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In this article:\nCreate a Facebook / Meta page \nAdd lots of photos\nGet customer reviews\nPost regular content\nBuild your following\nBoost posts and create ads\nCustomers are increasingly reaching out to businesses via their Facebook (now Meta, but who are we kidding... everyone still calls it Facebook) pages. Consumers just like to use Facebook as “social proof” before they commit to doing business with a salon they haven’t tried before. \nIf your salon isn’t on Facebook, you could be missing valuable opportunities to gain new customers. We’ll walk you through some of the main ways you can promote your hair or nail salon on Facebook. \nCreate a Facebook / Meta business page\nIn order to promote your salon on Facebook, you first need a business page to promote. Does your salon have a Facebook page already? If so, make sure that you have access to it. \nIf not, follow our step-by-step guide: \nHow to create and claim your Facebook business page\nOnce your Facebook page is set up, you can now start communicating with customers via messenger and engaging with your community. \nIn order to provide the best information for your salon, be sure to include all of the following items on your Facebook page:\nThe name of your salon (this should be the same name that is listed on your \nGoogle My Business listing\n and \nYelp listing\n)\nAddress\nPhone number\nOpen hours (including holiday hours)\nDescription of your salon\nWebsite\nEmail address\nProfile picture (use your logo to enforce your brand)\nCover photo (this can be a picture of your salon or stylists while doing their work)\nServices and prices\nAdd tons of portfolio photos to your Facebook page\nIt is vitally important for salons to add photos of their work on their Facebook page (and all of their social media accounts and review site profiles). Most customers want to see examples of what you can do for them before they ever decide to step foot in your salon. \nMake sure you show off all of your best work on your Facebook page, and be sure to include plenty of variety. Pictures of the range of hairstyles, colors, and nail art that your stylists can do will only help you to attract more customers. \nThese photos also add an extra element of trust and show customers that you really can do what you say you can do. It may be worth it to hire a professional photographer for a day and shoot a lot of pics. If that’s too much of an investment, we’re betting you have a teenage friend, niece, or nephew going through a “photography phase” whom you can bribe.\nGet reviews on your salon’s Facebook page\nOkay, so you have a page, you’ve added photos and info to it—now you need some customer recommendations. Recommendations and reviews on Facebook are very powerful. \nFor one, Facebook will let users know when their Facebook “friends” have left your page a review. And if they have, that is worth much more than the anonymous review of a stranger. \nThe more positive reviews you have on your page, the better opportunity you have to convert the customers who land on your page. \nHere are a few ways you can get some new reviews on your Facebook page:\nSimply ask for reviews. Provide excellent service and go the extra mile, then ask your customer for a review on Facebook. Happy customers don’t always think to leave a review and just need that little bit of encouragement. Remember, never ask for a positive or good review, or offer discounts or free stuff for a good review. Simply let people know that you appreciate their feedback online.\nAdd “Rate us on Facebook” signs in your salon. These can be on the checkout desk and on the front door/window. This is just another little reminder for customers that you are on Facebook and would love to hear from them. \nInclude QR codes or instructions to leave a Facebook review on your receipts. \nPost regular content\nNow that you’re on Facebook and customers are starting to engage with your page, it’s important to post some valuable content. \nThe best way to get more followers and customers from Facebook is to show off your work and provide valuable tips. \nHere are some ideas for some great content you can post to really get your followers to engage with your page:\nThe work that you do–hairstyles, haircuts, hair colors, nail art, etc.\nTips for how to do a specific hairstyle or nail technique\nHair care/nail care tips\nVideo tutorials\nEmployee features\nSpecial deals or promotions\nIncrease your Facebook following with boosted posts\nYour Facebook page isn’t going to take you very far if no one can see your posts, so it’s crucial to build up your page’s following. \nBeyond getting new reviews and posting content, one powerful way to increase your salon’s Facebook following is to boost your posts to local audiences. \nWhenever you create a post on your Facebook page, you have the ability to “boost” this post as an ad. That means that you can pay Facebook a small amount of money to share your content with specific audiences in your local community. \nWith Facebook’s targeting capabilities you can choose the age, gender, interests, and locations of your intended audience so that your ads are only shown to those who are likely to do business with you. \nThen you can select a budget and how long you want your add to run, and watch it take off!\nOnce you’ve boosted a post, you’ll likely start getting reactions on it from community members—especially if they recognize someone in your post. When people “like” your boosted posts, you can then easily invite them to “like” your page. \nThis is a great way to increase your following and spread awareness of your salon in your area. \nSet up Facebook Ads Manager\nIf you want some more customizable Facebook advertising options for your salon, you would benefit from setting up an Ads Manager account.\nFacebook Ads Manager allows you to set specific goals for your ad campaigns, like getting more conversions or spreading brand awareness. You can customize your ad copy, use videos, or add in more custom images. \nThen, similar to how you would for a boosted post, you can select your budget, duration, and target audiences for your ad.  \nLearn how to \nset up your Ads Manager\n account. 

