Office buildings are freaking hilarious (at least mine is).  It’s not uncommon for the question “What’s for lunch” to spring up around 8am.  That sounds ridiculous, but if you forget lunch at home then you’re eating out.  It’s a great idea to get that ball rolling early.

If you work in a restaurant, you might not understand the politics behind a lunch break.  It’s the highlight of the day!  Everyone has to eat, and you’ve got one hour to do it.  The power is that offices order food in groups.  Do most restaurants understand this culture?  It amazes me that local restaurants never stop by our office to offer incentives.  They could be killing it!  Here are 4 quick office promo tips:

Take a Groupon Approach

Two key features why Groupon works:

1.  Sense of Urgency

2.  Fear of Loss

Basically, this offer is only good today, buy now or risk losing it forever.  QVC uses the same sales techniques, and so can you.

Put together a special offer that includes group buying.  Most offices order lunch in group orders anyways.  Drop it by an office building and tell them “If you get 10 people together to place an order in the next 2 days, we will offer you $5 sandwiches.”  Or whatever your most popular dish may be.  Just make the deal worth doing.  People will fight to sign up for $5 sandwiches when it comes to lunch. The key is to make the special worth doing, limit the time, and only make the offer valid if X number of people sign up.

Party Trays

People like free food.  Ok, people LOVE free food!  Drop off a sampler tray by an office next to your restaurant.  Include some of your favorite menu items.  Make sure to leave lunch menus and even a small incentive.  For example “Receive 10% off when 10+ people place an order.”  Bait them with the incentive, hook them with the free food, and land 10+ orders.

Exclusive Twitter offers.

If you are a restaurant on Twitter, than you probably have a follower who works in an office.  Send them a DM that morning saying “Hey, get 10 orders together and we will give you 25% off for lunch today.”  That sets a spark within the office early.  That person will start asking around if anyone is interested in ordering.  DM ten followers daily and you’re likely to get at least one large lunch order.  Make sure you have good relations with these people so they don’t see the offer as spam.  This goes back to basic principles of how your restaurant should be tweeting.

Group Happy Hour

Ok, this one doesn’t pertain to the lunch crowd, but it’s worth noting.  Office employees love happy hour, especially if it’s close.  The key is getting in touch with someone within the office.  Have them pick a date and offer a group happy hour.   These specials are exclusive to the people that attend.  This spreads like wildfire as people constantly ask each other if they are coming to happy hour tonight.  Whoever you set up the happy hour with is now your spokesperson.  Put them to work on getting a large group together.  Numbers baby!

What are some other ideas for office promotions?  We have tons, UrbanBacon being one of them!  Let’s start the discussion below, its lunchtime!

Why where The Romans such a dominate army?

One Reason: The Gladius aka “the sword that conquered the world”

This technology allowed soldiers to dish massive amounts of damage to opponents that leveled entire armies!  When was the last time your iPhone conquered Greece?  It’s funny how a simple technological advancement can be so powerful.  Sounds like Twitter, right?

We all know Twitter is a powerful networking tool.  That’s not a secret.  Just like the double edge sword, its also has an incredibly simple design.  This in return, deserves a simple approach.  There is no magic bullet to killing Twitter, but we can let you in on a secret tactic that works, keep reading…

The Nature of Twitter and Specials

Twitter is entirely user based.  Without users the service dies.  Therefore, the nature of Twitter follows natural human behavior.  We all want deals/specials and we will jump through hoops to get them.  Getting hooked up makes us feel special, destroys buyer remorse, and keeps us coming back.  Face it, by nature we are suckers for great deals.

Yet, we don’t want to be sold, because that just sucks.  So how does a restaurant offer deals without selling?  What is the super secret trick to posting ninja specials?  Are you ready for it?

The Super Secret Ninja Tweet Example:

“RT this and we will send you a coupon for…”

Profound, huh?  Not really…we told you Twitter deserves a simple approach.  But this single tweet alone can be a double edge sword, here’s why:

1.  The coupon = exposure = more customers to your restaurant

2.  Since they must RT to get the coupon, it encourages everyone of their followers to RT it also

Wondering what this can do for your followers and email lists?  Say someone RT’s you in order to get the coupon, which means it’s time for a ninja move.

