Restaurant challenges ? Turn digital !

Obstacles and motivations of digitalization :

The digitalization of companies in general is becoming more and more a trend in recent years. In fact, Facebook has generated more than $ 26 billion as revenue in 2016, of which 97% of revenues are from commercials made by businesses.In terms of catering, restaurant’s digitalization  is getting bigger and bigger in the four corners of the world.

In France, the digitalization of restaurants is evolving slowly. This is due to several economic and social reasons. But, in order to overcome the daily challenges of restaurant owners, particularly in terms of acquisition and customer loyalty, restaurant owners are faced with the need to switch to the digitalisation of their brands.

Restaurant digitalization obstacles :

Economic obstacles:

95% of the restaurant owners who participated in a survey conducted by Inkidata confirmed that the increase in the tax burden represents the major obstacle to develop. The 5.5% increase in the VAT rate to 10% between 2011 and 2014 was a blow for restaurant owners. This tax pressure has led to a decline in sales for 40% of restaurant owners in 2015.

On the other hand, regulations and laws in France are obstacles for restaurant owners which  prevent them from developing their business according to 83% of survey respondents.

In other respects, 66% of respondents said they do not have the financial resources to invest in the development of their restaurants’ activities.

Social obstacles:

According to the study, 52% of restaurant owners are older than 50 years old. The majority of restaurant owners therefore are not adapted to new technologies and social networks. The conscious generation of the importance of digitalization of companies represents only 2% of the restaurant owners. For this, the  digitalization rate of restorations is low.

Motivations for digitalization :

The number of social network subscribers is growing in France. This increase presents many opportunities to businesses in a general way including restorations.

But restaurants are still far from taking advantage of social networks. In fact, only 1/3 of restaurants on the digital presents the online ordering service, and 15% offers online booking. This represents an opportunity for restaurant owners  who are thinking of digitalizing their restaurants.

In fact, customer behavior is a factor that encourages digitalization. In 2015, 1 in 5 French people have already made a reservation on the web, and more than a third have consulted the users’ opinions before going to a restaurant. 

A low investment cost, especially in Tunisia

Digital communication is considered the best tool for SMEs because of its low cost compared to other direct communication tools.

Based on a well-founded digital strategy, the return on investment is very important regardless of turnover, e-reputation and customer retention and acquisition.

And despite its low cost, some entrepreneurs of SMEs find that this investment is quite important compared to their budget for communication.

And here is the beauty of new technologies!

You do not have to work with an agency so close to you. You can look for the agency that suits you in the four corners of the world.

But for you, we recommend Tunisia for several reasons. In fact, agencies in Tunisia costs you much less expensive compared to agencies in France while maintaining a higher quality of service. The reason for cheaper costs is due first and foremost to the exchange rate of the euro in Tunisian dinars. This gives an advantage to French SMEs at the level of investment.

Apart from the cost, Tunisia also represents an advantage for French SMEs thanks to the cultural similarities between France and Tunisia and also the mastery of the French language.

On the technological front, Tunisia has positioned itself as the next technological hub in the MENA region thanks to the human resources who master the different web development technologies and different digital communication tools.

To conclude

It is true that the catering sector in France is experiencing great difficulty in terms of developments, but the solutions and opportunities are still present for restaurant owners to develop on the market: The digitalization of restaurants.

And despite the different obstacles  and challenges facing entrepreneurs in this sector, motivations and opportunities are always available to take your restaurant to the next level.

Restaurants digitalization: boost your restaurant!

We have already spoken about the catering sector in France in terms of economic importance at the national level in sales and number of employees.

And also, we mentioned the problems and challenges that restaurant owners face on a daily basis and the solution is to digitalize your restaurant.

In fact, we have tried to show how you can drive more traffic to your restaurant by increasing your visibility on the Internet.

This is workable by combining your Internet presence with a customized website, specialized directories and social media.

You can see the whole article about the digital solution to increase your traffic through this link.

In this article, we will try to push things further in digital communication by incorporating new technologies that can become your competitive advantage.

In fact, restaurants digitalization should be integrated in your digital strategy with more varied and precise objectives.

Geo-location

Your restaurant is a physical space. And to generate traffic you have to consider two things:

– Your customers and prospects can know your address using GPS.

– You need to focus your targeting on people who can visit your restaurant.

This sounds simple and obvious, but there are more powerful tips for targeting prospects around your restaurant.

Imagine it’s noon, and it’s time to serve the meal! It will be really cool to target the surrounding people who are looking for a meal.

Yes, possible!

In fact, we can even push things even further! let know people near your restaurant that the meal is ready and that they are welcome.

Here’s how you can use geo-location in your favor to get more traffic to your restaurant.

Let your client book his table online

Most restaurants set up a telephone reservation system.

The customer must call the restaurant to reserve his table.

Some customers do not appreciate this approach, and others get annoyed by the way the reservation manager communicates.

Why not then set up a smart online booking system?