6 ways to promote your hair or nail salon on Facebook

In this 8-minute read:\nFree ways to advertise your restaurant online\nFree ways to advertise in your community\nLet’s be real here, advertising can get expensive! We know it, you know it, everyone knows it. But it’s also so important for gaining exposure, and ultimately more customers, for your restaurant. We don’t believe that you must have a huge marketing budget to gain some awesome reach, though. Here are 20 free ways that you can advertise your restaurant locally as you’re starting out. \n1. Claim your online business profiles\nThe internet is a wonderful place where huge companies like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor have created free platforms for businesses to list their information in order to create the best user experience possible. So take advantage! These online profiles determine how your restaurant shows up in these different search engines. Help your customers and your business by claiming your online profiles. \nWe even have some tutorials ready for you:\nHow to claim your Google My Business listing\nHow to claim your Yelp business listing\nHow to claim your business listing on TripAdvisor\n2. Get and respond to customer reviews\nOnline reviews are crucial nowadays for converting new customers. Keep up good business practices, have great customer service, and serve awesome food and you should have no problem getting some really good reviews. But happy customers don’t always think to leave good reviews and sometimes need a little nudge in the right direction. \nHere are some ideas to get new reviews:\nAsk for them! (Especially after you hear someone raving about their favorite menu item.)\nPut up a sign that encourages customers to leave reviews (just try to avoid incentivizing customers with gift cards or giveaways because Google does not like that). \nInclude a link to your online review platforms in their email receipt\nInclude instructions to leave a review on all receipts\nOnce the reviews start coming in, it’s important to respond to them too. Interact with and engage your customers! This shows that you love what you do, and ultimately that’s what most people want from their restaurant experience. Plus, research shows that businesses that regularly respond to reviews earn up to 49% more revenue!\n3. Post your restaurant on free listing websites\nThere are tons of free advertising sites for restaurants out there. Take advantage of this and start getting your restaurant listed on these websites. We’ve even got your first list of 25 restaurant listing websites ready to go!\nClick here to read \n24 free listing sites every restaurant should be on\n. \n4. Create a free website \nDisclaimer: Websites are never 100% free if you want to own your domain or need it to be hosted, but they can come pretty close to it. \nWhile free websites aren’t always the most desirable, they are great when you’re on a budget crunch. And there are plenty of ways to create a pretty nice looking website for free. \nHere are a few of our favorites:\nWix \nSquarespace\nGoogle My Business\n (this one can be completely free)\nCustomers typically want to see menus, pricing, photos, and to get a vibe for your restaurant before making the decision to sit down and eat there. Include all of this on your website and make it easily accessible in your online listings.\nToo busy for a website? With a free Solo profile, even the smallest local restaurant, pop-up, food cart, or hole-in-the-wall can have a helpful, functional SEO-friendly online presence for free. Building and maintaining a traditional website is simply too much for many restaurant owners to deal with. This is one reason a Solo profile can be such an amazing benefit. \nYour customizable Solo profile can list your business’s location, relevant contact information, links to your social pages, and any business details you want included. Sign up at\n \nSolo.co\n.\n5. Boost your SEO \nGet your website in front of more customers with the help of search engine optimization (SEO). This is basically how you get any website to show up on Google and other search engines. Claiming your Google Business listing and other online listings sites are a great first step. \nClick here for some more \nfree ways to boost your local search rankings\n. \n6. Participate in forums\nOnline forums like Quora and Reddit, and especially local community forums, can help to promote your restaurant. Create an account and search for questions about things that are relevant to your restaurant, maybe “how to cook the perfect pizza” or “best ways to boil an egg.” Post some helpful answers and at the end add an invite to come try out your restaurant. \nYou can also write up your own articles or post entertaining how-to videos on these platforms. If that kind of content goes viral, you’ll have people coming from all over just to see the cool place that produced that content (and of course to try your awesome food). \n7. Write a blog\nBlogs are great for boosting SEO as well as providing helpful content that promotes your restaurant and gives value to online users. \nHere are some blog ideas you can use for your restaurant:\nShare photos from