Let’s face it – sales prospecting in the foodservice market isn’t easy. Even the most delightful culinary experiences need the right audience to flourish.
With the increasing number of dining establishments, restaurant owners must implement effective strategies to attract and engage potential customers.
In this article, we will explore various strategies and techniques for generating restaurant leads and how to reach out to those on the cusp of becoming avid advocates.
B2B (Business-to-Business) leads refer to the sales and marketing efforts that target other businesses rather than individual consumers. The target audience may include suppliers, distributors, wholesalers, or even other restaurants interested in collaborating or purchasing products from the restaurant.
B2B restaurant leads allow your restaurant to partner with other restaurants to create win-win situations.
For example, imagine you run a bakery specializing in gourmet pastries. A fruitful B2B lead for you might be forming a partnership with a nearby coffee shop, creating a delightful combo of fresh pastry and coffee that appeals to both customer bases.
The potential is enormous when selling to other restaurants in bulk instead of customers.
Lead generation is more than just finding the email address of your prospect. In the restaurant industry, here’s how to generate B2B leads that resonate with your restaurant’s unique offerings and aspirations.
Local businesses in your vicinity can be your prospective customers. Think of the win-win situations you can create by pairing your specialty dishes with a local cafe or offering exclusive discounts to employees of a nearby office complex.
You can also work on local search engine optimization to be easily found through Google Business profile.
You may also design a joint promotional campaign to increase restaurant sales. If you collaborate with a local coffee roaster, create a special where customers buying a bag of beans get a discount on your breakfast menu.
Scout for local community events, farmers markets, or business fairs. Offer to set up a stall or provide catering services. This puts your restaurant in the spotlight and lets you network directly with other businesses.
You might get a chance to team up with another business to create a co-branded product or menu item. For instance, a special dessert using a local chocolatier’s products.
Beyond your regular posts on social media accounts like Facebook or Instagram, use LinkedIn to highlight your restaurant’s achievements, specialties, and potential collaborations.
Collaborate with other businesses on content projects, such as a guest blog post exchange, email lists, or a video series highlighting local business stories, including yours.
Set up a referral program where other businesses can refer corporate clients or events to your restaurant, and they receive a commission or a discount in return.
Implement a sales funnel to track referrals, customer engagement, and rewards using tools like ReferralCandy or Yotpo.
In your locale, foodservice market intelligence platforms like Brizo Foodmetrics uncover actionable insights about trends, ideal customer preferences, and potential collaboration opportunities. Utilizing data-driven insights can help you identify complementary businesses and target your B2B efforts effectively.
For instance, if data indicates a rise in health-conscious dining in your area, you might collaborate with a local gym to offer special meal discounts to its members.
How Can Brizo Help to Get Quality Leads?
Brizo steps in as your growth partner in the restaurant business. Let’s explain how it brings value to your lead generation strategy and sales process.
Brizo assists as a lead generation tool in identifying opportunities for collaboration between restaurants. For example, suppose a vegan restaurant in Brooklyn wants to collaborate with another local eatery for a joint vegan feast event.
In that case, Brizo can help find the perfect match in the vicinity, ensuring that both restaurants can benefit from each other’s customer base.
Through Brizo, your sales team can organize themed joint events that draw crowds. Imagine a sushi restaurant in San Francisco teaming up with a popular local dessert place for a “Sushi and Sweets” night. Brizo can assist in making these collaborative events a reality by helping to find the right partners.
It also enables restaurants to create cross-promotional deals to increase foot traffic. For example, a pizza place in Chicago can find qualified leads to collaborate with a neighboring Italian gelato shop, offering special discounts to loyal customers who visit both establishments on the same day.
Brizo can help restaurants collaborate on special menu items. Imagine a BBQ place in Kansas City teaming up with a local Mexican restaurant to create a limited-time fusion menu.
Joining forces with another restaurant can be a super fun and rewarding adventure. It’s all about making new friends in the business and coming up with cool ideas together. And guess what? Brizo is here to help you every step of the way!
So, what do you say? Are you ready to cook up some collaborative success? Get started with your free trial!