Your restaurant can learn a lot about marketing from
Harry's. The hip, relatively young brand of men's razors is very good at advertising and social media. Their website design is top notch, showcasing their products well while also providing an interactive experience that rivals much bigger brands. The small company was born less than a year ago, and is already expanding quickly. Until recently, their products were sold exclusively through their website. Now however,
TechCrunch reports they have opened a
barber shop in SoHo, where NYC residents and visitors can shop for products, grab a haircut and shave, and bridge the gap between their offline and online experiences with Harry's.
The reason we bring this up is to point out the company's excellent strategies when it comes to advertising, social media, and their customers' experiences. Barbershops and restaurants are very different, but are both in the industry of hospitality. As such, it makes sense that restaurant owners can learn quite a lot from Harry's when it comes to engaging with customers. I'll go over their advertising and social media in a moment, but first I'd like to focus on the most interesting part of the barber shop: an iPad application. When you walk into Harry's, they can look up your order history from the web, as well as a photograph from your most recent visit, so they can give you a consistent haircut without lengthy explanations. All this is great for customers, as it makes their visits easier and more pleasant, but it's also very good for Harry's, as they can continuously learn about their guests.
Harry's greatest strong suite is their extremely thorough social media campaigns. Their representatives will have full on conversations with customers via Twitter, and it seems as though they respond to nearly every piece of customer feedback. Their Facebook posts are also well executed, with strategic advertisements and relevant information. Their simple and highly functional website features a striking design with large photographs & catchy text. The site even incorporates a
blog-like magazine, cleverly titled "5 O'Clock" that regularly features interviews with various interesting New Yorkers who speak to the "Harry's Lifestyle", including one of their new barbers. Finally, they offer free replacement blades when you get your friends to order products, by providing each customer with a special link to share. It's a very ingenious way of further propagating their already robust promotional efforts.
The kind of software application used by Harry's barbers could easily apply to restaurants and bars, and could provide great opportunities for loyalty programs that would generate repeat customers. Imagine, for example, that you are able to send an email to each of your patrons that includes a link to your restaurants reservation page. Each link is specific to the customer to whom it was sent, so that if they share it with friend(s) who happen to make a reservation, the original customer receives a free or discounted option on their next visit as a referral reward. This has the twofold effect of giving your original customer greater incentive to return, while also bringing in new patrons. The most important thing is that it happens in a simple manner, without a physical card to carry around, or any clunky paper systems. Your customers do not need to download a specific application for your restaurant, but they receive the benefits of these new, very seamless technologies.
Check out TechCrunches article (link below), and take moment to brows Harry's website. You may find some great ways to improve your restaurant's digital presence, and relationship with your customers.
Source:
TechCrunch Harry's
Tablebases.com
