The Importance Of Questionnaires

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When you have managed your restaurant for many years, you may have developed a certain way of doing things.  Your routine has always done well with regard to your business and you may not see the need to change anything.  Your restaurant may only be three-quarters full when you are open but your return is fairly good and you are satisfied.  You may also have noticed that your competition is getting more business than you lately.  How can you remain competitive if you don’t see any flaws in your business strategies?  One way of learning what others think is to use Direct Mail Marketing or Email Marketing to send out questionnaires.

Ask What Customers Think

These questions must be asked politely and concisely.  If sentences run on, the readers may misinterpret what you want to know or just lose interest altogether.  Thank your guests for their last visit to your restaurant and tell them how much you value their opinion.  Also let them know that you are asking these questions to serve them better and get their ideas of what they thought needed to be improved at their last visit.

• How was the service?
• Were tables, chairs, tablecloths and napkins clean?
• How was the food? (hot, tasty, enough, too much, just right)
• Should the menu be expanded?
• Was the dessert selection to your liking?
• Was the wine list adequate or just right?
• What about the ambience of the restaurant?
• Parking (convenient, was valet parking satisfactory, safe)
• Were restaurant hours convenient?
• How hard was it to get a reservation?

These are just some of the questions that could be asked.  If you would rather ask fewer questions, postcard marketing may be adequate but not necessarily as suitable unless cards are folded with a return tear-out section.  

Get Your Answers

Using email, you can get your answers quickly and without paying postage.  However, if you decide on direct mail marketing, be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope for the guests’ convenience.  You probably have your own ideas on how to improve business, but if you need more tips on how to spruce up your business, you can find them at http://guestcontact.com. 

Email Marketing Is Immediate Marketing

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If you want to get the word out quickly, about anything, email is the way to do it.  If there are seasonal foods, like perhaps venison, that are hard to come by during the rest of the year, you may want to get the word out to let people know.  This will bring the connoisseurs of wildlife to your restaurant.  The announcement has to be fairly fast in order to get the freshest meat to your dinner guests as quickly as possible.  Email marketing is a big help in that respect.  In fact, you can show your entire menu, including these seasonal items, in your email.

Share Any News

Direct Mail Marketing or Postcard Marketing are great vehicles for information distribution.  Any news you want to share with your guests, like perhaps the addition of a new pastry chef to your restaurant, can be done quickly and efficiently by sending out letters and announcements.  Email Marketing is, of course, the fastest of any mail marketing process.  It is a good idea not to forget to update new addresses, change of names and new family members to your list.  

Keep Sensitive Information Safe

Since you are in possession of some semi-personal information when you have an email list, you must protect this information.  No one else should be able to access the names on your list and certainly no one else should know the birthdays, the names, and the addresses of any of your clients.  It is a trust you must hold sacred if you want your customers to trust you and keep a good relationship with you and your business.  When email is impossible, make sure you don’t overlook your guests that do not use a computer.  Postcard Marketing is a great idea in such instances because it still gets your news to your customer and they can enjoy the same knowledge and benefits as email recipients.

If you are not quite sure which type of marketing is best suited for what you want to do, why not visit http://guestcontact.com.  You will get new ideas and more inspiration on how to move forward with your restaurant. 

Offer Members Something Unique With Your Email Marketing

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Whether you contact your customers via email marketing or with direct mail marketing through the postal services, you want to make sure you do not lose their patronage.  One way to keep them interested is to offer a patron membership.  This membership can be free or for a minimal cost that could be recovered with one or two visits.  A membership could offer certain perks, like getting a favorite table if calling in by three hours before arriving for dinner.  This means that you will have to be vigilant about having that table free at least a half hour before the guest members arrive.  

More Visits, More Points

A membership could be handled like frequent flier miles.  After a certain number of dinners, there may be an upgrade or a free dinner available for a member.  Combining a birthday with a free dinner could get you perhaps a second dinner free.  Another perk could be a nice take-home surprise in the form of a special dessert or a bottle of wine or even a gift card.  There are many ways to put together special memberships to entice your guests to return time and time again.  

Members Are Special

Membership offers are a great way of also bonding with your guests.  It is like a club.  When members enter, they should expect a warm welcome that lets them know they are valued and that they belong to a special club.  If members request a certain server, he could probably expect that this wish would be fulfilled unless that server is not working that day.  Certain tables could be restricted for members only so that if a member does not have a reservation, he would still be assured to be seated.  Make your guests feel special.  Postcard Marketing with a lovely thank you note for their visit will go a long way to bringing guests back.

If you need ideas on how to go about marketing for your restaurant, there are several sites that can be very helpful.  One such site is http://guestcontact.com.  You may feel quite inspired after a visit!

Nurture Your Customers Using Direct Email

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Direct mail marketing will often get remarkable returns.  Unless your direct mail is a visual attention grabber, your mail may not even be opened before it is tossed out.  You don’t want your advertisement for your restaurant to end up in the delete file.  

Instead, you may want to consider email marketing to draw your customers.  People are more apt to read a quick email than a couple of pages hard copy.  Unless their computer blocks your emails or automatically sorts them into the spam folder, you will get a reader’s attention with a great promotion in the subject line.

Emails With Offers

Today almost everything important is done by email.  Even the older generation is computer savvy enough to check emails and click onto simple sites and links.  Build your email lists in your restaurant as well as on the computer.  Once a potential customer opens your email, ask them to confirm that they are interested in your site and offer them a special coupon for doing so.  Once they confirm interest in your site, send them a coupon for a free drink or two the next time they visit your restaurant.  

Coupons can be for:

• 1 – 2 free drinks
• A certain % off their next dining experience
• A free dessert
• Group discounts for families of more than five or six adults

You could also offer something beautiful, like a corsage or a rose for the lady you are dining with.  There are many other incentives you can offer per email.  Just in case there are a few who still do not use the computer, Postcard Marketing may be another great option to connect with your clients.

Be Competitive

When you get the email addresses from your customers, remind customers on the sign up page to add your restaurant to their address book so that your emails won’t be discarded.  Also, make sure the name of your restaurant is in the subject line so the recipients know who is sending the email.  

This is an economy that makes restaurateurs work hard to fill every seat.  You can get many good ideas about increasing your business by contacting http://guestcontact.com.