By Luke LaBree
CMO, Dennis Food Service

Foreword

I’m a father and a traveler. I’ve been a restaurant dishwasher, waiter, maintenance worker, and even a touch-screen order system installer (my favorite part of that job was wiring the network connections.) I’m the son of a country store-owning mother and a lifelong food service industry father. I started a website design company and began working to promote local businesses while I was still in high school. I’ve spent the past two decades as a branding and marketing professional, nearly a quarter of which has been for an employee-owned food service distributor. I’m a native of Maine, and I not only enjoy the bountiful wilderness, coast, culture, and local cuisine New England has to offer, but I also recognize the seasonal windows our local businesses work within to attract new customers.

The image of a hungry family traveling through scenic New England perfectly captures “Decision to Dine” season. I used multiple AI-powered image generation tools and manual techniques to create it. The need to use the manual skills that I’ve spent the past 30 years mastering–that I have built a career on–is quickly being replaced by what is essentially a poorly written incomplete sentence. I share all of this because few people are more uniquely qualified than me to step onto a soapbox in front of New England’s hospitality industry and shout, “Double-check your digital presence, update photos, menus, map listings, and links. Respond to reviews and put systems in place to create consistent content across your channels. Decision to Dine season is coming!”

Depending on your outlook, I offer one more introductory word of encouragement or warning. This is likely the last season that AI won’t be heavily involved in the customer’s journey to your door. There will be powerful AI incorporated into our phones by next season; within two seasons, nearly everyone will be using it. That AI has not only been “fed the internet,” it reads the internet just like a human, but faster and far more efficiently. So, I ask again, how well represented is your business on the internet?

These 15 strategies will help you win “Decision to Dine” season by increasing foot traffic and revenue using your digital presence to attract more travelers and tourists.

What is “Decision to Dine” Season?

“Decision to Dine” season spans from early spring to late summer and represents the season for many foodservice and hospitality establishments. I’m not discounting winter, there’s a decision time frame there too, but the successes of summer often establish offerings, strategies, and even bookings for other seasons. Either way, a prosperous season for many New England businesses intertwines with their ability to attract tourists and travelers within a specific window–when those potential customers are actively exploring dining and destination options.

A robust digital presence will significantly influence a customer’s decision to dine at your establishment and impact their potential to browse, reserve, book, or even see your business as an option in their search results and social feeds. Food and hospitality operations that update and showcase their new seasons with refreshed visuals, new and unique offerings, and content-based encouragement around location, brand, and atmosphere stand a far better chance of attracting traveling customers than those that don’t.

Optimize Your Online Visibility

When traveling or visiting an unfamiliar area, one of the first and most frequent things your potential customers do online is search for nearby food and dining options. In the internet age of search first, decide later, having a complete online presence that ranks well in search results is crucial during “Decision to Dine” season. Here’s how to optimize your online visibility:

1. 1. Verify accurate and up-to-date business information across digital properties

In the absence of a dedicated website, potential customers will rely heavily on third-party sites like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor to learn about your establishment. Claiming and updating your business listings on these platforms is essential to controlling the narrative and providing accurate operating hours, contact information, and menus. Unclaimed listings can become littered with outdated details and unflattering user-generated content, deterring potential diners.

1. 2. Tap into local SEO to rank higher in relevant location-based searches

Search engines like Google prioritize local results based on a user’s location and the relevance to the search. By optimizing your website and online listings with local keywords, geographic terms, and details about your cuisine and specialties, you increase your chances of ranking higher when travelers search for “restaurants near me” or “best seafood in [your town].”

To be clear, I’m not suggesting you use the term “restaurants near me” in your content. Rather, focus on specific terms that identify your business location and category, such as towns, streets, nearby destinations, cuisine category, best-selling items, etc.

1. 3. The role of search engines and review sites in the decision-making process 

Let’s face it, when we’re traveling or exploring a new area, we rely oh-so-heavily on web searches and “review and discovery” sites (Maps, Yelp, and TripAdvisor) to inform our choices. A well-maintained presence on these platforms, backed by managed reviews and enticing visuals, can sway a potential customer’s decision to visit your establishment over a competitor’s. Managing your online reputation and leveraging user-generated content can give you a significant edge during “Decision to Dine” season.