The customer can book their table in just a few clicks simple and efficient. And you will have all reservations in front of you in a well-developed dashboard to manage the tables and the flow of your work and your kitchen.

I want to eat at home!

Well yes! Some customers just want to eat at home. And, they want to order without leaving their places.

Home delivery of restaurants has been an established practice for a long time. This practice generates a significant percentage of your sales, but we can always improve this service through new technologies.

By highlighting your menu on your website, the customer can place his order in a few clicks.

It’s something like e-commerce?

That’s good then!

In fact, 65% of online consumers have made online purchases at least once a month, of which 74% are between 25 and 34 years old according to FEVAD in a press release entitled “Online Consumption: Frequency purchase speeds up.

Yes, online consumption is speeding up and you need to adapt your strategy to new customer behaviors.

Why? Because you can win a significant market share from online orders.

Restaurants Digitalization

There are still other ways to digitalize your restaurant and take your business to another dimension.

But these methods do not require heavy investments. Yet, they give you competitive advantages to face your competitors.

So that’s how you can create an edge for your brand and grow your restaurant business while giving your customer a unique experience.

Restaurant in decline ? Time to go digital !!

Solutions for restaurant development in France

Despite the importance of the restorations’ sector in France, restaurant owners encounter several problems and daily challenges to maintain the stability and development of their activities.

As cited in our article on economic difficulties for restorations, restaurant owners have indicated that the reduction or lack of customers is a daily challenge.

And in fact, the weak financial capacities of the restaurant owners also represent problems in the necessary investments

but – as a restaurant owner – you can change this situation by opting for a digital strategy that ensures your presence on the Internet.

In order to  optimize your presence, it is important to combine your presence through a website, social networks and specialized directories.

In the rest of the article, we will explain the interest of each channel for your digital communication. But, remember that the success of your digital marketing is based on a well-developed strategy.

Website:

Some people think that a website for a restaurant makes no sense. But this is not true at all!

In fact, our previous article showed the importance of a website for SMEs including restaurants. But every business has its own specific points. For this, each website is designed specifically to meet the specific requirements of the business.

With regard to restaurants, a website is considered as the first showcase for those who carry out their research on the web. And believe me, the number of search on the internet is huge.

And so, your presence through a website increases the number of consumer opportunities thanks to consumer consultations, the feedback published on your site as well as the unique presentation of your restaurant.

If a customer is looking for a restaurant for a dinner for two, he will consult the web. He finds your website and he becomes aware of the existence of a perfect restaurant for him (your restaurant). And here’s an opportunity you can miss without a website.

In addition, your website reflects your image through a design that tells your story and highlights your competitive advantages. This gives an added value to the image of your restaurant compared to consumers.

To sum up, your website is an essential element for you to stand out from your competitors and to gain more opportunities and traffic conversion to your restaurant.

Specialized directories:

The specialized directories are directories that bring together the different companies in the same sector of activity as Yelp, le bon guide etc … Some customers do their research on these websites to find the company that best suits their needs

This practice helps you to position yourself better at SEO level of your website, and increases the number of opportunities to be known and recognized on the web.

These specialized directories are more effective when you have a website. In fact, the customer wants to see more than the address and logo of a restaurant. And so, a link to your website on the directory gives him the chance to know you better from the consultation of a your website.

Social Media:

If you are unfamiliar with this word, I would tell you Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and more …

Now you’re on the right track with social media or social networks.

Social networks are increasingly influencing customer behavior. Regardless of the social network used by the customer, your presence with relevant and targeted content is a competitive advantage.

In fact, 42% of French people eat at a restaurant at least once a month according to statista. This figure is a very important for restaurant owners in terms of the  number of customers. And to be successful in capturing a market share of this number, you must be present at the right time with the right message to the right customer.

It seems impossible to you? Or saying it’s “too good” to be “true”?

In fact, it’s true! It is sufficient to develop a digital communication strategy on specific axes and objectives.

First of all, what are their preferences, their interests and their consumption habits? The information collected about your target will help you target them with a content specific to them. In this case, you will encourage consumers to interact with you on social networks. And that’s it, you develop a community around your brand. A community that will love hearing your news, your story and especially a community that will transform to customers through the marketing actions carried out on your social networks.

Tha’t cool but ...

Yes it’s cool to be able to generate traffic to your restaurant by combining your presence on the web through a website specific to your brand, specialized directories and social networks based on a digital communication strategy.

But put your feet on the ground, it must cost a fortune!

Actually no !

The success of digital strategies is due to several factors such as the personalization of communication, targeting and re-targeting, but also the low cost of communication compared to other traditional com-tools.

In addition, the return on investment of a well-established digital campaign is very high compared to other investments.

Finally, as a restaurant owner, you have certain challenges to go back on a daily basis. And the solution to succeed is to have more traffic to your restaurant and to retain your customers. For that, I invite you to consider the solution of a digital strategy as explained in this article.