7 Benefits of Hyper-Targeted Marketing in Your Restaurant Business

Are you using the same outdated tactics to attract customers and increase sales? Handing out flyers, the occasional loyalty programs and Facebook uploads are great. But they can only take your restaurant so far. 

Modern customers demand more. They don’t just want to be part of a group. Customers want to feel extraordinary. 

For example, one restaurant shares its new vegan menu with a vegan customer, and another bombards the same customer with a general menu. Who is that individual likely to buy from? You’ve guessed it: the first restaurant.

It’s easy to understand why. By sending the vegan customer a new menu option tailored to their taste and lifestyle, the restaurant shows them how much it cares about their needs and satisfaction.

This, in a nutshell, is what hyper-targeted marketing is all about. If you want to know more about this super-effective marketing strategy, keep reading this essential guide.

What is Hyper-Targeted Marketing?​​

As the name itself suggests, hyper-targeted marketing is a type of marketing that involves crafting and delivering incredibly personalized marketing content to a—very—specific audience.

To achieve such a fine-tuned level of customization, businesses must collect, analyze, and use customer data—before customers consent. Then, they can go ahead and personalize the content based on each customer's individual preferences.

But how does this apply to restaurants? Well, there are many uses that businesses in the hospitality sector can make of hyper-targeted marketing. For example, they could access data such as order history or dietary requirements to customize each diner experience.

And because of its laser-like focus on the individual customer, hyper-targeted marketing can help restaurants segment their clientele. In turn, this allows restaurateurs to create campaigns that are much more likely to hit the spot—not to mention that it will save them money on advertising to the wrong crowd.

7 Benefits of Hyper-Targeted Marketing for Restaurants

What can restaurants achieve through hyper-targeted marketing? That’s exactly what we’ll be exploring in the next section.

1. Increased Customer Acquisition and Retention

As with all other types of marketing, hyper-targeted marketing heavily relies on a thorough, accurate, and up-to-date understanding of your target audience. Only by doing so can you engage with your customers personally, even anticipating their needs.

With hyper-targeted marketing, you can use your customers’ data to segment your restaurant’s clientele based on a range of factors, such as:

• Demographics

• Location

• Dining habits

• Dietary requirements and preferences

With this crucial information in your hands, customer acquisition will become a cinch. Remember the fictional vegan customer in the introduction? They might have only come to your restaurant a couple of times, but with hyper-targeted marketing, you were able to paint a very detailed picture of them and their likes and dislikes.

Now, you can approach them with a dish recommendation based on their preferences and elevate their dining experience by making them feel valued. The result? A new, happy customer.

2. Higher Conversion Rate and ROI

Don’t be fooled into thinking that, just because you’re targeting such a small group of customers, then your ROI and conversion rates will be low—quite the opposite. Precisely because your aim is so incredibly specific, you already know the people you are approaching are interested in your services.

And when a customer is already showing an active interest, they’re also much more likely to convert. More conversions, in turn, translate into a higher ROI, in a sort of virtuous circle entirely enabled by hyper-marketing tactics.

3. Enhanced Customer Experience

Recent research revealed that 58% of customers will pay more for great customer service. The study further revealed that 70% would pay more if they knew they’d have a convenient experience. 

A customer’s experience with your restaurant starts before they dine with you. It begins with the type of marketing content they see from you—how you speak to them, where, and when will determine the future of your relationship.

When you add hyper-targeted marketing to your marketing strategy, you can greatly customize your messaging, including the deals and offers you want to promote. In turn, these can vastly improve the experience of every single diner at your restaurant.

Using the right technology tools can help you achieve even higher personalization. For example, a tool like a remote desktop on iPad can give you on-the-fly access to your customers’ preferences. This will help you deliver ultra-tailored dining experiences every time, in real-time.

4. Reduced Marketing Costs and Waste

Another misconception of hyper-targeted marketing is about costs. Surely, you'll need a large budget to achieve such an in-depth level of insight? Well, that’s not the case. Compared to more traditional types of marketing, hyper-targeted marketing can actually help you save money and resources.

It does this precisely because it allows businesses to zoom in on a super-narrow and specific audience that has already expressed an interest in the business—which is, therefore, more likely to convert.