Showcase Your Brand’s Unique Essence

Your potential customer’s digital feeds are brimming with content aggressively vying for their limited time and attention. Having a website or a Facebook page is not enough – you need to showcase what makes your brand truly unique and captivating. During “Decision to Dine” season, travelers are bombarded by options. Here’s how to help your establishment stand out:

1. 1. Use compelling visuals to highlight your establishment’s ambiance, cuisine, and culture 

Visuals reign supreme in digital marketing. High-quality photographs and videos can transport potential diners into the heart of your establishment, whetting their appetites with mouthwatering imagery and immersing them in the ambiance that sets you apart. Don’t settle for stock – authenticity is key. Invest in a high-end smartphone to simplify capturing and sharing authentic images of your food, staff, and environment. Provide potential customers the opportunity to see for themselves and decide, “Does this look like the food I want?”… “Does this look like a place I would enjoy?”

1. 2. Share your brand story through authentic, behind-the-scenes content 

Every restaurant has a story to share – a tale of passion, dedication, the pursuit of culinary excellence, or the classic New England strategy of wicked-big portions. Share that narrative through engaging, behind-the-scenes content that pulls back the curtain and connects with your audience on a deeper level. From the sourcing of local ingredients to the kitchen camaraderie that fuels your operation, these authentic glimpses into your brand’s culture will work to lure diners seeking a genuine experience.

1. 3. Engage with customers and respond to reviews to build trust and loyalty

Make sure your reviews are on a two-way street; customers crave a two-way conversation with the brands they follow and frequent. By actively engaging with your audience, managing and responding to reviews (both positive and negative), and fostering a sense of community around your brand, you cultivate trust and loyalty that can sway the “Decision to Dine” in your favor. Remember, even a negative review can be an opportunity to showcase your commitment to customer satisfaction.

Capitalize on Social Media’s Influence

Social media has revolutionized how we discover, share, and engage with brands – with restaurants and food businesses contributing to a significant portion of the conversation. Why? Because hunger is a universal driving force. The tradeoff with social media is that it requires more of your time and active focus than updating a website or managing review and discovery sites. Making the time internally to leverage social marketing can make the difference between being overlooked and becoming the destination for someone’s next meal. Here’s how to leverage social media’s powerful reach to access more potential customers:

1. 1. Create a consistent and recognizable brand presence across social platforms

Consistency is key to building brand recognition and trust with your social efforts. Maintain a cohesive look, tone, and messaging across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok. Use consistent handles, profile pictures, and branded visuals to reinforce your identity. This unified presence is more professional and boosts the perception of quality and attention to detail across your entire operation. If your digital presence is sloppy, what is stopping someone from drawing that conclusion about your kitchen?

1. 2. Promote user-generated content to amplify your reach and credibility 

One of social media’s greatest strengths is its ability to harness content generated by other users. The authentic, unfiltered experiences shared by your customers can be highly effective marketing. Encourage diners to share their meals and dining moments by creating branded hashtags or running social media contests. Reposting and amplifying this “customer content” extends your reach and adds a layer of credibility that can sway the “Decision to Dine” in your favor.

Ready to run a contest? Use a free QR code on a table tent, menu, or poster to provide your customers with quick, convenient access to your message, contest rules, entry forms, social media accounts, and more.

1. 3. Start social media advertising strategies to target travelers in your area 

While organic social content may be the bread-and-butter of your digital marketing efforts, strategic paid advertising can give you a competitive edge during peak travel seasons. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer hyper-targeted advertising options, allowing you to serve enticing visuals and promotions directly to travelers within a specified geographic radius. These targeted campaigns can capture the attention of potential diners in the crucial “Decision to Dine” window.

Offer a Seamless Digital Experience

The high-speed, technology-driven experiences of the internet are now driving expectations in the real world; potential diners expect a seamless and convenient digital experience when researching and interacting with your brand. During the “Decision to Dine” season, removing friction from the customer journey can be the deciding factor that sets you apart. Here’s how to deliver a top-notch digital experience:

1. 1. Mobile-friendly and user-friendly website experiences are a must

A significant portion of the traffic heading to your current digital properties already comes from mobile devices, and that percentage increases dramatically during “Decision to Dine” season. This means that many potential customers only ever interact with your brand through a mobile device. Restaurant and hospitality websites must be optimized for seamless viewing and navigation on smartphones and tablets. Prioritize a clearly branded, responsive design that loads quickly and provides easy access to essential information like your menu, hours, reservations, and location. Today’s travelers are researching options on the go, meaning a frustrating mobile experience could cost you customers.

A mobile-friendly website doesn’t need to break the bank. Today’s DIY website platforms offer options to seamlessly format your website for smartphones–no coding required.

1. 2. It might be time for an online ordering and reservation system

5G networks provide near-instant search results. High-speed connectivity presents an opportunity for your business to meet the immediate needs of potential customers faster than ever. Offering online ordering and reservation options could add new revenue to your business during “Decision to Dine” season. Visitors appreciate the convenience of browsing your menu, placing an order for pickup or delivery, and reserving a table – all from their mobile devices. Incorporating digital tools that capture immediate consumer needs allows you to establish and engage new customers before they even walk through the door.

