The success of a Hamburgueria mirrors the chef's passion for the hamburger, but there's no point in producing the best snack if no one knows your brand, there's no point in having the best service experience in the salon if no one knows where the establishment is, in other words, without good publicity and marketing, your business will be doomed to only reach people on the street, in the neighborhood or perhaps just your friends and acquaintances.
Those who work in delivery have the advantage that the apps indicate or list the establishment in the options for the consumer, while in the salon, most of the traffic comes from outside, from other neighborhoods and even cities, but what makes these people find and frequent your burger joint? How do you reach these people, how do you show them your business differentials? What differentials should be communicated through marketing actions to attract this audience? In this article, we've listed a series of tips that are sure to put your burger restaurant on the path of the hungriest consumers.
The basics done right is marketing!
Worry about doing it rightThe most important thing is to deliver quality from the simplest item on the menu, there's nothing more unpleasant than spending money on bad food. The quality must exceed expectations, so that the customer leaves wanting to come back again, and there's a good chance that they'll comment on it and recommend it to their friends and family, thus creating word-of-mouth marketing.
Listen to what the customer wantsquality meat, quality bread, fresh vegetables, but also options for side dishes, cold drinks that add up and are great for increasing the average ticket.
Side dish optionsIn addition to fries, special sauces, onion rings, rustic potatoes, potato chips, toppings such as cheddar, bacon, crispy onions, are all options that enrich the experience and often, there may be customers who come to your burger joint for a crispy, dry potato rather than for the snack.
Impeccable hygieneThe recent pandemic has led to greater public concern about hygiene and food safety. It is extremely important that, in addition to impeccable cleanliness, your establishment shows this concern for its customers, such as making alcohol gel available on all the tables in the hall.
Space with comfortRegardless of the size of the hall, the atmosphere should be comfortable, with adequate lighting, pleasant surround sound, music that matches the theme of the decoration and at a volume that allows customers to talk without having to raise their voices.
Experience in the environment
It's common today to have burger restaurants with the most different themes, such as: retro, movie themes, hero themes, rock-and-roll themes and others, all to generate a unique customer experience. When it comes to the brand experience, this point should be given special attention: colors and decorative objects should work together. It is advisable to hire architects or set design companies to succeed in this regard.
Pleasing everyone?
It's definitely unanimous among successful entrepreneurs that it's impossible to please everyone. So it's important to have a well-defined audience for the burger restaurant and everything should revolve around this segmentation. We won't be able to please everyone, but we can offer a menu that caters for specific tastes and needs, such as gluten-free snacks, options for lactose intolerants, vegan and vegetarian options, and here's a tip: there is a shortage of such options on the market today.
Apart from the weekend!
The flow of customers at the weekend is usually the greatest, but there are strategies to ensure that your business is not empty during the week, here are some ideas:
- Promotions or recipes that are only served on a specific day of the week.
- Game options, specific playlists for each day of the week.
- Accept food stamps and meal vouchers as payment, most workers only use these cards to eat during the week, and if the hamburger shop is close to large shopping centers with many offices or universities in the area, this could greatly increase the flow during the week.
Brand and identity
Invest in developing a visual identity, a logo and a brand that people will remember when they see your burger joint and the experience they had. The logo should have a pleasant look, be easy to read and understand and preferably be developed by a professional, a designer or publicist.
The logo should be expressive with symbols, colors, typography, graphics, characters that are easily identifiable and don't forget to register your brand with the INPI, to protect it and prevent it from being copied or even if it is so similar to another that it forces you to change your brand when the business is already consolidated.
Presentation and packaging
The way the snack is delivered is part of the customer experience, a snack delivered in a crumpled bag or delivered sweaty in a standard Styrofoam package is acceptable for new entrepreneurs, but not if you want to make a good impression by trying to transfer to the delivery a bit of the experience the customer would have if they were in the salon.
Packaging, when well thought out, reinforces the brand's identity, keeps snacks warm and slows down their deterioration. When choosing packaging, opt for more sustainable and ecological options, which have been highly valued lately, especially by the younger generations.
Be digital!
In the last two years, we have experienced a strong growth in online sales and the digitalization of commerce. More than 70% of companies turned to social media to generate demand after the start of the pandemic (source: Trade Journal).
It's impossible for an entrepreneur to see his competitors taking off on social media and not take action. The fact is that most people use social media to research, compare, read and listen to other consumers' opinions and to buy.
