Even though the growth of the restaurant industry is evident post the lifting of lockdown, it may take time for it to recover completely. In the fight against COVID-19, online food delivery proved to be the saviour for traditional brick-and-mortar restaurants. How did these restaurants manage to reach new audiences in such a short span of time? The answer is smart marketing strategies. Marketing has been a central element in helping customers discover the restaurants that offer online food delivery services. Through various marketing channels, restaurants have been able to connect with their customers and compel them to order by providing them with different discounts and offers.
5 Marketing Channels Used By Middle East Restaurateurs
In this article, we bring to you the 5 key marketing channels which the restaurant operators in the Middle East leveraged to attract more customers.
1. Social Media
Social media, in this tech-savvy world, is a key asset when it comes to marketing campaigns. To reach people accustomed to their phones and highly active on social media, restaurant operators have started running interactive visual and text-based content for building brand awareness and conversion. You might miss out on a huge chunk of customers if you’re not using the various social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to your advantage. As per the PRIME report, around 94% of the restaurant operators in the Middle East have begun connecting with audiences over social media since the pandemic. The statistic illustrates the fact that social media can make a big difference to a restaurant’s long-term growth.
2. Newsletters
Email- newsletters are ideal for helping potential customers discover your restaurant and drive them to order for the first time. Email marketing is considered to be highly effective, even better than channels like social media in terms of engagement. As per a McKinsey report, email marketing is 40 percent more likely to get you new leads and customers. Email newsletters help brands spread awareness about the various discounts, offers, and new additions restaurants introduce from time to time. They further tend to build a good rapport with the customers.
3. Digital Marketing
Digital marketing is indispensable for restaurant marketing today. It covers search, display, SMS and in-app, and many other channels It allows restaurant brands to use contextual messages to spread the word about themselves. Ultimately, it plays a key role in exposing your restaurant to the ideal consumer segments, driving average order value and bottom-line growth. You can promote your restaurant on different channels through PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns. Furthermore, you can also list your restaurant on Google My Business to let customers find your restaurant when they search for one on Google.
4. Influencer Marketing
Partnering with a food influencer is also gaining popularity among restaurants interested in promoting their brand. Most of the customers engage with different social media platforms and tend to follow bloggers and influencers. Therefore, using food influencers to reach new audiences is always recommended. The PRIME report highlights that 26.3 percent of the respondents in the Middle East use influencer marketing to draw more customers. After all, what can be better than an expert recommending your restaurant to the public.
5. Blogging
Blogging is a cost-effective way for restaurants to grow their market. It is a form of digital marketing that targets a defined audience through content creation and distribution. For example, you can share news and updates about popular in-house events, your best delicacies and many other things through a blog to let people know what your restaurant is all about. The PRIME report shows that around 19 percent of the Middle East restaurant operators utilize content marketing. Even though content marketing is not utilized to its full potential as of now, it is expected to grow in the future.
Being a restaurant owner, you know how important omnichannel marketing can be to uplift your restaurant. Take inspiration from the aforementioned tips and improvise according to the needs of the market you operate in. Carry out a proper customer segmentation and then decide which channel suits best for your target audience.
Download our PRIME report (Middle East edition) to know more about the GCC F&B industry.