a community event you participated in \nWrite a helpful how-to article (how to boil an egg properly, perhaps) \nCreate a video tutorial \nShare recipes (no secrets, of course)\n8. Build up your social media presence\nMake sure your restaurant is active on social media. This is an incredibly beneficial way to promote brand awareness and to take advantage of the power of “shares” and “likes” on the internet. Setup a Facebook business page, Instagram account, YouTube account, Snapchat, etc. and go crazy. Just make sure that you have someone who is actively posting to these whatever accounts you choose—at least a few times a week is a great goal to have here. \nSome ideas for your social shares:\nYour food, of course\nNew menu items\nSweet deals\nEmployee favorites \nCustomer favorites (tag them!)\n9. Join your local chamber of commerce\nMost communities have a local \nchamber of commerce\n. Find yours and ask to get your restaurant listed on their website. They typically provide some free resources for local businesses like promotional materials and marketing tips to help you get your restaurant off the ground. \n10. Host local events at your restaurant\nHave you ever done a paint night or slam poetry contest? Try hosting some local events to give community members a fun night to look forward to. Blast that event on social media, share with everyone you know, and post about it on your blog! Not only do these events excite customers, but they’re likely to buy food and drink while participating and come back for more events.\nHere are some ideas for events you could try:\nPaint night by a local artist \nKaraoke night\nLive bands\nArt galleries\nWine tasting\nHost a fundraiser\n11. Ask customers for feedback\nBeyond asking for online reviews, you can send out surveys or ask customers for feedback in-store. You could even have a customer feedback jar or box in the restaurant. This might not directly promote your business publicly (except when customers see your jar full of feedback), but it can help you know where you can improve and what your customers already love about your restaurant. \n12. Start a loyalty program\nWho doesn’t love a good deal? Start a loyalty program to provide dedicated customers with some awesome incentives to keep coming back. There are a few free resources out there, like Loyverse, or you could always start with the punchcard route. \nCheck out \n6 elements of an effective customer loyalty program\n to help you get started. \n13. Host a webinar\nEmbrace the live video capabilities of Facebook and YouTube and host a webinar for your dedicated followers (and maybe even gain a few more). Host a Q&A with your head chef, do a tutorial on how to plate food with perfection, or share the fun history of how your restaurant got started. \n14. Volunteer in the community\nGet major brownie points with some good ole fashioned philanthropy. Customers love to see the restaurants they frequent out and about in the community. Volunteer at 5k in the summer and hand out drinks and snacks from your restaurant, join community holiday parades, or host a fundraiser at your restaurant.\n15. Host a cooking class\nShow off your skills (without giving away your secrets) by hosting a cooking class at your restaurant. Share it on Facebook, post flyers, and get the word out. Show off your fun side and that you want to be involved.\n16. Celebrate funky holidays with sweet offers\nEver heard of “National Doughnut Day”? Krispy Kreme is a prime example of going above and beyond to celebrate their national holiday with free doughnuts at all of their locations on National Doughnut Day. Find the national day that resonates best with your restaurant and do something fun, whether that’s offering a fun discount or giving away free treats to people who dress up a certain way. And share it on social media and your website!\n17. Print out flyers and hand them out like crazy\nNever underestimate the power of flyers. Design some for your restaurant that promote an upcoming event or fun deals or just that you’re new to town and want to get to know the community. You could even ask local college students in a graphic design program to help out—it’s good portfolio piece for them and free promotional material for you. \n18. Make a free promotional video\nMake a fun promotional video and post it on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, your website, and anywhere else you can think of. Cool resources like \nBiteable\n will help you create a free video that is sure to impress. \n19. Post on Craigslist\nCreate a comical Craigslist post to give your restaurant some more exposure. Things like this can go viral and keep the customers wanting more. Look to find other opportunities for free local online classifieds, too.  \n20. Let local organizations/groups use your space\nEveryone wants a cool place to hold meetings. Let book clubs, community board meetings, PTA meetings, and other local groups reserve a space at your restaurant to have their monthly meeting. They’ll order food and tell others where they hold their meetings, leaving more people wanting to do the same. \nTry some or all of these tips and see what works best for your restaurant!

