The best part about INDIA is it's food and Mumbai especially is known for its street food! The moment you set foot in the city, 'Mumbaikars' are thronged by the smell of the varied Indian delicacies on offer ranging from Pao Bhajji, Vada Pao, spicy Chat, crispy Dosas and above all Pani Puri. The city comes most alive at midnight where it offers people hordes of street side vendors to chose from.
On my recent visit back home I came across a street food vendor who decided to jump on the social media bandwagon and named all his famous delicacies after popular social networking websites. This is just a small example of how social media has had a massive impact of the lives of even the common man.
On a larger scale, social media has proven to very effective in generating awareness about restaurants, small local joints and the food industry as a whole both locally and globally.
In the growing world of telecommunication it is important for the restaurants and the hotel industry to understand that now there exists a new range of reviewers, equipped with their mobile apps and social media tools. Added to this with the help of widespread internet connectivity(free Wifi) the every day customer is now able to talk about their experiences-good or bad.
Do you think restaurants today need to focus on their online presence and what are the different ways by which they can not only attract new customers but retain old ones as well?
Nice post Mazahir.
ReplyDeleteRestaurants are an interesting one as they tend to be fairly location oriented. Their main market is the area they live in. Off course you get restaurants like Nobu which is internationally renowned as a result of Robert De Nero being a part owner, but this also means that Nobu is really good at providing an experience (which I think all them should aim to do) the experience of being part of something famous. So for them I would imagine a big SM strategy would work, as we have seen it tends to do with big organisations in raising awareness and keeping the brand out there. For the smaller guys, it would be difficult (in my view) to know how to get your core target (locals) to get involved in your social media activities. But a creative SM idea could prove well worth it, I just don't know what that idea is yet.
Ross
For a food lover like me, I really enjoy browsing restaurants that I have never been to from urbanspoon or yourrestaurants. They provide all the infos I need to make my decision. I strongly agree that restaurants should put their name out there in the WWW.
ReplyDeleteThe first reason is, you can edit the photos of the food and even the interior of the restaurant to be as attractive as you want, but make sure they look a like with the real one.
The second reason is, personally, I would really love to read the comments of the people who has ever been there ( recommending food, comment on the service )
The third reason, by having the comment, the owner also could improve their recipe or may be maintain their good reputation. ( PR )
LOVE YOUR PHOTOS! REALLY FUNNY!
haha ~~ Interesting photo Mazahir!!~~ So is that name facebook? or it means we could find it from facebook~~ haha
ReplyDeletei totally agree that social media is a effective way to help restaurant to attract new customers. like Joanlie said, the photos and comments from other customers, which will make new customers know better and more about the restaurant, it is good for establishing the relationship with them. for new customers, the kinda of information (from other customers) is more reliable for them. for the current customers, social media is a quick way to let them know the news from them, also a communicating platform to talk with. i think it is better to have specials for them. also, it is help to have the specific area to get their feedback to improve the restaurant. ~
peggy
nice post Mazahir!!i totally agree with peggy! SM can also create an experience for the food lovers like us... imagine!!! today you are craving for eating something , you just go to that food's fan page and browse for all restaurants that offer that food.. u can just screen by locations or ambiance,etc and just go and eat!!!!!! could be a restaurant's fan page as well.. full of yummy pics of their offerings!! n drooling over food pics does work best for food industry i guess.
ReplyDelete