Transparency and Integrity are the top catch words today in any business. Exploit them suitably; promote your management team, your staff, and daily activities in your business by focusing on these terms. Customers find these real tales remarkably enticing as they connect with them easily.
In genuine business, whether it’s branding a cup holder or rolling out a marketing campaign for a new restaurant, how do you build up your reputation? Consider the following:
Be Honest on the Menu: What is the level of freshness in your ‘fresh’ ingredients? Is ‘homemade’ actually made at home? Can the terms ‘organic’, ‘local’, ‘made daily’ etc. be trusted by customers? It is very much possible to put together an appealing menu while being truthful at the same time.
Upgrade your ‘About Us’ webpage: Provide names of your actual people be it staff, managers and owners. Mention how the business has grown over the years, with approx dates if possible. Most web pages today contain no names or truths and they end up appearing hyped or tricky to customers. Also, we’re constantly surprised by how many people read the “about us” section based on our drink holder.
Show Actual People on your website: More than celebrities or people with ideal CVs, the majority of the customers identify with a person like them, and for those with mobility issues, having employees that require wheelchair accessories is also inclusive. Be cautious if you are promoting a star chef as other staff is also performing well. Choose your photos carefully as it should not look too perfect like those from photo libraries. Stick to real digital photos to be put on your website.
Share Videos of a Normal Day at your Joint: Put videos on daily activities say “an hour at the barista”, “make pasta with us”, “greet our new staff” etc. These are all regular task, so do not make it a big budget production.
Communicate your blunders too: Who does not make mistakes? Share them openly like a wine which you specially chose for your customers which no on bought or an appliance not passing through the doors etc. Social channels like Twitter and Facebook or even a blog is a good route to share them.
Encourage Feedback Actively: Promote and work over the feedback provided. You’ll be truly encouraged with the positive comments and equally glad that the negative comments come directly to you. You may do this through feedback cards or a particular website page or even Facebook.
Highlight the particulars about your local area: In your website, include information on the places to visit, current events, popular parks etc in your location. Make sure your staff knows where customers can find an ATM, parking space, transport and so on.
