By Michael Gorman, Contributor
There’s a lot of emphasis on marketing to Millennials, and the reasons are quite obvious. This generation has a wide range of likes and dislikes with a core of strong preferences, and more importantly, they buying power and enjoy their restaurant experiences and food delivery.
It is essential for operators in the restaurant industry to get things right if they will be successful in attracting Millennials to the restaurant. The frantic nature of this generation means that it is easier for you to get them to come to try out your restaurant than it is to keep them and ensure that they come back again and again.
According Forbes, the Millennial generation already makes up one-fourth of the total US, topping more than eighty million. The big deal isn’t in their large population and the continuous growth but in their buying power.
This makes it essential to not only be able to bring them to your restaurant but to keep them coming back. Millennials are known for their brand loyalty, especially with companies that share the same social values of them. So, if you want to attract and keep their business, you’ll need to align yourself with their POV.
But how else can restaurant operators attract and retain Millennial guests? Here are some tips that you can try out.
Optimize Your Restaurant’s Website for Mobile
Over 60% of Millennials claim to go through and review restaurants’ menus online before picking their meal destination. This makes it essential for your restaurant to have an interactive, easy-to-navigate website that is also visually appealing. Having an evocative website is vital to representing your brand to Millennials and giving them an idea of what they should expect from you, your staff, and the overall experience. If you have a shabby and bare website, they will expect little or nothing from you, and you’re far off the road to convincing them.
It is also essential that you optimize your restaurant’s website for browsing on mobile devices as it’s the main device Millennials use to surf the Internet. Make sure that you provide all the necessary information about your restaurant and make is accessible and easy to find. This is even more important for information such as a menu, address, hours, phone number, etc. Your visitors should find this info with a simple click.
Lean Into Social Media Marketing
It gets said a lot -- social media is a powerful tool in today’s marketing. That is, in part, due to the impact and influence of the Millennials on these platforms. When you consider the fact that Millennials spend a lot of time on social media networks, it only makes sense that you get on that platforms where they spend their time and market to them right there. Newspaper and radio ads aren’t going to have the same reach with Millennials as a finely tuned social media campaign.
Some common social networks to market to Millennials include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. If there’s just one effective marketing technique left for restaurants in the world, then it has to be social media marketing.
One way to be effective with your social media marketing is to employ the use of user-generated content (UGC). Millennials post a lot about their daily lives on a social media, including their own homecooked meals and restaurant experiences. You can reshare these UGCs to promote your brand to reach out to other Millennials by showing what every-day people think of your restaurant. This also strengthens the bond with the guests whose content you’re sharing as it shows you’re paying attention.
It’s also highly recommended that you create a hashtag that’s unique to your restaurant so you can easily find content posted and build a little movement around your restaurant’s brand.
Embrace New Technology
Millennials are tech-savvy generation. That is why restaurants must employ the use of technology in trying to reach out to Millennials. It is one of the easiest ways to attract them as it aligns you with one of their principles. However, it also has advantages for you because modern tech can smooth your restaurant’s day-to-day operations at the same time.
Embracing technology means that you have to own a website and run it. Make sure it is also optimized, as discussed earlier. Also, make it possible for them to order online and offer delivery services instead of forcing them to your restaurant for carryout.
Make use of other modern tech such as tablet ordering & payment, online reservations, and integrated feedback management. At a bare minimum, your restaurant should be providing a Wi-Fi internet connection to your guests, but you can also use it to boost your restaurant’s email list.
Less Branding is More Attractive
Millennials are brand loyal if the brand aligns itself well to their principles and virtues, but they also don’t want to be constant bombarded with excessive branding. This generation tends to favor businesses that appear less corporate and also more intimate. The essential factors that Millennials look out for are authenticity, practicality, and brand function. They look way beyond just the cool brand name and into the culture of a business.
Experiment & Try New Things with Trends
As far as Millennials are concerned, you are free to hop and jump from one trend to another. This is because they would do the same. So, an important tip as a restaurant looking to attract Millennials is to try to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to trends.
This generation tends to want to try new things and always looking to experience new trends. They also have a high tendency for fear of missing out (FOMO), so they are constantly on the lookout for exciting new things to try and experience. This is one reason why pop-up restaurants have performed so well.
Offer Millennials Loyalty Bonuses
Getting the Millennials to visit your restaurant is rarely the hard part. The hard part is winning them over and getting them to become loyal guest. The latter is far-fetched, but it isn’t impossible. As noted, Millennials are pretty brand loyal – if you align yourself well.
Another strategies is to offer loyalty bonuses to Millennials to entice them to want to stay with the restaurant a little. The fact that it is five times more expensive to gain a new customer than retain a previous one makes this even more necessary. Having a loyalty scheme can go a long way in ensuring that millennials come back. But your offerings need to have real value. A $5 coupon is more likely to push a Millennial away from your loyalty program than draw them in, so make sure your offerings are quality and interesting to this generation.
Promote Healthy Food
Compared to previous generations, Millennials pay a lot more attention to eating healthy foods, making it a trend restaurants can leverage to their advantage.
Start by making your menu more transparent. Be open and honest about the ingredients your restaurant uses and where they come from. You can go the extra mile and let Millennials know the number of calories and macros on each plate you serve. Also be sure to offer low-carb and vegan options to widen the pool of potential guests to walk through your door.
Though this can cost extra in terms of food quality and manpower, Millennials have shown to be willing to pay extra for your efforts.
About the Author
Michael Gorman is a highly skilled freelance writer and proofreader from the UK. He is one of the best essay writers providing his best essays at college paper reviews. Being interested in everyday development, he writes various blog posts and discovers new aspects of human existence every day.