Your burger shop's social media should be updated frequently, because the bigger your digital presence, the more relevant it will become to your audience. But be careful, don't just post anything, the content should reflect the positive experience a customer has when visiting your burger joint, so it's well worth investing in a phone with a very good camera to take vivid, clear photos of the business and the products on offer. The colors and décor should reflect the same décor found in the salon.
Another tip is to invest in the production of interactive posts and polls, which encourage the public to respond by giving their opinions and commenting on the subject. This activates resources in the functioning of social networks, so that the content is delivered to more people, because the tools understand that if people are commenting on a publication, it may be interesting to other people too. Another type of post that generates a lot of engagement are posts that encourage you to tag friends in the comments.
Website still important
Having a website is important for telling the story of the establishment, providing directions on how to get there, the online menu with photos of the products, prices and ingredients included. The site needs to be responsive, i.e. compatible for access via cell phones as well. Considering that today the largest number of accesses will come from this device.
Promote and motivate customers to comment and give testimonials, they serve as motivation for undecided customers. Display the comments both on the website and on social networks.
Get featured on google!
Google is now the biggest search engine on the internet. According to a survey carried out by the Predicta consultancy, 90% of searches in Brazil are made on Google, so being present on this site when the term hamburgueria is searched for is very important.
One of the ways to stand out, whether it's for those searching near your Hamburgueria's address, or when someone searches exactly for your brand and is registered with Google Business.
Google Business is a free tool that ensures your business always appears on Google for local searches. What's more, it's this registration that will make your business visible on Google Maps. To be validated, all you have to do is register and Google will send a physical letter to the address of your burger restaurant with a code, which you have to enter on the platform to “prove” that you are a real business. Businesses verified on Google are twice as likely to be considered trustworthy by users.
Posts for Hamburgueria
We eat with our eyes first, when we see a clear picture of food, it activates areas in our brain linked to hunger and then we start to imagine what that food would taste like.
A burger restaurant's social media posts should present each item on the menu in a way that makes it look delicious. Highlight the quality and beauty of each ingredient, the juicy meat, the sauces, the melting cheese, the fresh vegetables.
Cutting the burger in half is a great way to show all the ingredients inside the snack. Also include side dishes, golden fries, soft drinks on the rocks and desserts. Your content should make people's mouths water.
The time to share content can help sales a lot, and the best time is when hunger strikes. Set a time for these posts for around 11 a.m. or 6 p.m., for example.
Always look for photos of the real product, avoid using stock images, which will make everything look artificial. Photos should be taken with care and professionalism. If you can, hire a professional photographer. If you can't, consider buying a cell phone with a great camera.
Try to put the prices on your menu in the highlight of the stories so that the customer can have all the information they need about your service. Don't forget the address, telephone number and any other information you think is important.
Abuse the use of hashtags, they help to attract new followers, increase the visibility of posts and attract people who are interested in the topics posted.
Whatsapp Business
WhatsApp, especially the business version, is a great tool for customer service. What's more, it allows customers to save the contact details on their cell phones and from there, the Hamburgueria can build trust with customers by posting content on the WhatsApp Status. Whether it's showing production stages or temporary promotions.
It's a good idea to place a floating WhatsApp contact icon on the site, as this will help you attract new customers with fast service.
If there are any, join groups in your neighborhood, and from time to time send promotions or photos of the burgers.
Boosted media and Google Ads
Paid advertising on social networks allows your business to be found by people within a profile and region that you determine. Targeting ads on Facebook and Instagram allows you, even with a small daily budget, to bring in new interested parties who can turn into customers.
Thinking of the hamburger shop as a regional business, investing 20 or 30 reais a day can make a big difference.
The same goes for paid ads on Google, where your business can be suggested to people who are looking for a burger restaurant in your service region.
Both can be scheduled at specific times, such as half an hour before lunchtime or half an hour before the end of business hours.
As we can see, there are several ways to reach your audience, the important thing is for your burger joint to be remembered at the moment of hunger, either for a fantastic experience or for its outstanding taste. Being present will make the difference and make your burger joint the most attractive option for consumers.
Now, if you're thinking of opening a burger joint or upgrading your kitchen, talk to our experts and schedule a visit to our experimental kitchen, where our chefs will help you choose the best solutions for your business.
