Too often, golf courses view their food and beverage service as a complementary business to the golf course itself. However, treating your facility as if it were a standalone restaurant can help you increase your revenue and profits. To reach new customers and significantly increase your revenue, adapt your food options, brand your golf restaurant, and offer food delivery through third-party vendors. Here’s how:
Building Solid Marketing Strategies for Your Restaurant
As with any part of your business, your restaurant should have its own business plan. Golfers will know that the restaurant exists because they come to play on your course. However, you should consider a marketing strategy to reach other members in your community.
Developing a unique brand
It may seem logical to name your restaurant after your golf course, such as “Oak Hills Golf Club Restaurant,” but this could inadvertently limit your customer base and discourage non-golf visitors. It is therefore advisable taiwan cp number to treat your restaurant as a real restaurant. Therefore, it should have a unique brand that sets it apart from your golf course and helps attract more customers.
While your brand should complement your golf club, it should also be able to stand alone. For example, you might choose a name that ties into the history of your course, such as the last name of the founder or your first pro, such as “Finnegan’s Pub.” You might choose to reflect the best features or scenery of your course, such as “The Fountain Room.” Or you might choose to give your restaurant a golf twist to your menu, such as “Bogie’s Bar and Grille.”
Whatever brand you choose, make sure it reflects the atmosphere that visitors will feel and creates a strong visual that they can imagine before they set foot inside. The goal is to entice and encourage them to choose your restaurant over another by communicating your unique benefits.
Using social media
Non-golfers may not even know you exist. To address this, you need to maintain a strong social media presence . With over 374 million posts on Instagram with #food, dining is a popular topic on social media. Take advantage of this to encourage people to try your restaurant.
Your social media should include basic information, including your address, hours, contact information, and a link to your menu. Then, schedule your posts. If your restaurant offers daily specials, you can update your page so visitors can take advantage of the deals. Be careful not to sound too promotional, though. Instead, approach social media as a way to connect with visitors in a way that provides value.
Get online reviews
In today’s highly connected world, any customer can become a food critic, easily leaving a review of your business on sites like Yelp or Google. It’s important to know how to manage these pages and use them to your advantage, as word of mouth and reviews have a big impact on your potential traffic.
According to a study by OpenTable , people are 25% more likely to read reviews from other diners than professional critics. And according to a Harvard Business School study , increasing your Yelp rating by just one star can result in a 9% increase in revenue.
The first step is to claim your pages on these sites, adding information about your restaurant’s location, contact information, hours, cuisine, and menu. Then, actively monitor the pages for reviews. Whether good or bad, always respond positively and quickly, thanking the user for their thoughts and offering to fix a bad experience.
Offer interesting formulas
Once new customers walk through your doors, it’s time to wow them with your food. Traditional golf course fare like sandwiches and burgers may be perfect for golfers looking for a quick bite to eat after a round, but you don’t necessarily have to stop there. Think about how you can expand your menu to make your restaurant a dining destination.