Are you aware of the factor that can make or break your restaurant? Surely you know which I’m talking about. The one that will determine how much money you make and if you survive: customer lifetime value, or how much your customers spend, on average, at your restaurant.
So, what if there was a way to increase this number and effectively make a lot more money based on your current customers? There is. It’s called retargeting. And it gives you the ability to get in front of the people who are most likely to buy from you. Would that be useful to you? If so, keep reading to discover how you can leverage this technique to maximize your revenues.
Retargeting Past Customers
There are two types of people that are really important to get in front of for retargeting campaigns. Past customers are the first type. The easiest people to target are people who have already bought from your restaurant. Because these people, by definition, chose you in the past and (hopefully) liked your experience. And sometimes, all they need is a reminder of your restaurant to get them to come back the next time they dine out. So, how do you get in front of them?
Fortunately, Facebook and Google make it really easy. On Facebook, you can simply upload a list of emails and phone numbers as a “custom audience” to target those people specifically. The best part? It’s super cheap to do: According to research by Hootsuite, the average cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM) in Q3 2016 was $7.19 in the United States.
And on Google, you can upload the list of your customers’ data as a “custom list” to do the same. It’s even cheaper to advertise there: According to various sources, the average CPM is $2.80.
Once you get in front of these people, there’s a proven way to engage them (covered later). But for now, the second most important type of person to get in front of in your retargeting are your website visitors.
Retargeting Website Visitors
Getting in front of the people who’ve visited your website is easy and effective. Because most people who visit your website won’t end up becoming customers. But by visiting your website, they’ve demonstrated that they are interested in what you have to offer and may just need a reminder to visit your restaurant.
Maybe they got distracted. Maybe their annoying friend demanded another restaurant. Maybe their plans changed. Regardless, they’re worth staying top of mind for, and you can do this on Google and Facebook using the Google Remarketing Tag and the Facebook Pixel, respectively.
As for what ad to run, test a bunch of ideas to determine what will work best. Maybe it will be an offer, a video showcasing your restaurant, or some positive reviews to get them to make that buying decision.
Stay in front of these people. And when you speak to them, it’s important to use an ad that gets their attention, is relevant to them, and calls them to action.
Here’s a proven formula we’ve used in advertisements themselves, which have led to great success in getting its audience to visit the restaurant inexpensively.
Proven Formula For Restaurant Retargeting
The first step with an effective retargeting ad is to interrupt the viewer. Get them to stop what they’re doing and pay attention to what you’re saying.
1. Call Them Out
Our internal studies have found that the best way to do this is to call them out specifically. For example: “ATTENTION, Past Domino’s Customers!”
I don’t know about you, but that would get me to stop scrolling Facebook and keep reading. This text both grabs attention and speaks to a specific group of people.
2. Share Something Relevant
Now that you’ve got your audience’s attention, you have to make the most of it. And fast. Studies show that you only have about eight seconds. So, share something relevant to them. That may be an offer, an event invitation, or a showcase of popular food. For example: “For a LIMITED TIME, our large pizzas are BUY ONE GET ONE FREE.”
If I were a past customer, and I saw this offer, it would make me buy next time I needed pizza to feed a large group of people. Wouldn’t you? It creates a sense of urgency through scarcity (limited time) and shares an offer which is really relevant to past customers. There’s one more step, though, to creating a successful retargeting ad that converts.
3. Get Them To Take Action
You’ve gotten their attention and have shared something relevant to them. Now, what can they do about it?
Telling them how to take you up on your offer is the next step. In digital advertising, this is called a “call to action.” And it can increase your click-through rate (people clicking to order, in this case) by up to 285%.
This is how a call to action would look in this example: “Click ORDER NOW to get your free ‘buy one get one’ pizza now.” In this case, there should be an “order now” button at the bottom of the advertisement on Facebook or on the advertisement image on Google.
Conclusion
You now have everything you need to grow your restaurant’s revenue through retargeting ads. So the question is: What are you going to do about it? Will you take action and learn how to leverage this technique to grow your restaurant? Or sit back in frustration as you watch your competitors do it? The choice is yours.
