Why You Need a Website for Your Restaurant: 5 Great Reasons
So, you’ve opened your new restaurant! And it’s going well. The word-of-mouth is so good that you find yourself fully booked weeks in advance. That’s great news and suggests that your food is fantastic. But there are ways that you could optimize your business even more.
A website is a great way to increase awareness of your restaurant, take bookings directly from customers, and drive up sales even further. It might seem like a lot of work for such an indirect benefit, but, trust us, having a website for your restaurant is very beneficial. And there are also many tools that exist to simplify the process of restaurant website design.
That being said, here are five reasons why you should get one for your restaurant today:
A website is the best way to market your restaurant
A great way to understand the power of a restaurant website is to imagine a situation without one. You would need to rely on traditional methods to get your restaurant noticed:
- Advertising in magazines and newspapers.
- Leafleting in stores, on street corners, near subways, etc.
- Word of mouth
- Signage outside your restaurant
Although all those methods could be powerful, they are also unpredictable and can be quite expensive and time consuming.
On the other hand, your website is a dedicated place to promote your restaurant 24/7.
Websites are the number one source of bookings
Booking in person or via telephone has its charm. However, today’s customers want a speedier service and have found it in making online reservations.
Most of us are regular internet users. With the British government calculating that over 90 percent of people are online in the UK alone, it is no surprise why online bookings work.
On the other hand, online restaurant reservations provide an excellent opportunity for new customers to view live table availability. Otherwise, they will have to go through the bother of phoning up, risk being held or have to wait for someone to pick up, and then negotiate a time for a table. We suggest using WordPress as a platform to build your website and a Restaurant Reservation WordPress plugin to add a booking form to your site.
Your website can improve customer experience and loyalty
A website is also a fantastic place to collect customer reviews. These are great for your business and can help you attract new customers. You can ask customers to leave reviews on your website, or you can even include a review form or prompts on your website that encourages reviews. If you collect customer reviews on your site, you can display them prominently so all your customers can see them. This will help you build a high-quality customer base that trusts your business and is loyal to your brand. And your website is also an excellent place to show appreciation to your customers. You can create a loyalty program that rewards customers with points or even free meals when they visit your restaurant. You can also use your website to send out coupons and special offers.
While there are several ways to add reviews to your site, if you are using the WordPress platform, something like the Ultimate Reviews WordPress plugin is one of the easiest.
A website will give you access to better data
Another reason to have a website is to collect data. You can use online forms and surveys to actively engage with your customers and keep track of their answers. You can collect information about your customers and their preferences using these forms. You can also use them to poll your customers about their dining experience and find out what they like and don’t like. This information is crucial to your business. It will help you make better decisions about your menu, and it can help you improve your service and performance in the future.
You’ll earn a lot more from your email marketing
Another huge benefit of getting a website is that you can start a regular email marketing campaign. This is a great way to keep in touch with your customers, and it can help you improve brand awareness. You can use your website to send out newsletters and promotional emails. You can use these emails to promote special offers and new menu items. You can also use them to thank customers for their business or to ask them for feedback on their dining experience. You’ll need to get an email marketing service to start an email marketing campaign. These are relatively inexpensive and easy to set up.
Bottom line: A restaurant website is one of the best investments you can make.
When you take all of this into account, it’s clear that getting a website for your restaurant is a great investment. A website will help you increase brand awareness, collect data and improve your marketing strategy. It will also help you take bookings and give you access to effective email marketing.