@mention them saying:

“Totally pumped to send you our coupon, please DM me your email.”

In order to DM someone, they must follow you.  See where the hoops are leading?  Once they DM their email to you, send them their coupon immediately.  They have deserved it.

Do not forget to rehash by asking them:

“Do you wish to receive coupons in the future to this email?”

If they agree, consider this a sign up for your email list =) In a matter of seconds you have gained a customer, follower, and email subscriber. Some may call this gaming the system…I call it brilliant marketing.  After all, you are offering the consumer something they want, for free.

WARNING:  Yes, this works.  It’s effective as The Roman’s double-edged sword.  But even a powerful nation like Rome became arrogant and fell. Use this technique sparingly as ALL your marketing efforts on Twitter. Twitter makes a better customer service platform anyways.  It’s all about meeting people and listening.  95% of your Tweets should be talking to people, the other 5% can be marketing.

@RizzoTees once told me to respect the twitterverse, and it will show you love.  I believe that wholeheartedly.  In tha words of Ali G – “Respect!”

DO you guys know any other effective Twitter tips?  Leave your comments below or share this!

I get so pumped when local restaurants join Twitter.  Their first tweet is usually irrelevant nonsense.  Then the second spouts off a happy hour special, which is fine.  Then the third, fourth, fifth…until their entire feed is nothing but promotions!

You’re a restaurant, I get it.  You have daily food specials, happy hours, and live bands.  How many times have you seen a newbie restaurant join Twitter and immediately start spamming?

STOP….PLEASE!

Below are the top 5 ways your restaurant should be tweeting:

1.  Twitter is a conversation, not a billboard

When your restaurant first joins Twitter, it only makes sense to tweet every special, every time, right?  This faulty thinking comes from a traditional advertising sense.

More ads = more customers = keeping the lights on

In the digital world, we call this spam.  Your followers hate spam.  Well, sort of…they will accept your spam in the right context.  Even look forward to it if they like you.

Just like anything you want to be successful at, you must get involved.  Initiate conversation.  Shake some hands and talk to people.  Develop relationships, and than feel free to slide in a couple ninja specials.  Your followers will actually get pumped when you’re offering good deals.

Treat Twitter like your dining room, and not the local newspaper.

2.  Be a Lurker

Since the beginning of the Internet there have been lurkers.  No it’s not some scary term you can look up in a government database.  Wikipedia defines a lurker as:

“In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely or never participates actively.”

Start by following other restaurants in your city.  Here is a list of some great Chicago Restaurants on Twitter.  Follow any restaurant with 500+ followers.

What do you do next?  Here is the ground breaking secret:

LISTEN.

Do not tweet anything.  Watch how they tweet, how they respond.  How often are they posting specials?  Learn and mimic what is working for them.  Being a lurker is not about being creepy. It’s about doing your homework and getting a feel for the culture.

3.  Real Time Customer Satisfaction

Let’s be honest, you’re still relying on customer satisfaction cards.  “Tell us how we did, fill out your customer satisfaction cards and drop them in the box.”  Maybe that’s a bit extreme, but you get the picture.  Tons of restaurants, including fast food, have adopted this strategy.

One problem:  How do you follow up complaints before the damage is done?  Treat Twitter like a customer service platform.  It’s virtual damage control at your fingertips.  Can you imagine how powerful it becomes when you respond directly to a pissed off customer?

Zappo’s has adopted this strategy, and they are killing it!

Go to Twitter search, type in the name of your restaurant, and start responding to people.  Respond to every person who has @mentioned you, whether good or bad.  That’s how you build lasting customers and relationships.

4.  Tell Your Story with Twitpic

I am a HUGE advocate of using video or pictures to tell your story.  A restaurant is a very visual experience.  That’s why so much effort goes into presentation and ambiance.  You need to constantly upload pictures of patrons, bar, entrees, dining room, wait staff, and especially nights you are slammed.