1. 3. Use geolocation and push notifications to engage nearby visitors 

Imagine being able to serve up a tantalizing promotion or featured special directly to a potential customer’s smartphone as they explore your area. Geolocation and push notification technologies enable this level of targeted, real-time engagement. By allowing users to opt-in to location-based notifications, you can capture their attention at the precise moment they’re making their decision, increasing the chances of drawing them to your establishment.

Measure and Refine Your Efforts

The digital landscape is evolving, and you should be too; it’s essential to continuously measure, analyze, and refine your efforts to ensure you’re effectively reaching and engaging potential customers during “Decision to Dine” season. You can fine-tune your strategies and maximize your impact by leveraging data and customer insights. Here’s how to stay ahead of the curve:

1. 1. Understand what’s working and what isn’t

From website traffic and social engagement to reach, views, and conversions, there’s a wealth of freely available data at your fingertips that can provide insights into the effectiveness of your digital efforts. Even occasionally reviewing key performance indicators (KPIs) across your various platforms can help you identify what’s working, what’s not, and where there’s room for improvement.

Keep the terms from tripping you up. Start small and work your way to more advanced analysis. Engagement = Likes, shares, and comments. A KPI could be the number of likes a post receives. Depending on your goal, the KPI will change.

1. 2. Collect customer feedback like cash in the bank 

While quantitative data is essential, consider the value of qualitative feedback from your customers. Actively solicit reviews, comments, and suggestions—both online and in person—to better understand their experiences and high vs low points. These insights can inform everything from menu tweaks to website enhancements, ensuring you consistently deliver an exceptional experience that keeps diners coming back.

Pro-Tip: The reviews of your competitors may reveal a consistent pattern of customer low points, which could be an opportunity for you to build a marketing message around.

1. 3. Evaluate and improve your digital efforts for maximum impact

Resting on your digital laurels is a surefire way to fall behind the competition. Commit to a mindset of continuous improvement and optimization. Regularly review your content, analytics, and customer feedback, as well as industry trends, and be prepared to adjust your efforts accordingly. Experiment with new platforms, content formats, and advertising approaches to keep your digital presence fresh, relevant, and more likely to capture attention during “Decision to Dine” season.

“Decision to dine” season is the most important time of the year for restaurants and hospitality businesses to attract and engage travelers and visitors.

By leveraging the power of a complete digital presence, you can influence customer decisions, stand out from the competition, and drive more traffic and revenue to your establishment.

Remember, optimizing your online visibility through search engines, review sites, and local SEO is the foundation for your digital success. From there, showcasing your brand’s unique essence through compelling visuals, authentic storytelling, and customer engagement cultivates the kind of emotional connection that resonates with potential diners.

Although social media can feel daunting and time-consuming, it is a critical piece of your complete digital presence. In addition to offering a creative outlet to showcase your brand, social media platforms give you access to user-generated content and the ability to execute targeted advertising campaigns. Your social efforts should also regularly reference and link back to your website and vice versa. Offering a seamless digital experience—from mobile-friendly websites to online ordering and location-based engagement—will be a deciding factor that secures a future visitor’s business.

There is no finish line for your digital marketing education and efforts. Continuously measuring, analyzing, and refining strategies based on data, customer feedback, consumer sentiment, and industry trends is essential to improving your work and maximizing your impact each season. And the time for impact is now.

By implementing the strategies I’ve outlined here, you’ll be well on your way to captivating travelers and visitors with your brand’s story, cuisine, and outstanding dining experience. Embrace the power of a robust digital presence and watch as your establishment becomes a must-visit destination during “Decision to Dine” season and beyond.

We’re highlighting our hard-working employee owners! Meet Anthony Slauenwhite.

Anthony has worked at Dennis Food Service for ten years. As the Day warehouse Supervisor, Anthony works with all the warehouse employees to get products off the trucks and restocked in the warehouse, as well as helping get orders out throughout the day. Anthony takes a lot of pride in his job, ensuring he is building positive relationships with the men & women on his staff. Anthony does a lot of training for many of the new warehouse workers, from equipment safety to learning how to pick orders, and build pallets, as well as equipment and some building maintenance, and always strives to set a good example.