20 free advertising ideas for restaurants

Acquiring new customers is essential for growth, but getting new people in the door is only half the battle. How are you going to get them to come back? If you’re answer is to simply provide a great experience, think again. Up to \n80% of customers \nwho describe themselves as satisfied don’t return for another visit. \nThat’s crazy, but it’s also very telling. These days, simply satisfying a customer isn’t enough, especially as options and distractions continue to grow. Small businesses spend a lot of time, money, and attention attracting new customers, but repeat business is a vital part of any healthy bottom line. \nThe good news: It’s not too late to improve customer engagement and retention, and there are several ways to reward your customers for their loyalty and encourage repeat business. \nThe better news: Doing so will benefit your business in truly remarkable ways. A mere 5% increase in customer retention typically increases profits \n25 to 95%\n. \nThe bottom line: Customers want a relationship with the businesses they support. The more valued customers feel, the more likely they are to shop at that location again. \nWhile any program to boost customer retention is better than nothing, the programs that work the best are the programs that don’t feel like programs. Customers prefer programs that engage and make them feel like they’re a part of the family. \nWe pulled together a list of 5 ideas that can be used in nearly every industry or type of business. We hope they spark some ideas and help you put together a program for your customers. \nHow can you tell if your customer loyalty program is efficient? Just follow \nthese six principles\n.\n5 ideas to get your creative juices flowing\n1. Buy one, get one
\nBuy-one-get-one (BOGO) offers have been around for ages because they work, but there’s nothing magic about the number “one.” You can play with the ratios the offer structures.\n“\nBuy three tune-ups, get fourth free!\n” or \n“buy two, get one free!”\n both capture the effectiveness of a traditional BOGO offer. \nWhile BOGO offers are more in the realm of a discount or coupon than the rewards program, they can easily be harnessed to increase customer retention and motivate repeat purchasing. They could be a key component to your loyalty program, and best of all, they’re easy to put in place. \nPROS: Time-tested and still a compelling offer for most shoppers.\nCONS: Hard to repeat over time and can cut into your margins.\nTIPS: Compensate for the downside of BOGO programs by offering items that don’t cost you much, if anything. Decreasing the cost of the offer will make it more repeatable. Or you could increase the level of exclusivity for bigger deals. Extending the offer to fewer customers will keep costs manageable and still reward your truly loyal members.\n2. Punch cards\nPunch cards are another classic customer loyalty program that rewards the daily, weekly, or monthly shopper. They are one of the easiest programs to start, and people understand them.  \nThese cards themselves are not, however, the most compelling offer. They can be highly effective when your business or service is one that warrants frequent purchasing, but if the purchases are higher priced items or services, they won’t be as compelling.\nPROS: Cheap to start, low cost to the business, applicable to nearly every type of business, and allows for flexible reward options. This makes this an easy program to try. It could be a great place to start.\nCONS: Customers often don’t carry their cards, so they don’t get to participate as much as they’d like. Often requires many purchases before getting the first reward, which disincentivizes customers and doesn’t stimulate loyalty.\nTIPS: Keep it simple and light. It’s better to have smaller rewards in between the big rewards. For example, every third punch gets a small reward; every ninth punch earns your customer a more substantial and desirable prize.\n3. Buy now and save later\nNot all clubs have to be “clubs.” In other words, some businesses don’t lend themselves to the average loyalty program. If you’re in an industry where frequent purchases aren’t common—like the automotive industry, where 4-5 visits a year is a lot—your program could simply be along the lines of, \n“buy four oil changes for the price of three today!”\nThis kind of program is highly effective at converting one-time buyers and bringing in higher amounts of revenue. You could win a year’s worth of patronage on their first or second visit, which will open up opportunities for upsells and cross-sells throughout the year.\nPROS: An immediate win, especially for businesses where it’s more difficult to inspire repeat business.\nCONS: Not the most relationship-forming customer loyalty program. It feels a bit more like a discount or coupon.\nTIPS: Find ways to increase the level of engagement on and between each subsequent visit. You’ve won their business for the next few transactions, so be sure you’re gearing up for a renewal when the initial offer finishes. Find ways to upsell and cross-sell.\n4. Host local events (if you have a business location)
