Dine-in-your-car is more than a trend—it is a movement that prioritizes convenience and comfort. Expanding your serviceable area beyond the four walls of your premises allows you to cater to a higher volume of guests, which can kick your food service business into overdrive and add more meat to your bottom line.
Provided you can reach your target audience, of course.
With more than 1 million restaurant locations in the United States, you’re likely anticipating a fair share of challenges in generating interest in your offerings. But with these bulletproof promotional strategies, you will surely have a smooth run!
- Optimize Your Google My Business Page
62% of consumers discover restaurants on Google. If you want to increase foot traffic to your car dine-in business, optimize your Google My Business (GMB) profile.
Here’s how:
- Highlight attributes (read: car dine-in and innovative dishes).
- Enable online bookings to give customers the gift of flexibility.
- Add keywords. Location-based keywords give you the best shot at attracting more customers, though you can also dabble in cuisine-based terms.
A well-crafted description is also critical, as it provides a complete overview of your business.
- Craft a Beautiful Menu
84% of adults in America read a restaurant’s menu before going out to eat.
So, before you promote your business, take the time to write the perfect menu. Keep it small to improve the quality and consistency of your dishes, with customer satisfaction as the focus. You should also incorporate allergen information in your descriptions to help customers make informed decisions.
Then, use PosterMyWall’s customizable menu templates to build your audience’s appetite while setting the tone for your restaurant’s personality and style.
- Post and Share Food Porn
The brain processes images in as little as 13 milliseconds—faster than the blink of an eye. To get more butts in seats, include high-quality photos to showcase dishes in the best possible light. It can increase your food sales by as much as 30%.
You can also repost customer photos of delicious-looking meals. User-generated content (UGC) will turn paying customers into advocates and advertisers for your restaurant business. As consumers find UGC 9.8x more impactful than influencer content, it can be quite a cost-effective marketing tool.
- Establish a Strong Social Media Presence
Social media can be a powerful tool for developing and growing your customer base. Ideally, you want to be where your customers are: Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and TikTok.
However, remember that a chronic online presence won’t get people through your doors. To experience a surge in orders, you’ll have to be creative with your content strategy, like inviting food bloggers with robust followings.
- Give a Peek Behind the Curtain
Customers are often very interested in what goes on behind the kitchen doors. Show them how car dine-in varies from the table-service restaurant concept, with a bird’s eye view of the different equipment and supplies used.
Other tried-and-true ideas for behind-the-scenes content include:
- Sneak peeks of new menu items
- Highlight the farm-to-table process
- The chef at work, such as “A Day in the Life”
If you offer booze, you can show your bartender making a crowd-favorite.
- Pay Attention to Reviews
No matter how good your service is, you will get the occasional bad review.
Accept the inevitability of the situation and try to salvage the customer relationship with a well-written response. It shows people that you value feedback and are dedicated to improvement. Furthermore, 75% of consumers update their reviews to a neutral or positive one after a professional response.
Remember, customers associate reviews with credibility and the quality of your offerings. So, if you’ve just opened a shop, you may want to encourage guests to leave a review. You can also contact them via a follow-up email to solicit feedback.
- Implement a Loyalty Program
Loyalty programs incentivize repeat business and turn new guests into regulars. Some ideas include:
- A complimentary drink for special occasions like birthdays.
- Exclusive access to a “meal of the month” at a reduced price.
These promotions can eat into your revenue. However, increasing customer retention in an industry prone to fluctuations is necessary. After all, just a 5% retention rate can increase profits by more than 25%!
You can also partner with other businesses in your area to tap into customers you might not have otherwise reached.
Take Home Message
Adding a car dine-in feature—with good music, outdoor lighting, and state-of-the-art service style—is a game-changer. It turns your restaurant into a destination spot that’s always booked.
Promoting your food business can be very time-consuming and expensive.
You can cut costs with tools like PosterMyWall. From customizable templates to content calendars, it’s a one-stop shop for all of your digital promotional needs.
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