivate guests to visit more often and spend more when they do, then creating a restaurant loyalty program that works for your brand is essential. Because guests aren’t all the same, the ways they want to interact with your brand will vary. Before you start creating a loyalty program to boost incremental visits and revenue, there are four key areas to address: 

1. Determine which loyalty program will best engage your guests. 
2. Discover the type of program that best aligns with your brand concept.
3. Decide what kind of program your staff can effectively execute.
4. Establish which program will help you best achieve your restaurant’s financial goals.

First, you will want to arrive at the type of rewards program that will resonate with your guests. This is unique to each restaurant and will be influenced by brand concept, menu, server interactions, and business needs.

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In the age of Big Data, having a wealth of information can be both a blessing and a curse. There are a lot of valuable insights to gain, but you need a team with the right skillset to determine what is important and apply it to the creation of effective campaigns as well as your overall marketing strategy. Since no solution is going to work for every brand, taking a deep dive and developing a customized approach will always yield the best results.

Here are three data-backed tools that you should consider implementing to engage customers and increase sales.

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