Hospo House Party Roundtable Discussion - How do you attract new customers?

Hospo House Party Roundtable Discussion: April 18, Melbourne. Australia 

Thanks for joining us at our first Hospo House Party! We were stoked see you all in our Melbourne office for the first time and have the chance to share insights within the roundtable discussion session. 

What is a roundtable discussion? 

Small informal discussion groups that present attendees with the opportunity to engage and collaborate over a proposed topic. 

The topic: In this busy hospitality landscape, how do you attract new customers and turn them into loyal regulars?

Your insights: We've summarised some of the key insights that were shared within the session. Conversations are not always linear - we've included all key points that were mentioned (even if they stray from the topic!).

Keen to contribute? Get involved within the comments, it's the best way to share your ideas and feedback! 

So, how do you attract and retain customers? How do you turn them into regulars?

Service!

• Going over and above with all service moments - even the small things. Make it clear for customers how they're to order, be present when they need it, engage when meals are served.
• Greeting & seating! Setting the tone from the moment the customer walks in is essential. You want them to know you're here if they need you, even if there is table ordering. 

Marketing!

• Social Media: Small regional venues highlighted how impactful it is to search nearby tagged locations on Facebook and Instagram and engage with those users to gain new followers. 
• Email marketing: Personalised email marketing is essential when trying to retain new customers. Sending an email that is "from" the owner or the head chef can make a huge difference to open rates and responses. 

Rewards! 

• There were some great insights posed re: rewarding customers with discount codes. Don't be afraid to incentivise customers to come back via. a discounted meal or voucher. They're likely to bring someone new, reducing the acquisition cost and presenting additional opportunities to create a new loyal customer. The value is always worth it!
• Daily specials that are locally promoted help draw in a regular crowd - steak night, parma night, marg specials etc. Look for ways that these can be locally promoted - external posters, council community boards and then further support with social media and email channels. 

Specific Mr Yum related discussion:

• Venues that have seen the most success with table ordering reiterate how beneficial removing all paper menus was - it helped simplify the sequence of service as guests clearly understood the ordering process.
• Training, training, training! Invest the time in in ensuring your staff feel comfortable with the daily management of Mr Yum and the POS. It dramatically improves how seamless the product can be. 
• Utilise upsells more! This is a huge revenue opportunity for venues - spend more time in understanding how you can add these to menu items when you're trying to move dead stock. 

💡 Do you have any thoughts about how you can attract new customers? Tell us! 👇