Restaurant Marketing 101 – “Get people into my restaurant”. Marketing 102 – “see 101, and get them to come back.” It may seem like an easy proposition. That is until you realize that 18 – 35 year olds don’t visit restaurants the same way in which 35-55 year olds do. It takes different strategies. And, then, faced with the newest trends in millennial buying, identifying buying habits can be even more daunting.
JI Bases tries to keep up with the trends and has similar marketing strategies, since our buyers are in those same buying groups as those of you who are trying to generate sales in your restaurants. So we’ve done a little research and maybe you can use these tips as well.
According to Eat Beat (2016), marketing to the millennials (18-35 year olds) can be tricky. Their suggestion is to tailor your message even further into sub-groups. In a study conducted by Ipsos and BuzzFeed (very popular survey sites with millions of millennial followers), they found that millennials have different buying habits than older generations, but they also have unique purchasing sub-groups within their own generation.
The study itself was first set up to ask if millennials checked sugar content or sweetner awareness like older cohorts seem to do. And what they found surprised them. Millennials check labels, but look for overall effect rather than specifics (i.e. high fructose corn syrup is not as important as overall sugar content).
But, they also found that two of the four primary subgroups were incredibly important to the restaurant marketer.
Balance Seekers
This one key group, according to the survey, the ideal of taking a well-balanced approach to life doesn’t demonize specific ingredients. These millennials spend forty-seven percent (47%) of their food dollars on dining out or delivery services. They do seem to adopt food trends and are socially conscious. They tend to be
- Male (46%)
- Reside in an urban area (53%)
- Have childen (67%) and are married (50%)
- Ethnically diverse (44% non-white)
- College educated (51%)
- Income over $50,000 a year (73%)
- They are socially connected (72% have more than 300 followers)
- Most likely to be influenced by what they read online (37%)
Bon Vivants
This is the second group that was dubbed as a group restaurants should “go after.” Forty-four percent (44%) of their food budget goes toward restaurant purchases. They’re definitely interested in eating out, finding new and exciting experiences. These millennials seem to be
- “Younger” (57%)
- Not married (34%) with half having children (50%)
- Fewer than half are college educated (41%)
- Fewer than half make $50,000 a year (46%)
- Spend less than 20 hours per week on social media
Traditionalists
This group accounts for approximately 37% of the overall millennial population. They are most likely to be single (69%) and live in a nonurban area (70%). They spend only about 26% of their food budget on restaurant purchases; and, they spend the least amount of time (avg. 12.5 hours) on social media.
Food Purists
Yes, we can’t forget the purists. While they make up only about 19% of the millennial population, 86% are female and has the highest “food aversion” principles. Just 10% say that online content ever influences their decisions.
The final study conclusion also took into account that while many seem to be “health conscious,” it found that few, if any, really give this factor much attention. About 75% of those surveyed across each group said that they were not health conscious when ordering at restaurants!
We hope that you can use some of these tips in the planning, design, and marketing of your restaurant. JI Bases is here with news, tips, and customer service that gives you the ability to focus on the many other avenues of your business. Table bases should never be something that you have to worry about. Let JI Bases be your solid foundation with 24-hour shipping, a lifetime guarantee on cast iron bases, and the best customer service staff you can count on, each time, every time. Call us today.
