As a restaurant business owner, it’s important to ensure an amazing dining experience from the moment a customer walks in. Many restaurant owners prioritize this part of the customer experience, as it is what ensures transactions are made from customers that walk through the door. However, a digital presence for a business is incredibly important.
Social Media Today reported that 97% of search engine users look up local businesses and 78% of those local mobile searches result in an in-store purchase. Modern Customers rely heavily on the internet and social media to tell them about a business or a brand. Here are a few reasons why your business needs a beautiful working website.
1. Helps Create Brand Awareness
When moving to a new city or exploring a new neighborhood, the internet is a powerful tool to get customers familiar with brands they may be interested in. Even businesses that have been in a single location for more than 20 years may be missed by customers that solely rely on the internet for information. In tandem with a strong social media presence, your brand could harness a following based on interesting and resourceful information.
2. Fosters Credibility as a Business
Another reason businesses invest in a website is because it provides a point of reference for current and potential customers. When building a website, it’s important that you follow UI/UX (User Interface / User Experience) best practices for design. Offering your locations, business hours, and phone number lets your customers know how to contact you and where to find you.
With a website for your restaurant, you are able to share images of your food and menu. This is also a good opportunity to share your community, staff, and any philanthropy you work on.
3. Keep Customers Informed on Promotions & Events
A website is a great tool to keep your customers informed with any promotional information such as Discounted Days, Lunch or Dinner Specials, etc. You can also share any events you host or are scheduled to participate in. This way, your community and customers are in the loop on how to engage and support your business.
4. Leverage Digital Customer-Loyalty Strategies
A website can make a great informational tool, however, with great UI/UX design and intuitive functionality, your website can be a conversion-generator and can even be a revenue stream for passive income through selling merch or gift cards.
By implementing digital customer-loyalty strategies such as rewards programs, you create incentives for your customers to keep coming back. Incentives could look like points per $1 spent, cash-back, or referral-based. If you’re interested in exploring a loyalty program, Alpha provides business solutions through their sophisticated POS system.
5. Build Long-Term Online Presence through SEO
As a business, it’s important to be seen in order to compete, especially when it comes to Search Engine results. Since customers are relying more and more on search engines, cutting through the ranks requires you to have an SEO-optimized website. SEO is a technical process that indicates your website is credible to Google and other search engines.
- Technical SEO – Also known as “under-the-hood” SEO, this includes indexing, crawling,
- Off-Page SEO – This strategy focuses on credible external websites like directories that can backlink to your website domain.
- On-Page SEO – On-Page SEO refers to the content of the pages on your website, as well as Title Tags & Descriptions.
Conclusion
From the customer experience, a digital presence can be just as important as the in-person experience. A website can be leveraged as a powerful tool to get and attain customers. By using a sophisticated POS system, you can leverage the use of your website to build customer loyalty. Alpha offers powerful restaurant solutions that drive efficiency and growth.
