Are you a season-closed restaurant? How do you stay connected with your guests when you are closed for the season? Many restaurants almost go into ‘online hibernation’ when they decide to close for the season. Eventually, this could harm your restaurant as well as your revenue in the long run. Here at resOS, we have one simple recommendation: Always, make sure to stay connected with your guests in order to strengthen your online visibility. Follow our simple guide below and learn how to engage your guests online, when you are closed for the season.
One way of engaging your guests online is by..
..Asking for input and feedback! If you haven’t set up social media platforms, now is the perfect time to get started. Social media is a perfect opportunity to reach, engage, and connect with your guests. I mean, you gotta love social media to stay connected with your guest. When restaurants close down for the season, many restaurant owners see this as an opportunity to redecorate or change things up a little in their venues. If this is the case, reach out to your guests by posting a photo on Facebook or creating a poll on Instagram of two different wallpapers, and ask your guests which one they prefer. Keep guests updated on the new interior, status of the deep cleaning, new menu suggestions, etc. Most importantly, make sure to tell them when you open up again, and how much you look forward to welcoming everyone again!
Facebook and Instagram are among the most popular social media platforms. So it’s definitely a good idea to keep your guests updated on these platforms.
Another way is to..
..Entertain and promote! We know that every restaurant owner has an ambition about opening up the restaurant fully booked after the season. A way of ensuring this is by offering online reservations (see picture below), which encourages guests to book a table in advance. A simple and yet very effective way of ensuring that your restaurant isn’t empty when you return after being closed for the season is through competitions. The price of winning a competition could be a gift card to your restaurant, where you decide the amount. You could also hand out vouchers for the first 15 people who comment on a specific Facebook post. The voucher could e.g. include free wine for two hours if a guest book a table on an opening day after being closed for the season! Be optimistic and make sure to stay positive when you reach out online!
Read also our post about how you can promote your restaurant on Instagram.
We are always happy to help!
Do you have any questions about how resOS can be implemented into your restaurant and how it can add value after being closed down for the season? Just contact our customer support at [email protected] and we will get back to you as soon as possible.