\nLocal events are a huge opportunity to rub shoulders with your customers. As much as customers want a good deal, often they’re more than happy to pay full price to support your company. They just want to feel like they belong and are part of a larger community.\n\n63% of customers say they want local business to invite them to events.\n\nEvery fall, right around the first snowfall, the snowboard shop I used to manage would host the local “Rail Jam.” They’d truck in ice shavings from the local skating rinks, head to the park to set up some rails and boxes and use the ice to build a fun obstacle course for snowboarders and skiers. It was open to the public for a price, but loyalty members got in free. Other business owners would chip in and sponsor the one-day event, but the community would talk about it for weeks before and after, and looked forward to it all summer long. \nThis same shop sold bicycles and had an open invitation for Tuesday night road bike rides. No cost to the customer or the business. No memberships. It was just an opportunity to enjoy the activities they have in common with their customers. That, more than anything, formed lasting relationships and repeated business. Remember, the best programs often don’t feel like programs.\nPROS: Community building. Provides a truly exclusive experience and by working with fellow local business owners, you’ll be able to network with their best and most loyal customers, too. It benefits both your existing customers while attracting new customers in the community.\nCONS: Can be pricey and time-consuming, depending on the type of the event.\nTIPS: Don’t get too far ahead. Listen to your customers. They’ll often express things they wish existed in the community that you could provide. And remember to keep the goal in mind. Oft times these local events can distract you with other initiatives that distract from the purpose of the program.\n5. Educate
\nEducation takes your customer relationship to the next level. It provides face-to-face interactions that will last much longer than that 15% discount or another punch in their card. The outcomes will also be much more beneficial and far-reaching for you and the customer.\nOne of the most commonly expressed desires customers have about local businesses is more tips and advice, especially if you run a shop for hobbyists. Budding enthusiasts and seasoned vets alike love to learn the latest tips and tricks about the products and services they use. Imparting your knowledge and years of insight is something only you can provide, and customers want to hear it. More than that, you’ll satisfy a shopper’s number one want: a hands-on experience before buying.\n\n80% of customers want more tips and advice from local businesses\n.\nPROS: Highly engaging, personal, and compelling. Free workshops, DIY workshops, or how-to events don’t have to cost the business anything more than a few hours of your time once a month.\nCONS: Hosting an educational setting can be a little time consuming to prep. Some industries don’t lend themselves the mass attraction of what you offer.\nTIPS: Take advantage of your seasonality. If there is a time of year when business is typically low in sales, you can take that time to boost customer retention with a workshop that takes a couple of hours. If you’re uncertain about the ability to incorporate such an event, then start with a small group of your best customers first. Invite your friends and family to participate and provide insight on how to make it more compelling and engaging before you take it to your, other loyal customers. \nKeep it real — as in real life and face to face\nCustomers have never felt less attached to the businesses they support. They’ve not been given the opportunity to engage with you beyond online searches and the few times they’ve been in your store. It has never been easier, or more important, for small businesses to form a person-to-person relationship with their customers, especially their most valuable, loyal customers. The more authentic and personal the connection, the better.\nWhereas big corporations have to rely on exclusively digital relationships with their customers, small businesses can engage digitally and in person. People who shop locally already have an attraction to supporting small businesses. Make it easier for them to support yours and feel like they’re a part of the process. You won’t regret it. 

