After brainstorming for some novel marketing strategies I could use for my first cafeteria, I would like to share The 4 Most Underrated Marketing Strategies for Your Cafeteria with you guys.
Strategy No. 1: Helium Balloons
Preferably with tall girls giving out the balloons. No, I mean, tall girls are a must. I never knew that the jewelry brand called "Tous" existed before I saw a group of attractive girls in pink, floral dresses giving out balloons with the brand printed on it.
It might be an overused strategy to use cute girls to market your brand, but hey, it still works. Plus the cost of helium balloons and printing your brand on the balloon only costs about USD$0.20 per piece. Totally worth it for the amount of brand awareness that your cafeteria will have when people start to look at your cafeteria's logo printed on the floating balloons.
Strategy No. 2: Trashy Music
My generation of trashy music includes stuff like 'N Sync, Backstreet Boys and Britney Spears (her old hits like Toxic...) Who doesn't still love them? Or at least, who doesn't remember these really catchy and old-school tunes? It might really turn out positively for your new cafeteria because I feel that this is an excellent attention-grabber.
Ok, for this however, it really depends on the kind of cafeteria/ restaurant that you are going to open. I would advise you against this strategy if say, you're planning to open a really classy coffee house for fanatics of artisan coffee.
Strategy No. 3: Happy Employees
Happy employees are the most productive ones. The most direct method to increase their happiness would be good salaries and employee benefits.
Giving them salaries that are slightly above the market rate, especially for part-timers, would definitely increase their enthusiasm and commitment to your cafeteria. More importantly, think of the after-effect. Here's how it goes:
Your Part-Timer: Hey! I have got this great job at XX Cafeteria and it pays really well! Plus there's
transport back home if I work past 11PM!
Part-Timer's Friend: Really? What kind of food do they serve? Can I work there as well?
As word gets around, this not only becomes a form of advertisement (through word-of-mouth) for your cafeteria, you will get more committed and dedicated employees too! Also, in this industry, word-of-mouth marketing is probably the most effective for new cafeterias.
Strategy 4: Membership/ Loyalty Cards
I know, all of us have been to restaurants that give us cards that allow us to redeem free meals/ beverages upon the accumulation of a some stamps or whatsoever. Half of us throw these cards away. More than half, I think.
But I swear I wouldn't have purchased 18 drinks from Starbucks in less than 2 weeks if it wasn't for the the mini card that was promised to suckers like me if I completed the noble quest.
The key here is to have a membership card that is nice enough for your customer to keep in his/ her wallet.
I have done some research on making membership cards for my own cafe and I have decided to go for the plastic cards with magnetic strips. Do note that if you are going for the ones with magnetic strips, you must ensure that your cafe's POS system must be able to read them!
That's all I have for now. Do share your ideas with me if you have any! Have a great weekend ahead.
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