Are you developing your marketing plan for your restaurant? Know that it is important to integrate storytelling. It is one of the keys to the success of your establishment.
This process is often used in the luxury sector, especially in fashion. Hermès, Louis Vuitton, and Chanel have made it their hobbyhorse. Little by little, restaurateurs are inspired by it. They now include it in their digital strategy. This emotional marketing has many advantages.
Why should storytelling be part of your marketing plan?
What is storytelling?
Storytelling is an English word meaning “story told.” In other words, you make your customers’ imagination travel so that they identify with your brand. Thanks to his story and experience, a potential customer will identify with your speech and communication. The emotional impact is very important because it will motivate his decision-making.
How to set up good storytelling to boost your marketing plan? First, put yourself in your target’s shoes. Then think about his concerns, his daily life, his problems, his memories, his story, and his origin. With what type of content will he identify? What is the message to convey?
When you possess each of these components, you are in a position to create your restaurant’s communication strategy.
The important thing is to arouse emotions, such as joy, benevolence, nostalgia, or envy.
We also recommend that you approach the theme through your branding and your positioning. Get creative! Find original ideas in line with your values and your speeches.
Restaurateurs: why include storytelling in your marketing plan?
Storytelling is a relevant content strategy in the context of restaurant marketing. There are two main categories:
- corporate storytelling,
- Brand storytelling.
This means that you personify your company or your brand.
Has an ad ever made you hungry? This is a difficult exercise but quite accessible. For example, describe the experience of your customers. Give details on the atmosphere, the design, and the flavor of the dishes tasted. These details allow consumers to protect themselves.
The only limit is your imagination.
The purpose of good storytelling
You have to provoke emotions in consumers. Let’s take an example: the smell of pain au chocolat from your childhood. Does it evoke memories and make you want to? We advise you to apply this technique to your audience and adapt it to your restaurant.
Do you know the famous Nando sauce? This sign knew how to work around discovering the pepper that composes it, the Peri-peri. They also address the discovery of Africa by Portuguese explorers. All of Nando’s dishes revolve around this story. They revolve around three key values:
- Family,
- Roots,
- The story.
These are the three pillars of Portuguese culture. This strategic marketing is therefore bearing fruit since it resonates with the target. This is called targeting marketing. First, you are targeting a certain segment of the population, here, the Portuguese. Then, you bring them interesting content, which touches them and makes them want to consume.
In short, when integrated into a restaurant’s marketing plan, storytelling allows you to:
- reach the consumer,
- Offer him a brand he can identify with,
- Stand out from the competition,
- bolster your relationship with your customers,
- Increase the engagement rate,
- Target an audience that will be receptive to your food communication.
The effectiveness of restaurant marketing
The brain is made up of two hemispheres:
- Right: emotions, experiences, and senses.
- On the left, you find everything rational, down to earth.
Marketing plan and storytelling: what does science say?
Storytelling has its place in a marketing plan.
Indeed, scientists have highlighted that a consumer was ready to pay 6% more for a bottle of wine if it was sold through a storytelling process. Moreover, they are 5% more likely to choose a product presented with a particular approach. So, faced with this reality, tell your story.
With a good strategy, you will mark consumers and retain them.
How to set up storytelling for your restaurant?
Keep in mind that consumer habits and expectations have changed. Now, consumers select dishes that speak to them and resemble them. Their choice is quite meticulous. The public is currently in search of creativity, transparency, and authenticity.
With this information, you will first analyze your target. Then, take an interest in competing restaurants and what they offer. Also, explore the feedback and statistics obtained on social networks. Finally, take the time to learn more about Generations Y and Z.
Then, it is important to differentiate between an anecdote and a story.
Learn all about anecdotes and history
The anecdote is a fact of everyday life that makes the interlocutor smile or amaze. On the contrary, there is the main character, an issue, and a plot in a story. The nuance is important. Here is an illustration.
“I had just finished the job, and I was starving. Looking for the nearest kebab, I realize that a new establishment, the Kebs Baba in Strasbourg, has been open for two or three weeks. It seems well rated. So I’m going to jump over there. The products are fresh, and the fries are cooked twice in the same oil. Only guarantees of quality. Except it wasn’t a classic kebab, with onions, tomatoes, and white sauce. Nope! The professional incorporates fresh pomegranates and eggplant into my döner! A taste shock that I was not prepared for.
This is an anecdote.
At Kebs Baba, there are newspaper articles that recount the beginnings of the manager. We learn that the latter first worked with his father and how the idea of a luxury kebab came to him. Finally, he retraces his past and takes the reader on a journey with him.
- Main character: the restaurant manager,
- Challenge: opening of the establishment,
- Timeline: his childhood to today.
All the ingredients of the story are there. When consumers visit the restaurant, the experience goes beyond tasting the dishes. They enter the universe of the owner and live his story.
Note: Consider creating coherent branding and surrounding your story with a visually pleasing whole.
Marketing plan: 2 concrete examples of successful storytelling
PV Donuts is a company that focuses on the visuals and history of donut making. The viewer, therefore, sees sublime frozen donuts, fried and tastefully decorated throughout the video. This transparency makes it possible to include consumers in preparing these delicacies. This storytelling creates a bond and motivates people to come and taste their products.
The Innocent brand is also a great example of successful storytelling. Through their communication and branding, they highlight their values and their commitments. As a result, when consumers buy their natural drinks, they also believe in the universe of this company. Click here for more information.
Want your marketing plan to work? At the end of your story, the customer must want to taste your dishes, but they must also want to shake hands with the hero. To help you create your marketing strategy and highlight your storytelling, call on the Divinemenciel team. Our experts in food communication are at your disposal to give you tailor-made and personalized advice.
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