Report: How New Zealand’s Cafe’s, Restaurant’s & Bar’s Can Best Use The Internet

My major research project for my MBA through Waikato Uni was entitled “How New Zealand’s Cafe’s, Restaurant’s & Bar’s can best use the internet to attract new customers and encourage existing customers to return”

The report is 115 pages long (24,441 words).

You can buy the entire report right now:

• $89 +gst
• After payment, you’ll be sent to a page with the download link

Read The First Three Sections for Free

You can download and read the first three sections including:

1. Table of Contents
2. Executive Summary
3. Introduction

Download the first three sections of “How New Zealand’s Cafe’s, Restaurant’s & Bar’s can best use the internet to attract new customers and encourage existing customers to return” (70Kb .pdf)

The Executive Summary for the report “How New Zealand’s Cafe’s, Restaurant’s & Bar’s can best use the internet”:

Café’s, Restaurant’s and Bar’s that learn how to use the internet to attract new customers and to remind existing customers to return, will have an advantage over owners who don’t.

7 Cafe/Restaurant/Bar owners in Tauranga were interviewed about their use/non-use of 11 different methods of online marketing which were: Business Websites, Business Facebook Pages, Email Newsletters, Online Review Websites, Online “Daily Deal” Coupon/Voucher Websites, Online Business Directories, Applications for Smart Phones, Pay-Per-Click Internet Advertising, Twitter, LinkedIn and Business Blogging.

Each method was described, the pros and cons were discussed, owners shared their perceptions and techniques, and a “how to get started” guide was provided.

One major benefit of online marketing is that you can use just about any method for free (or for next to nothing), and that, if it is set up properly, it can keep generating results infinitum with little or no maintenance. Compare that to an advertisement in yesterday’s newspaper or in last week’s Television commercial break.

However, business owners need to be convinced that each method will generate measurable results before they are willing to allocate time/resources/money to those methods.

To determine what those results may be, 105 consumers were surveyed about their use of the internet in relation to Cafe’s, Restaurant’s and Bar’s.

Firstly, they were asked about how they used the internet to find new places to visit. The 3 most common methods consumers used were Google search, “Daily Deal” websites, and Facebook.

Many respondents wanted to make it clear they did not use the internet at all to find new places to visit. However, many others are active users and several voiced frustration over not being able to find the information online, that they needed to make an informed choice.

If a growing number of consumers are using the internet looking for a new place to consider going to, are owners ensuring that their brand appears in the search results for a chance to be considered?  Owners that invest time/effort/money into this area will undoubtedly have an advantage over those that do not.

Secondly, the consumers were surveyed about the kind of information they expect to find online about a Cafe/Restaurant/Bar they are considering visiting. The importance of 18 factors was measured.

61% of respondents indicated that they were more likely to visit a place if they can find the answers to their questions online.

It is proposed that these questions and answers could form the basis of a Frequently-Asked-Questions page on a business website, and/or on a tab on a Facebook business page.

Finally, consumers were asked about how they interact with their favourite brands online.

Many respondents indicated that they would become fans of the Facebook business pages of their favourites if they could find them, and that they do subscribe to Email Newsletters.

We are living in a time when the effectiveness of traditional types of media is decreasing, the fragmentation of the media channels is increasing, and consumers are paying less and less attention. In times like this, business owners who get permission from customers to speak directly to them will have an advantage.

One third of respondents said they talk about their experiences online via social networking sites (such as Facebook) and a similar proportion take the time to write good/bad reviews online.

A growing proportion of consumers are engaging in discussions about their experiences, both positive and negative, on online platforms.

Owners that make efforts to monitor this feedback may be able to prevent damage to their brand that can result from negative criticism posted online.

Overall, it is clear that Café’s, Restaurant’s and Bar’s that make efforts to put some or all of these tools and techniques to use for their own businesses, will gain significant advantage over owners who don’t in terms of attracting new customers and maintaining relationships with existing customers.

Buy The Entire Report?

Yes, you can buy the entire report right now:

• 115 pages long with 24,441 words
  
• $89 +gst
• After payment, you’ll be sent to a page with the download link