Fanminder Blog

I needed to add memory and so went to “We Fix Macs” on El Camino in Palo Alto. I had a fantastic service experience where the staff showed me my RAM was, errr, running quite low. So while they were re-invigorating my RAM I saw this sign on the counter.

I give the store kudos for:

• Offering a big discount to get me to join/like their social lists. It becomes a no-brainer to join with such a bargain in front of you.
• Even having a sign in the first place.
• Making a nicely designed sign.

But upon a further look, there are areas for improvement:

• The list of benefits is too long and small font. Who wants to read that entire list? Keep your reasons for joining to 1-3 short bullets.
• Their logo takes up a big portion of the sign. Since I’m already in the store, it’s not needed.
• The staff helping me wasn’t too sure about the discount. He asked another staff member who agreed to give me the discount.

To join on Facebook, I opened my Facebook app and searched under “Places” for “We Fix Macs” found them, and then “liked” them. In all, only took less than a minute. Unfortunately, only a fraction of visitors are going to have a smartphone with Facebook on it so they would have to do it at home. Which got me wondering how the store would know the fan joined in order to receive the discount? They’d need to log in and check to see if the fan is a member. Or maybe everyone who walks into the store can do this like I did

The entire experience got me thinking:

• Which wins? Choice or Preference? Join my email, text, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube… the list is only growing. Is choice the enemy of response? or is preference the friend of the consumer? Both? With the proliferation of choices, merchants are now forced to “show them all”
• It’s critical to give an offer for RIGHT NOW. – Getting 20% off my memory for a simple 60 seconds while I’m waiting around is a no-brainer.
• Give a focused set of benefits – long lists of benefits are like throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping something sticks.

This issue isn’t going away and it goes to the heart of fanbase marketing. More in another post.

Social media’s ability to influence consumers should not be underestimated in a restaurant’s marketing strategy. Websites like Facebook provide a unique avenue to not only retain current customers, but to attract new customers to their restaurants, according to a recent Morpace Omnibus Study.

Take wine tasting events, a complex and often expensive process for restaurants to manage. Using social media websites like Facebook can be an efficient way to manage and promote such an event. Wineries have to be called, vintages need to be reviewed and selected, and schedules have to be synchronized.

Getting Fans in Detroit

Restaurants like Andiamo, an Italian restaurant based in the Metropolitan Detroit area, are making these events much more accessible through the use of a Facebook Fan Page.

Andiamo is one of many restaurants that efficiently utilize Facebook to reach their target market and attract new customers to their locations. Under their “Wine” tab, Andiamo has posted an aesthetically pleasing display advertising their Andiamo Wine Events. In addition to the date and location, each event is crafted around a specific region of the world.

Through such wine tasting events as “Demystifying Italy” or “The Wines of South America”, Andiamo has made it quite convenient for wine connoisseurs to select a date to attend, successfully attracting new customers into their restaurants. This new business represents a variety of new customers, many of which could have been a patron to a local restaurant if they had not found the Andiamo Facebook Page.

Effective marketing using Facebook presents restaurants with a prime opportunity to interact with consumers by sharing promotions, coupons, and events with minimal costs. Furthermore, Facebook affords consumers the opportunity to voice support and virally market a favorite restaurant to their Facebook “Friends.”

Notable Facebook Stats

Morpace’s March Omnibus Study brings to light some other notable statistics about Facebook as it relates to restaurants. Of the 1,000 panel respondents who have an active Facebook account, roughly 88 percent reported being a member of a Fan Page (effective April, Facebook began phasing out the Fan Page terminology, instead referring to fans as members who “like” a page). Facebook pages can serve as virtual forums created by restaurants, music bands, or retailers where consumers are allowed to express themselves and the Fan Page originator can disseminate information.

Read the Full Article.

Texting blows away Social and Email marketing with real results. But don’t take my word for it:

“Texting is low-tech, simple and quick, and the response rate is probably three times what it is for e-mailing. Our e-mail program has a larger list, but we’ve seen a 12-percent adoption rate on 25-word messages that take a few minutes to prepare.”

So says Scott Pontikes of Scotty P’s Hamburgers.

Always amazes me how could U.S. small businesses focus so much energy on social when under their nose is at least one answer to generating real business, and not chit chat.

While we’re big proponents of social media and to a lesser degree email marketing, mobile deserves its seat at the table as the piece of the puzzle that delivers guaranteed readability of the business’ message.

Read more here.

If you’re a restaurant, this is a must-read just in from Wall St Journal: http://on.wsj.com/bGmZsz

Key excerpts amount to a playbook on the amazing benefits of free food giveaways.

Out of the 600,000 people who entered the Denny’s contest, 450,000 opted to join the Denny’s Rewards program, which regularly emails updates on new menu items and specials. Denny’s bets these emails will draw more loyal customers to its 1,545 restaurants, Mr. Dillon says.

Jesse Martin camped out overnight this month outside a San Marcos, Texas, Chick-fil-A for a chance to win a year’s worth of chicken sandwiches. The Atlanta-based fast-food chain gives away free meals for a year to the first 100 customers at new stores’ grand openings. So far, Mr. Martin, a 34-year-old college pastor from Austin, Texas, has been to five Chick-fil-A grand openings and won at four of them.

Subway in February announced a food giveaway to promote its “Five Dollar Footlong” sandwich. In it, 71 winners will win free sandwiches for a year, amounting to a $260 gift card. Subway was able to add 400,000 customers to its marketing database with the promotion, says Tony Pace, the company’s chief marketing officer.

An estimated 30% to 40% of free-food coupons are redeemed, says Mr. Flickinger. By contrast, just 1.5% to 2% of coupons offering discounts are used.

This video contest helped add about 68,000 new customers to Quiznos marketing database. “That’s the best way to advertise,” says Trey Hall, chief marketing officer for Quiznos.

There are so many different ways to promote your restaurant, what are you waiting for? Engaging in a public relations campaign, an advertising campaign or a direct marketing campaign can all be fun if you remember that the concept of eating out is supposed to be a great social occasion. Don’t look at this as a chore, but rather as one of the most pleasant jobs associated with running your business.

If you have a good reputation and some loyal customers who you may also be on rather friendly terms with, why not engage them to help you promote your restaurant? Recruit customers to write reviews, contribute blog posts, “tweet” or place posts on their Facebook pages from time to time. This is a very effective way of getting the word out on the street and can be cost effective for you – just give them free appetizers or desserts.

You should go out of your way to get the e-mail address of your customer. This may mean that you have to give away something valuable, a two for one or something to entice them to give you the address. E-mail marketing is surely one of the best ways to promote your restaurant as once they have agreed to receive information from you this opens up a whole world of possibilities.

Read the Full Article.