Harness the Power of: Word of Mouth
The Best Marketing Strategy for your Restaurant
Papaya is a digital word of mouth platform - loyal customers can easily recommend your restaurant to their friends and social network from the Papaya app, and for anyone interested to visit can simply save your restaurant to their Papaya wish list. You can then engage with potential new customers and track who eventually converts into a customer.
In the savory world of dining out, there's a hero that inconspicuously determines the fate of all restaurants; word of mouth. Such a major factor in influencing a restaurant’s success, yet it’s true effectiveness is something that cannot be entirely understood, nor measured…until now! (FYI, Papaya)
1. Building Trust
Authentic word of mouth recommendations, especially from a trusted source, drive much higher certainty and confidence in a consumers decision making, than any other marketing campaigns. When your customers share their delightful experiences (a.k.a. foodgasms) with their friends and social network, it attracts new potential customers that are much more likely to trust that your restaurant is one they would enjoy and will also be more likely choose your restaurant next time they dine out. Nielsen's study reveals that a staggering 92% of consumers trust recommendations from friends and family over other forms of advertising. Keep in mind authentic means, not paid for! Consumers will start to catch on when someone advertising your business “is on the take”…
2. Building a Digital Community
In the age of social media, word of mouth has evolved into a digital show and tell. Restaurants and customers alike can showcase the restaurant’s most valuable offerings; the dishes, the atmosphere, the service, etc. in a creative and visually stimulating way. Arguably, but probably not arguably, digital content creates a more effective way to; showcase what a restaurant has to offer, appeal to consumers food-related desires, and entice them to visit. Restaurants that skillfully leverage social platforms (and their customer’s social presence) witness their presence reaching far beyond their limited reach, resulting in heightened visibility and increased customer acquisition. Social Media Today's survey finds that a whopping 71% of consumers make purchasing decisions based on social media referrals. Nielsen's report emphasizes that 92% of consumers trust user-generated content on social media more than traditional advertising.
3. Building a Loyal Customer Base
Word of mouth isn't just about attracting new customers; it's about keeping and growing your OGs. Continuing to satisfy your customers, will build you a larger and larger base of loyal customers, who not only keep coming back, but will provide continuous (word of mouth) recommendations. As your loyal customer base grows they will become the driving force for customer acquisition and provide substantial repeat business, in turn reducing the need for costly customer acquisition strategies. The Temkin Group's study revealed that customers who receive a word of mouth recommendation are more than twice as likely to make a repeat visit. The White House Office of Consumer Affairs highlights the financial efficiency of customer loyalty, stating that it is six to seven times more cost-effective to retain an existing customer than to acquire a new one. The Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) emphasizes that word of mouth generates more than double the sales of paid advertising in sectors like restaurants.
Word of mouth has already proven to be a transformative force backed by compelling data. However, we must realize that Word of Mouth is difficult to track, and specific studies have been done to do so. With Papaya we are digitizing the word of mouth journey, so not only can we precisely monitor the performance of word of mouth for our restaurant partners (who recommends, how many times do they recommend, who converts as a new customer, etc.), we can also implement automation and AI to increase its effectiveness (increase customer acquisition)