5 simple strategies to keep your customers coming back

In this article:\nBest restaurant blogs to keep up with\nGreat podcasts restaurant owners should listen to\nFree online courses and webinars for restaurant owners\nOwning a business isn’t for the faint of heart, especially if that business is a restaurant. Taking your restaurant to the online world creates a new realm of challenges, from online reviews to managing a social media account for each of your locations. And this digital world is only getting busier with new technologies and methods that you’re being told you need to start using.\nBut in the midst of all the online ads being thrown at you and peers telling you just how you need to run your business online, how do you sort out what you should really be doing for your restaurant? Listen to the experts! With tons of \nfree ways to grow your business\n, we’ve gathered a list of 10 free online resources that every restaurant owner should be using.\n1. Restaurant Engine blog\nRestaurant Engine is a company that has built their knowledge on creating phenomenal restaurant websites, but it’s their blog that we really want to direct your attention to. They are continuously learning and updating their knowledge base of how restaurant owners can market and grow their business. From how to market your bar to how to design the layout of your restaurant, they can offer any restaurant owner great insights. \n3 must-reads from Restaurant Engine:\nThe Best Bar Marketing Ideas—Game Changers\nTop 3 Technology Trends for Restaurants\nHow To Integrate Online Ordering into Your Facebook and Email Campaigns\n2. Constant Contact—a simple recipe for social media success\nSocial media is ever-growing, and frankly, it’s an important place for every business to be. Social media outlets like Facebook and Instagram are awesome places to be to help enhance your brand and create awareness in your local community—especially if your business is new. Constant Contact put together \nthis hour-long (free!) webinar\n on how to get started with social media, from what content to post and how to figure out the best social media channels to use for your business. \n3. RestaurantOwner.com\nRestaurantOwner.com is another blog site that is complete with hundreds of resources for restaurant owners to use in their businesses. Their resource library is full of webinars, online training courses, helpful articles, downloads, workshops, surveys, and much more. \n3 must-reads from RestaurantOwner.com:\n15 Ideas to Make Your Restaurant More Family Friendly\nHow to Tap into the Magic of Social Media Marketing\nDelivering Your Ultimate Guest Experience (Free Online Training Course!)\n4. Alison\nAlison.com has 1,000 free online courses, several of which are extremely beneficial to restaurant owners and their employees. From hospitality and food safety courses to marketing and social media, you can find hours of great training material for you and your staff members of all levels. This resource does require a user login, but it’s easy and free to set up.\nTop 3 recommended courses:\nDiploma in Food Safety\nSocial Media Strategy for Small Businesses\nFundamentals of Marketing Your Business Online\n5. Open For Business\nOpen For Business, created by Open Table, compiles hundreds of articles from top industry experts. This site covers restaurateurs, behind the scenes of successful restaurants, Q&A’s with famous chefs, and other insider information from Open Table’s own data collection. This comprehensive library has helpful resources for every restaurant owner. \n3 must-reads on Open For Business:\n\nUnpacking Social Media: What Restaurants Need to Know in 2019\n\n\nHospitality, Reviews & Repeat Guests: Why Personalized Experiences Matter\n\n\nREPORT: What Guests Want in a Dining Experience – and What Restaurants Are Getting Wrong\n\n6. Upserve’s Restaurant Insider\nUpserve’s Restaurant Insider is a must-have in your list of free resources to keep up with industry news, marketing tips, and the latest insights into the world of the restaurateur. With case studies, media tips, and their own free online resource library, this is a site you won’t want to miss. \n3 must-reads on Restaurant Insider:\n8 Restaurant Grand Opening Ideas That Will Bring A Crowd\nAdapting Your Restaurant to the Needs of Disabled Customers and Employees\nEasy and Inexpensive Restaurant Video Marketing Ideas\n7. Restaurant Unstoppable\nRestaurant Unstoppable is a podcast produced by Eric Cacciatore, a devout student in the hospitality and management industry, and it is his mission to help and inspire restaurant owners around the globe. With over 600 podcasts surrounding the world of restaurants and interviews with the most successful restaurant owners around, you’ll quickly be hooked and learn something new every time you listen. \n3 must-listen podcasts on Restaurant Unstoppable:\nBruce Irving On Restaurant Email Marketing Dos, Do Nots, & Tools\nDamian Mandola On Attention To Detail\nDavid Scott Peters On 7 Steps For Creating Great Managers\n8. National Restaurant Association\nThe National Restaurant Association is always putting out new webinars and commenting on issues in the industry. They are continuously expanding their content and gathering new information to help restaurant owners everywhere. \n3 must-reads from National Restaurant Association:\n \nDigital change is driving the future of the restaurant industry\nReady for Gen Z? 5 ways to capture this influential market\nBig data and the restaurant industry: The only way to compete\n9. Modern Restaurant Management\nModern Restaurant Management (MRM) is an online magazine created to tell the stories of restaurant owners around the world, specifically so you can learn from others just like you! With everything you need to know from the ground up of starting up a restaurant, MRM posts new articles or videos every day. \n3 must-reads on MRM:\n\nThe Three Best Social Media Tips for Restaurants\n\n\nEight Video Marketing Tips for Restaurants\n\n\nHow to Make the Media Fall In Love With You and Your Restaurant\n\n10. TouchBistro blog\nTouchBistro is a solution for POS systems for restaurants, and they offer a multitude of helpful insights on their blog. With customer stories about POS systems, a video library full of tips and tricks, and a continuous flow of new articles, you’ll want to add them to your list of restaurant owner reads. \n3 must-reads on TouchBistro blog\n5 Restaurant Technologies That Can Help You Cope with Rising Minimum Wage\nThe Total Guide to Writing a Marketing Plan for Fast Casual Restaurants\n\nHow to Style Your Restaurant’s Food for Instagram\n\nThere you go! 10 free online resources to help your restaurant be the best it can be.


