I called up a Reservation Genie restaurant the other day before their 5pm open time and got their business voicemail. It said “For reservations, press 1. For directions, press 2. To speak with a hostess, press 3. “ I went ahead and pressed 1 to see what it said. It suggested the guest leave a message with details and a hostess would call back. That seems like a missed opportunity and necessary work at the same time.
Reservation Genie collects contact name and email of all parties making reservations. That reason alone is enough to encourage customers to book online as you can use this information for your email newsletter in the future. If you use our social media tools, VIP loyalty program, or Customer Relations Management module, there are even more reasons to encourage people to book through your website as these all help boost marketing and customer relations. But the simple convenice of not having to make call backs alone is worth it. So we thought we’d suggest ways to get more customers booking online.
- Change your business outgoing message. Have it say “For reservations, please visit our website at www.websitename.com” If you use Reservation Genie to book only smaller parties, you can qualify that information here by saying “For reservations of party sizes up to 10, please visit our website and use the Online Reservations link. For party sizes of 11 or more, please leave a message with reservations details and a hostess will return you call as quickly as possible”. This eliminates the need for a call back, sends the customer to your website (always a good habit), and exposes them to the marketing components in Reservation Genie all at once.
- Enter reservations that come over the phone into Reservation Genie using the Add Reservation tab. This has the added benefit of decreasing your inventory and helps prevent getting traffic at times when you can’t handle it. But the real value occurs when you add the customer’s email address as it will send them confirmation with a link to register to Reservation Genie. If they do, it will give them credit for the reservation towards becoming VIP and allow you to add notes to their account that will be available to other staff members in the future. And it has the added benefit of reminding them they can book online next time. Just ask them if they would you like to receive confirmation via email and if they say yes, enter it in the system. Our site does the rest.
- Enable Perks! With the Search by Availability & Perk feature regular Reservation Genie users can enter a party size and time and see which restaurants are offering perks. This may be a great way to boost traffic on slow nights with good perks such as free appetizer with the purchase of two entrees OR 50% off bottles of wine under $75. Those are great reasons to try one restaurant over another. Perks help your restaurant stand out to our regular users and since those reservations are free…you can afford to boost marketing there.
- Enable the VIP loyalty program. Most of our new members come from our clients websites. When they book a reservation it sets them up with a Reservation Genie account. But people who hear about deals on Reservation Genie can also access that info without an account. Anybody who sees the value in getting 10 – 20% off the check every time they visit may be inclined to pick your restaurant as a place to become VIP. If you don’t use the program, you’re not appealing to these types of customers.
- Use the Concierge Tools. We have a private site for concierges to book at our clients called Big Concierge. Any hotel employee can join once they have been invited and make money sending you customers. We have tools that help you build and maintain these relationship with concierges, but you have to actively use them. We offer tips on courting concierges so that you have an organized approach. Interacting with concierges is a subject that we’ll reserve for the next blog post as there are many ways to reap value here. But the process includes inviting them to join your network, inviting them in to dine on the house, offering their guests perks, and posting quarterly or bi-annual contests.
Reservation Genie offers several valuable tools to help increase marketing and most of them are included in the $49 monthly fee. But you have to actively use them to reap the rewards. If you forgot to implement some of the items in this list, we highly recommend taking the time to do so.
