In September, we asked industry experts to share their marketing tips for One for the Road:
What is your top piece of marketing advice for bars & restaurants?
Erik Shellenberger, Owner, Bar Marketing Basics
Get on board with AI now! ChatGPT and other AI platforms will drastically change the way the public finds us online. By 2026, Google is positioned to lose 25% of its search volume to AI computers! Start taking your online presence seriously by living by my top 3 rules of SEO: Be accurate, be thorough, and be everywhere. AI will change our customers' way of thinking, all for the better. Imagine a normal "restaurants near me" Google search transformed into a smart-search. A customer can now enter all of the criteria they want into their search for a quick, easy, and perfect restaurant suggestion near them. Now ancillary features will come into play with every online search; things like outdoor patio, dog-friendly, sports on TVs, happy hour, brunch, family-friendly, and much more will be automatically applied to a search without the customer having to ask every time. If you aren't feeding these AI computers everything they need to know, and not telling the WHOLE picture, you can, and will, be filtered out of searches like this before the customer even gets hungry. Get ready, it's about to get real!
Josh Gandee, Partner, Focus on Health, no proof podcast host
"It is one thing to be mysterious. It is another to be baffling and cryptic.
You don’t have to post or share with the intensity of a heavy-thumbed influencer, but your online presence should carry enough details to be found, described, and shared with those interested. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve decided to go somewhere else for food and drinks because a bar or restaurant’s website decided it wanted to be visuals from a Tool concert.
I’m not asking for the kitchen sink, just enough to build intrigue and get my butt in your seat.
Alex Jump, Founder & Director of Operations, Focus on Health
Some of the best marketing you can possibly have is happy, well taken care of staff. The industry talks, and employers who treat their employees poorly, underpay, steal their wages, or otherwise do not go unnoticed. So my advice is, before you even open, take the time to ensure that your policies are ones that take care of your employees and treat them well. Having staff that sees how valued they are translates to higher check averages, more regular guests, less turnover, and therefore tons of savings in training costs and much more.
Ajay Elan, Co-founder, GVO Hospitality, Los Angeles, California
Marketing is not just sharing content and buying advertising—it’s the entire experience. From the quality of the product, to the level of service, to purpose-driven social media messaging—it’s all marketing. Lead with intention and consistently deliver on the quality of the experience, the customer will become your biggest advocate—free marketing!
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- 2024 Bar & Restaurant Expo Texas, October 28-30, 2024 in San Antonio, TX. Register today!
- 2025 Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 24-26, 2025, Las Vegas, Nevada
To learn about the latest trends, issues and hot topics, and to experience and taste the best products within the bar, restaurant and hospitality industry, plan to attend Bar & Restaurant Expo 2025 in Las Vegas. Visit BarandRestaurantExpo.com.
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