10 free online resources for restaurant owners

One of the biggest opportunities for small businesses is to provide better customer service than larger competitors. Why is stellar small business customer service so important? Consider these statistics:\nNearly 80% of customers have pulled the plug on an intended purchase based on poor customer service, according to a survey by American Express.\nA Glance report revealed that more than 90% of customers who have a negative service experience with your company will avoid giving you repeat business.\nWhen a customer has a negative experience with your business, it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for it.\nTo understand what constitutes excellent customer service, you must first know what to avoid. By upsetting or annoying your clientele through common errors when serving them, you can end up sending them directly to your competitors.\nHere are the top 5 customer service pet peeves to avoid like the plague:\nFailing to answer consumer questions\nAccording to Harris Interactive, consumers say companies don’t adequately answer their customer service questions half of the time. Never ignore customer concerns or fail to provide a convenient avenue for them to ask questions. By responding promptly and honestly to feedback and queries, you’ll gain competitive advantage over the other half of businesses that aren’t getting this point right.\nSeparating customers from a human touch\nFew experiences are more frustrating than getting stuck in an endless loop on the phone that leads from one recorded message to another, with no way to speak to a real person. In fact, an American Express survey found that around 7 in 10 people will hang up the phone on your business if you don’t provide an option for them to talk to a live person. And be sure that they can reach someone quickly (in two minutes or less), since three-quarters of customers feel it takes too long to reach a human voice by phone. No one wants to hear the cringe-worthy recorded message, “Please continue to hold.”\nProviding inconsistent service\nHere’s a shocking statistic: 99% of customers feel that companies are inconsistent in meeting their expectations. Clients need to be able to rely on your business, which means everyone who works for you needs to be on the same page in providing a high level of consistent service. Be sure to offer the necessary training to new hires, regularly manage expectations, and enforce accountability around this critical business deliverable.\nBeing treated with indifference or rudeness\nIn his book \nHow to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life\n, Dr. Michael LeBoeuf found that the top reason businesses lose customers relates to poor treatment. Whether it’s you as the business owner, one of your managers, or an employee who mistreats your customers, the result is the same: it hurts your bottom line. Emphasize to your employees that a positive attitude is critical when interacting with customers, and that indifference or rudeness will not be tolerated.\nNot being recognized as an individual\nContactPoint Client Research discovered that employees only ask for the customer’s name 1 in 5 times. Yet great customer service is about building relationships, and personalization is an important part of the equation. By getting to know your customers and recognizing them as people, you’ll build rapport and trust, which can lead to repeat business and referrals.\nTurning it around\nIt’s smart to encourage customers to contact you directly with feedback about their experience with your business — particularly if they’ve been subject to customer service pet peeves like these five above. If you can solve customers’ problems with a solution that ultimately makes them feel good about the service they received, you may avoid a negative tirade on a customer review site.\nWhat’s more, research shows that you can sometimes make up for poor customer service if you take the right action after the fact. Lee Resources reports that if you listen to a customer’s complaint and resolve the matter in his or her favor, you’ll get repeat business 70% of the time.\nSources:\n
\nhttps://about.americanexpress.com/news/pr/2011/csbar.aspx\n
\nhttp://ww2.glance.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Counting-the-customer_-Glance_eBook-4.pdf\n
\nhttps://conversational.com/9-great-facts-about-customer-service/\n
\nhttps://www.helpscout.com/75-customer-service-facts-quotes-statistics/\n
\nhttps://ww2.glance.net/resources-blog/blog/\n
\nhttps://medium.com/@Courteous_Answering_Service/customer-service-and-telephone-statistics-your-business-should-know-1481b2c8aba\n

