What is interesting is if one looks at the estimate of website traffic flow for Pieology over the previous 3 months (November-January):
4 keys to winning:
As this chart illustrates, the vast majority of traffic comes from Search (70% of total traffic) while a very small portion comes from Social (1.77%); yet the Google research shows that consumers are twice as likely to use a social tool to select a restaurant as they are to use a Search Engine, like Google. This demonstrates that there is an opportunity to increase consumer traffic to the website (which then drives in-store traffic) by nearly 50% by focusing on the true influencers of ZMOT #1: Friends and Family.
As the next chart will illustrate not only is it a wide open field, it is a true Blue Ocean Strategy (meaning an opportunity to drive into an uncontested (winnable) market).
Reach them where they are more than 50% of restaurant decisions are made using a mobile phone. To succeed restaurants must have a robust, aggressive, and focused marketing strategy that is heavily reliant on digital media. Remember, Yelp, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, etc. are social media that influence Friends and Family—the number one driver of restaurant decisions. And more than 50% of consumers search for a restaurant on their mobile phone when choosing a location to visit.
As the graph clearly indicates, every one of the brands within the competitive set have an irrational focus on google traffic. This leaves the social media community a wide open opportunity for the competitor that recognizes the strategy. Search is a red ocean while building traffic through social is a blue ocean. To parse this in realistic terms, and assuming that the world of digital is not a zero sum game (an increase in one category will cannibalize traffic from another source which that data does not suggest is true), then the 35k visitors to the Pieology site a month should really be 83k/month or an increase of 237%. That’s almost 50,000 more consumers a month looking at the website to influence their ZMOT #1.
Driving store traffic in a modern, mobile landscape has not changed marketing significantly.
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Consumers always have and always will define the brand on their terms, not yours. If a consumer doesn’t know you exist, you don’t exist. And they have to like, trust, and get value from you if they are going to buy from you. It’s not that complicated, and it aligns with our original premise of what makes a restaurant location successful.
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Give them what they want
it is not complicated, but it is complex. 32% of moms searched for coupons or specials, while only 20% read reviews. This means that moms are over 50% more likely to search for a coupon than to read a Yelp review. Millennials are enamored with YouTube. “Food” channel subscriptions have increased more than 280% year over year and more than 75% of the viewership is mobile. This means that they are at or near the ZMOT for a food purchase. YouTube is a powerful social network with consumers that watch videos. These users state they are 2X more likely to have brand loyalty to the company whose videos they watched. For moms and millennials it’s about content, and providing them with the content they want will drive success at the ZMOT.