Anthony started at Dennis in the warehouse as a night order selector, moving around to different day positions as well, working in dry goods, as well as the freezer, or refrigerator, learning a lot about the warehouse. After a few years, he wanted to do more, and moved into the purchasing department, and learned even more about Dennis, from orders and delivery to the company as a whole. After about a year Anthony learned he missed the buzz and energy of the warehouse and wanted to do more. He was given the position of outbound logistics facilitator, doing lots of data analysis, and then this past year he moved into the day warehouse supervisor position.

When he is not at work, Anthony loves being with his family, including his pets, researching and learning more about his love for fitness, or relaxing and playing video games. His favorite food is pizza, “because you can do so much with pizza, you can do breakfast pizza, you can do cultural pizza, you can do Hawaiian pizza, you can do everything. I’d say pizza is my go-to, but it’s also the one I have to stay away from the most too.”

When it comes to working at Dennis, Anthony shares “It’s a great company to work for, a great company. They take care of their people.”

Thank you Anthony for exemplifying The Dennis Difference!

MEET MORE OWNERS

“This episode is perfect for small/medium independent businesses interested in creating a podcast.”

In this episode of Dennis Knows Food, we’re diving into the world of podcasting with Michael Mirarchi, a professional “toilet paper” salesperson, author, and returning guest. Joined by Samantha Hammond, and your host Luke LaBree, this conversation is honest and refreshingly frugal advice for a friend, which has been recorded for posterity.

This isn’t a how-to guide. Click here for that. This is a breakdown that incorporates real experience and dives deeper into what it means to have a podcast as a business. Discover the often-overlooked challenges of podcasting, such as finding your niche, maintaining consistency, growing and improving, and handling technical hiccups.

Michael Mirarchi returns as a continually fascinating guest, and shares his excitement about the potential benefits of podcasting for your brand, expertise, and revenue. “This is great advice… I’m sure other’s would benefit from this to.” And that’s exactly what’s we’ve done, turning a meeting on podcasting, into an episode of podcast insights.

It might “sound” easy but there are plenty of challenges, remember that podcasting is all about connecting with an audience and building a community around content you care about. Tune in to “Dennis Knows Food” for more interesting guest, food service insight, and small business marketing marketing tips. Subscribe on your favorite podcasting platform.

Hardware/Software/Audio Recording recommendations for podcasting that won’t break the bank!
The Best Budget Podcasting Stuff

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By Ashley Harris, FSR

Whether you’re looking for a cure to your restaurant’s winter blues or a more long-term plan to help combat natural dips in business, here are five strategies for driving more foot traffic to your restaurant.

Work on your Windows

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes as they walk down a street that’s packed full of restaurants. Some are going to be casual hole-in-the-wall joints, some will be upscale and pristine, some half a bar, and some quiet and family-friendly.

The first impression people get of your restaurant’s character goes way past the specialties you put front and center on your menu. If you’ve been enjoying a steady flow of business for most of the year, and have been taken by surprise by a sudden slump, it may be time to look at your restaurant’s curb appeal with fresh eyes and make a few changes.

Relatively simple upgrades such as playing music that can be heard from the sidewalk, using clever sandwich boards, or making routine maintenance more regular, can all have a surprisingly big effect on foot traffic, convincing new customers who have walked past countless times to stop and give you a try.

Re-Invest in Your Restaurant Photography

Everyone eats with their eyes to some degree, and refreshing your food presentation, both online and in print, can be a big help for any restaurant that’s working through a slow period.

If you know you’ve already got Instagram-worthy dishes and an inviting interior, consider reading up on restaurant photography best practices, or even hiring a professional photographer to make sure your food is looking its best across all customer touchpoints.

Though good photography can cost a considerable amount of time and money, once you have high-quality pictures of your menu staples these assets can be used extensively in advertising, social media, table talkers, and anywhere else they might fit, promising a huge return on investment.

Get Closer to your Audience

Making it in the restaurant industry is tough. According to stats from bar inventory software company Binwise, “60 percent of restaurants fail within the first year of operation”, and this goes up to 80 percent when looking at the first five years.

If you’ve made it past this bar for success, then you probably had a pretty clear picture of who your audience was when you first started. Unfortunately though, audiences aren’t static, and you need to be actively working to stay close to your market, understand what they want from you, and what you can do better to provide it.

If you know it’s been a while since you actively tried to learn what your customers think about you, consider re-starting classic methods of gathering feedback such as sharing surveys at the end of a meal.

Like any business, it’s also important to keep an eye on your restaurant’s digital presence to see what people are saying about you on social media and review sites. This will not only highlight the ways you could be improvising your level of service but can also give you a better idea of the kinds of people you should be targeting in terms of age, income, marital status, and more.