People want to hear your story.  They want to know others are visiting your restaurant.  This creates “social proof” among customers.  If people think others love your restaurant, that’s enough proof for them to give it a try.

Don’t let technology leave your restaurant in the dust, invest in a smart phone.  You can write off the data package when you use Twitter for business.  These phones make uploading mobile pictures simple.  You need to make a conscious effort to do it.

5.  You are not an elitist, neither is your chef

One major problem I see with a handful of restaurants is an elitist attitude.  They join Twitter, rarely tweet, follow nobody, and never respond.  This elitist attitude is a sure fire way to piss customers off.

Twitter is a HIGHLY social network.  People are on there all day chatting away.  They want you to speak up.  They want you to join them.

Many will argue that they don’t have the time.  If you cannot devote the time to social media, then it’s best to not use it.  Social media is like a seed, you have to nurture it to health.  By leaving it unattended, you come off as not caring, and that’s probably not the case.

Chefs may be the worst at portraying this image.  BOH rarely has to engage customers on the same social level as FOH.  This is understandable and natural.  Everyone has their skills, and a chef belongs in the kitchen.

If they are going to be on Twitter, then encourage your chef to be engaging and responsive.  Have them post pics of entrées, tell them it’s OK to share recipes.  Do whatever it takes to get them pumped about sharing their talents with the world.

The doors of your new restaurant fly open.  Linens freshly pressed, candles glowing, lines filled, bar stocked, and your staff is pumped to rock it out.

Embrace yourselves for an AMAZING grand opening!

Then it happens…

You turn 4 tables and chalk the opening up as defeat.  The staff is bummed and the lack of customers is a buzz kill.

What went wrong?  What could you have done differently?

Now I understand, this is an extreme situation.  But does it happen?  You bet.

The NRA (National Restaurant Association) has on record 470,445 working restaurants in the United States.  Around 42,000 new restaurant licenses are issued every year.  That means around 3,500 restaurants open every month!

How do you advertise?  How do you get your name out?  Have you embraced social media?

It’s no secret that traditional media is shifting online.  Traditional media is outrageously expensive and hard to measure.  It just makes sense for restaurants to expand their efforts online.

In 2007, AIS Media based out of Atlanta, GA took a poll of average consumers.  They found that 89% of consumers research a restaurant online.  Can you imagine that number in 2010?  Your online presence matters.

The Problem with Restaurants and Social Media

It takes time…

I have spent countless hours online and started to notice trends.

Industries like airlines and hotels have all adopted online strategies.  Sites like Hotels.com or Priceline.com have made these industries streamlined and highly competitive online.  Why haven’t restaurants followed suit?

I believe that is a million dollar question.  Hotels and Airlines are typically large corporations, where restaurants are widely independent.

It’s more difficult convincing a “Mom and Pop” operation to adopt online marketing.  Not that it’s a bad thing, every marketing curve has late adapters.

Social media is a HUGE playing ground for restaurants.  Since most restaurant owners tend to be social people, getting into social media is a simple transition for them.  If you can “work a dining room,” than you will have no problem online.

What we Want to Accomplish.

UrbanBacon will be expanding into different cities starting right here in St. Louis.  As we expand, our goal is to get every restaurant in every city to boost their online presence.  We want to help in any way possible, and put every restaurant on the map.

Back to our Roots

It’s time to get back to our roots.  People are now connected in ways never before possible.

The NRA recently released their “What’s Hot in 2010” list which is a compilation of 1,800 professional chefs who ranked 215 different culinary topics.  What was top of the list?  Locally grown produce, locally sourced meat/seafood, locally produced beer/wine.

Gary Vaynerchuk calls this the small town effect.  Now that we are so connected, our business is known across town.  Small businesses that are local can now compete with the big guys.  The days of designing high priced ads and shoving them down consumer’s throats is dead.

It’s time to get back to our roots, step into our communities through social media, and make a name for ourselves.

What to do now?

Leave all your thoughts below and start the discussion.  Are you a restaurant that uses social media?  What’s working?  What’s not working?