Avoid these 5 customer service pet peeves

In this article:\nWhy small businesses should consider Yelp advertising\nHow does local business advertising on Yelp work?\nHow much does it cost to advertise on Yelp?\nLove it or hate it, Yelp is a big deal for small businesses. Yelp says that 82% of their users visit intending to buy, and 89% of those who do buy make those purchases within a week of visiting. So it might make good business sense for you to take advantage of advertising on Yelp. \nWhy Yelp advertising may be right for your small business\nIt may be worth it to your small business to budget for Yelp advertising, because not only do you get premium placement on the #1 local/regional website on desktop and mobile (according to a comScore report), but when you pay for advertising on Yelp, you get visibility on other platforms as well. \nMobile \n“near me” searches\n are increasing in popularity every day, with over 200% growth in recent years. And when you pay for premium advertising placement on Yelp, your ad can appear not only on relevant targeted local search pages on Yelp, but on your competitors’ Yelp business pages, as well as “other properties.” (Click \nhere\n to find Yelp’s master advertising terms and conditions.)\nAppearing on competitors’ Yelp business pages can be particularly valuable, since potential customers may not even be aware that there are other local options to consider in the category they’re browsing. If your Yelp ad shows up on a competitor’s page and you have a great star rating and reviews, customers might decide to visit you instead.\nNaturally, when you set up Yelp ads for your business, you get promoted across all Yelp platforms, including desktop, mobile website, and the mobile Yelp app.\nHow do I set up Yelp advertising for my business?\nThe first thing you need to do is \nclaim your business listing\n on Yelp. (Click for our easy how-to article.) This may sound obvious, but one study showed that less than half of online business listings have been claimed. Plus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple online business reviews sites make more money!\nAfter you’ve claimed your listing, you should optimize your profile by adding high-quality photos and other “next-level” info, as we discuss in our article, \n25 free local advertising ideas for small businesses\n.\n(Image)\n\nWhen your Yelp profile is as good as it can be, and you’ve confirmed the accuracy and completeness of your listing, then you can sign up for Yelp’s self service ads \nhere\n, or call Yelp’s business owner help line at (877) 767-9357 and ask them to walk you through the Yelp advertising signup process and send you a purchase order with information on on-Yelp and off-Yelp ad pricing.\nThen you can select your level of monthly spending and choose whether you want to participate in the Yelp Cost-Per-Click (“CPC”) Auto-bidding Program described briefly below.\nThere are lots of \nfree tools\n you can use to boost your Yelp success, but Yelp advertising is not one of them. It’s going to cost you. Let’s talk about expense.\nHow much does it cost to advertise on Yelp?\nThe cost for Yelp advertising is based on your budget, your preferences, and your local market, so we can only speculate about what it will cost for you. However, you can get an idea of how it works by reading Yelp’s master advertising terms.\nFor ads appearing on Yelp-owned pages, you’ll probably be using the Yelp Ads Cost-Per-Click (“CPC”) Auto-bidding Program. It’s complicated and variable based on many factors, but basically, when you sign up for Yelp advertising you can decide whether to participate in the auto-bidding program for ad impressions. \nIf another Yelp advertiser is competing for the same ad space based on multiple factors, then Yelp automatically bids up to your maximum monthly CPC budget, which you set and can modify at any time. If you win the “auction,” Yelp places your ad and you pay the final price per click based on the amount necessary to beat other advertisers.\nIf there are \nno\n competing advertisers in an auction, your ad is displayed and you pay the “minimum bid price per click,” up to your monthly maximum. \nFor advertising impressions \noutside\n of the Yelp-branded arena of ownership, Yelp “will deliver the Ad Impressions to enhance the quality and number of Clicks that Client receives from such properties. Yelp will not exceed the Client’s Maximum Monthly CPC Budget in any given month.”\nThis is important because depending on local competition and other factors, your CPC could easily be several dollars, and that can add up quickly. At a theoretical CPC of $5, if you get 500 clicks you’ll be spending $2500 a month.\nBut you can set a $500/month limit (or whatever works best for your budget) so if you get a ton of impressions and clicks rapidly, Yelp automatically will stop displaying your ad (and charging you for it), until the next month or whenever your max spending period rolls over.  \nIt’s important to remember that these are just “impressions” and clicks, not sales. But if you want to stand out in a crowded Yelp marketspace and increase your visibility to local customers, Yelp advertising could be well worth it for you.\nSources:\n
\nhttps://biz.yelp.com/advertise\n


144 articles found in “Marketing”

6 ways to promote your hair or nail salon on Facebook

20 free advertising ideas for restaurants

5 simple strategies to keep your customers coming back

10 free online resources for restaurant owners

Avoid these 5 customer service pet peeves

Yelp advertising: an intro for small business owners

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