The 2014 Winter Olympics are underway in Sochi. Hey sports bars and casual dining chains with televisions, how’s that working out for you in driving significant guest traffic?
What? It’s not?
That’s unfortunate. But don’t worry, March Madness is just around the corner. A heads-up for you that next week we’ve got a cool promotion we’ve heard about to help drive even more traffic to sports bars for the NCAA Tournament.
Meanwhile, let’s turn to this week’s restaurant marketing news and ideas!
- Last week we told you about Chipotle speeding their process up via mobile payments. This week, it’s Taco Bell getting into the act. Â Later this year, the chain will be rolling out its mobile ordering app that’s been under development for two and a half years. That’s now Chipotle, Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Chick-fil-a who have been open about their mobile payment plans. Article via Nation’s Restaurant News.
- We’ve reported this previously, but here’s the latest on Apple’s plans to replace your POSÂ via Street Fight. Don’t be lulled by the article’s emphasis on retailers — this is aimed just as much at restaurants.
- Great article from Mobile Marketing Watch on the value of Pinterest. Basic how-tos, contest tips, and how to find out what’s trending  and popular that you might piggyback with a promotion or social media post.
- Speaking of Pinterest, what if I told you that Pinterest outperforms email (and Twitter) when it comes to engagement? Â This comes via Mediabistro. One additional tidbit from the article: “…while women still dominate, men have seen an 8 percent growth in overall share in the last three months, and now command 28 percent of the total user base.”
- Can we be honest about something? Most restaurant websites stink. They just do. Still. In 2014. In particular, they’re awful on smartphones. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Check out our directory for leaders in website development — vendors who can help redevelop your website, making it more mobile-friendly. We’ve just added two new entries over the last two weeks. If you speak a little HTML, here’s a solid article at Distilled about best practices for mobile websites.
- We contributed our first guest post to the tremendous Foodable community this past week. It’s our take on what’s next in tableside ordering, aka ordering from tablets in casual dining restaurants. Quoting ourselves: “What we’re seeing today with tableside ordering is version 1.0. utility value. I’m bullish on this technology, however. I’m excited when I imagine how some brands will embrace technology to improve the overall customer experience with elements they couldn’t offer before.” Deep. Should be a fancy quote on Pinterest or something.
