Increasing Profitability by Targeting New Residents

Most restaurant owners understand that in order to increase their businesses’ profitability they must expand their customer base. However, many restaurateurs have little idea how to go about obtaining new customers. Oftentimes these business owners spend money and creative energy putting together advertising or marketing campaigns that are not tailored to the needs of individual consumers. And, as should be expected, these “shot-in-the-dark” efforts hardly ever result in more customers or increased business.

But there are strategies that restaurant owners can use to genuinely expand their customer base and, thus, increase the profitability of their business. The first step in crafting a marketing strategy that delivers results is to target the right customers- individuals who will be receptive to your message and willing to visit your restaurant for a meal. And while many entrepreneurs believe that all customers are likely to respond their marketing efforts in the same way, specific customer segments are statistically far more likely to try a meal at a new restaurant than their neighbors or co-workers.

One such customer segment is new movers. New movers are individuals who have recently arrived in a new town or city and are unfamiliar with the area and its local businesses. These individuals can often be disoriented with their new surroundings, and are frequently more adventurous about trying new things than long-time residents. Additionally, new movers typically establish routines within the first few months of arriving in a new location. By approaching these individuals before they have settled into their daily pattern, you can greatly increase the chance that your restaurant will become part of their new routine.

Approaching new movers and capturing their attention can be as simple as sending them a letter. Picture this: you’ve just arrived to a new town. You’re in a new house, almost everything you own is in boxes, and you’re tired and hungry after unpacking and moving furniture. You’ve yet to go to the grocery store (you’d be lucky to know where one is), but it’s dinnertime and your stomach’s beginning to growl.

Then you find a letter in your mailbox (and it’s probably one of the only pieces of mail in your mailbox, as you have just moved in and are still waiting for your mail to be forwarded). The letter begins by welcoming you to the neighborhood on behalf of a local restaurant owner, and includes a gift certificate for $15 as his or her gift to you. Not a “buy-one get-one free” offer or a coupon for discounted appetizers, but a no-strings attached gift certificate for $15 of free meal service. Sounds good, right? Exactly.

This is the type of “hook” you can use to capture the attention of potential customers and greatly expand your restaurant’s customer base. By reaching out to new movers, you are speaking to them at a point in their life when they are more open to trying new things. You are positioning your business as a warm and interested member of the community, and are displaying confidence in both your restaurant’s food and its service.

But will a gift certificate for $15 translate into more business for your restaurant? That depends on how enjoyable of an experience you provide to your new movers. As a business owner, it is your job to ensure that every customer who presents a new mover gift certificate is treated warmly and is provided with the highest level of service your establishment can offer. Explain to your waitstaff and bartenders that the individuals that present these gift certificates are far more likely to tip well and return frequently than other customers, and encourage them to offer information about local music venues, museums, or businesses. These new movers are giving you one chance to make a first impression and turn them into repeat customers. Make sure that your business responds to their challenge accordingly and you will quickly convert these new movers into your Friday night regulars.

JAY SIFF is a principal of Moving Targets http://www.movingtargets.com a Perkasie, Pennsylvania-based provider of new resident direct marketing programs for small business. Jay can be reached at 800-926-2451 or jay@movingtargets.com