6th July 2012
The restaurant industry in the UK is failing to adapt to customer behaviour and make the most of the opportunities being presented through mobile and online technology. New research from Livebookings shows that a significant number of people start their restaurant searches online, but despite this a third of UK restaurants don't have a website. More and more customers are making bookings online and due to the proliferation of smartphones and tablet computers this is becoming all the more convenient. It is estimated that the average amount lost each year for a restaurant by not having a website comes to £31,000, which is a shocking figure for anyone having not tapped into the online market. Bookings are not the only aspect of a restaurant to suffer from not having a website, as the web offers a great opportunity to promote a brand . Not only with an official site, but there are many opportunities too, with Facebook and other social networking sites offering a good chance for customers to express their brand loyalty . This in turn helps to market a restaurant, thus increasing bookings and bringing back a chunk of the aforementioned £31,000. Colin Tenwick, chief executive officer of Livebookings, said: "Restaurants not making use of online, mobile and social bookings is almost tantamount to adopting a no children policy; they shut themselves off to roughly the same amount of potential business." Enabling comments is another good way to interact with customers, as unlike the traditional restaurant review printed in a paper, the internet is an almost instantaneous medium where dialogue can be achieved easily. An example of how the restaurant industry can use the web to the best effect is that of Jamie's Italian, which received a 800 per cent return on investment on its latest email marketing campaign. This equates to around £9,000 in revenue – not many restaurants can claim to not need those sorts of profits. Mr Tenwick said: "Almost all other consumer-facing sectors, including retail and travel, have radically changed their marketing strategies to respond to that, and now it’s time for all UK restaurants to do the same."
