The owners of Tavola Tuscan Bistro in The Woodlands, TX do a great job of marketing to their existing customer base to encourage repeat visits, word of mouth, and general customer delight. They never consider a customer coming to the restaurant as a single, one time event. They reach out to create a relationship with everyone who walks in the door, and they do it without being pushy or intrusive.
They have a comment card that includes newsletter sign up. It's done a great job in helping them to build their opt-in email list. They use this to market their weekend menu specials as well as new menu additions and special events.
These "events" could be special wine dinners by reservation only, or they may be things that everyone who happens into the restaurant that evening can enjoy. For example, one Saturday evening, Tavola hosted an American/Italian wine challenge, where diners could purchase a flight of tasting glasses. Two of the wines poured were American, two Italian. Guests got to learn about the traits of the two, share their knowledge, and a couple of lucky diners even went home with a bottle of wine as a prize. I'll bet almost everyone who was in attendance that night mentioned the event to someone they knew.
How can you get creative in your business to make a customer mention you to a friend next week? It's not just about being great at what you do (although that's important too - I wouldn't suggest a friend eat at Tavola if the food weren't also fantastic). It's ALSO about adding a little something different to the mix.
No comments:
Post a Comment