Engaging millennials in your restaurant.
Have you heard that Millennials value experiences over possessions. Truth is that in today’s world, your brand should not only mean a great product, but an unforgettable experience. Especially in the restaurant industry, a good meal is no substitute for a shared moment between friends, lovers, or family. We all are longing to belong, and even if technology has us more connected than ever, the wish to be in the presence of others cannot be substituted by an app.
So how can you engage with this fabled demographic? We at Memory Captures specialize in getting people to share their experiences online, and here are the things that we found work great for leveraging millennials attitudes and tendencies.
#1 Provide experiences
This seems like an obvious conclusion from the study above. It’s not about what the product is anymore, even for a restaurant. An experience can be anything, from a unique uniform for all staff, to something out of the ordinary, like serving the food in an interesting way.
#2 Make your business instagrammable
It is no secret that people love to post about their life in social media. Truth is everyone wants to seem interesting, so give them something that will make them feel that way. Couple this with the report that millennials are more likely to go to a place recommended by a friend, so this is a no brainer. Remember, people care about experiences.
To do this you need to add extra things to the experience. The decorations, the plates, the uniforms, the plating of the food, the art on the wall, all these will make it more probable for people to share. And when they share, your business benefits.
#3 Encourage people to share
Truth is, it is likely that at least one person in a group will share this experience online. That’s great, and it is already a huge value for your business. However, you can do little things, like encouraging people to tag your social media on their uploads for a discount, or have a prop with your brand that people will want to take pictures of. It is great that people share already, but it is even better if the people that trust the person doing the sharing, can see your brand on there and associate their good time with your business. In the end, it’s about getting others to think, that looks like fun, we should do that.
#4 Engage with customers on a personal level
Your restaurant is not just a place to go eat. It is an experience. People love being remembered, and people want to feel like they are important. Encourage your staff to talk to people, and if they can remember their names. This tiny detail can be hard to achieve, but makes all the difference. Millenials love feeling like they are supporting a local business, so being personal to them reinforces that feeling.
We at Memory Captures specialize in helping your customers do the advertising for you in your restaurant. Contact us if you would like us to help take the above to the next level.