By refamiliarizing yourself with your audience and using your findings to inform both your marketing and in-restaurant experience, you’ll soon create a higher standard of service, stimulate word-of-mouth marketing, and keep happy diners coming back for more!

Think Outside the Box

Restaurants can do everything right in a conventional sense, but still find themselves struggling to attract foot traffic and maintain a steady flow of business. The solution? Embrace the unconventional!

Though it can be easy to dismiss outside-the-box marketing tactics as tacky gimmicks, and they won’t suit the character of every restaurant’s brand, doing something that catches the eye where other businesses don’t, can be a great way to jump-start a restaurant that’s seen better months.

There are many ways to shake up your marketing depending on the kind of customers you’re targeting. If you want more business from out-of-towners, consider partnering with a local experience provider such as scavenger hunt company The Secret City, and attracting tourists looking to find “top-rated pubs, bars and cafes”. If you’re worried that your customers are re-assessing their personal budgets and not eating out as much, try promoting a weekly “burn the bill” night where you randomly select a table and let them eat for free.

Finding a new marketing direction that’s both creative and effective can be tough, but when you find your niche, the results can be huge.

Try Some New Specials

Now that your staff isn’t rushed off their feet during every lunch and dinner, it may be time to take some risks and debut new specials.

Whether it’s a completely new dish, a new meal deal that combines disparate items, or simply redesigning your menu to better suit your diners, trying some new specials will create new talking points among your audience, and often tempt in new customers with something they didn’t know you had. What’s more, because your foot traffic is going through a slump, your staff will be able to take their time with getting to know the new dishes, learning to present meal deals, and paying more attention to how these additions are being received by your diners.

Going through a slump in traffic doesn’t have to mean hanging your head in despair. Instead, look at it as an opportunity to experiment, take new risks, and do the things you never usually have time for.

Foot traffic not being where you want it to be can be a distressing experience, but taking it as a prompt for a more proactive and forward-thinking strategy can make it easy to turn your luck around, and find new opportunities for growth you’ve never considered before.

Source: Ashley Harris, FSR via Operators-Edge.com

In episode 70, Dennis Food Service account executive Josh Henderson joins Luke and Samantha to discuss menu pricing and managing your restaurant’s menu for margin and profit.

The start of a new year is always a good time for restaurants to evaluate and update menus for profitability. But, as you’ll hear in this episode, given inflation and rising overhead costs, it’s best to build this task into your regular workflow, helping ensure your menu consistently meets expectations and desired margins. Menu management is one of Josh’s favorite parts of the job. In this episode, he draws from his years of hands-on experience consulting with restaurant operators to share key takeaways. With more and more operators working IN their restaurants lately, it’s important to remember to set aside adequate time to work ON your business.

For more factors to consider when adjusting menu prices in 2023, check out Luke’s article “New Year, New Menu Prices.” And for more about restaurant menus, marketing, and profitable strategies for your restaurant check out our blog.

To see Josh’s example comparing the results of trying to shave costs on ingredients vs. building in profitability to your menu, click here: Example Video

Dennis Knows Food Podcast   podcast@dennisexpress.com

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In this episode Luke and Samantha go off the rails discussing how restaurants can create and use free QR codes. You’re guaranteed to leave with at least one important takeaway. This episode is also the first of our new two-person format; casual conversation that compliments, shares, and simplifies topics and trends that are valuable to independent food service businesses.

Whether you were driven to QR codes by the touchless adaptations of the pandemic or attracted by the convenience, customization, and extended business engagement offered to anyone with a smartphone in their pocket—you’ve decided it’s time. You are ready to use QR codes in your restaurant. Just one question remains. What the heck is a QR code? In this fresh new take on Dennis Knows Food we’re discussing what a QR code is and what it does–to help you better understand how your establishment can effectively start using them.

For more a more detailed breakdown, check out FREE QR Codes for Restaurant Menus and Online Ordering.

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In this episode writer and marketing professional Marisa Sanfilippo joins the podcast to discuss scent marketing. Tapping into this powerful consumer sense can lead to increased sales and customer loyalty.

In her article “The Smells That Make Shoppers Spend More” Marisa discusses how smell has a strong link to emotion and, therefore, spending. How scent marketing and scent branding are complex strategies involving science and art, intended to enhance customer loyalty and spending. And how using ambient scents to make your business smell good can have other applications, such as decreasing stress and anxiety. In this episode we’re connect the topic to food service to hopefully help you make more cents with your scents, if that makes sense…

For more foodservice news, resources, products and business insights visit us online at www.dennisexpress.com. For the original article from Marissa Sanfilippo click here: businessnewsdaily.com/3469-smells-shoppers-spend-more.html

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