5. Increased Customer Engagement and Loyalty

As we have seen, hyper-targeted marketing lets you tailor your messages and promotions to a hyper-specific audience, considering specific characteristics. As a result, it delivers much more personalized and relevant content that is more likely to be of interest to the individual customer.

And because you deliver such hyper-customized content, ads, or special deals, customer engagement and loyalty will soar as customers realize how valued you make them feel.

6. Effective Competitor Analysis and Differentiation

One important, yet often neglected, advantage of using hyper-targeted marketing is the ability to overtake competitors more effectively. Think about it. When you access vital data on specific sets of customers, you can identify market gaps before your rivals. Similarly, you are in a much better place to showcase your unique selling proposition (USP) more compellingly.

Let’s imagine, for example, that the data you have gathered on your customers has revealed that you mostly serve Gen Zs. Knowing how tech-savvy and eco-friendly this category is, you can target them with a mobile app for food delivery and recyclable packaging.

7. Quickly Adapt to Trends and Changing Preferences

In a way, the laser-focused access to customer data that hyper-targeted marketing enables works as a predictive analytics tool. By analyzing how customer habits and preferences evolve over time, you can better plan for future campaigns, including special deals and discounts.

For instance, suppose you’ve found out that your highest-paying customers tend to book tables mostly on Saturday evenings over the spring and summer, but this starts changing as you enter the fall and winter seasons. You could then send them a promotional Saturday dinner offer to entice them back into your establishment, even during those quieter months.

Tips to Implement Hyper-Targeted Marketing Effectively

Create Detailed Customer Personas for Different Segments

Customer personas are semi-fictional characters that feature the main attributes of your ideal customer. To create a really effective persona, make sure you include as many details as possible, such as age, gender, location, income, interests, lifestyle, and buying behavior. Do this for each customer segment, then move on to the next step.

Tailor Personalized Messages to Individual Customer Profiles

Now, you’re ready to craft personalized messages for each customer persona. If you’ve built the right types of customer personas, this will be much easier than you think. For example, if one of your segments is Millennial moms, you may want to target them with a user-generated Instagram video of a group of 30-something women enjoying a hip and relaxed brunch at your restaurant with their babies and toddlers in tow.  

Leverage Data for Insights Into Preferences and Order History

Data holds the key to your hyper-targeted marketing strategy. So, collect data from website analytics, social media analytics, and customer surveys and analyze it to identify patterns, preferences, and behaviors that can inform your marketing strategies. With accurate and detailed data, you can make informed decisions and create targeted campaigns that fit your audience. 

Use Location-Based Strategies to Target Area-Specific Customers

Local customers also tend to be the most loyal kind. To target them, consider using geo-specific ads, local SEO, and even partnerships with like-minded businesses in your area.

Develop Loyalty Programs for Targeted Customer Rewards

It’s no surprise that loyalty programs are a godsend to retain customers. You can encourage repeat business and foster loyalty by offering rewards, discounts, or exclusive deals tailored to your target audience. For instance, special deals or discounts on large pizza orders can put you ahead of other pizzerias.   

Utilize Mobile Apps for Targeted Notifications and Exclusive Offers

A huge amount of web traffic worldwide happens via mobile. As a result, you need to prioritize optimizing your website's mobile experience. 

Of course, your remote desktop application for Mac, Windows, Linux, and other operating systems must be efficient, too, if you have one. But most users will interact with your business via mobile, and a mobile app can be a game-changer. 

Mobile apps also make communication with your customers super easy. Take push notifications, for example. With these friendly little reminders, you can gently nudge your customers by offering personalized deals and discounts they’ll love. 

Adapt Menus to Changing Preferences and Current Trends

As we’ve mentioned earlier, anticipating the desires and needs of your target audience is a core principle of hyper-targeted marketing. This shows them you genuinely care about them and are willing to go the extra mile to make them happy.

If you pay attention to the changing needs of your guests—such as menu preferences and current dietary trends—you’ll be able to build stronger connections with your clients. To identify emerging trends, analyze customer data, and adjust your menu accordingly.  

Engage via Social Media with Customized Content and Promotions

Social media is a top channel for hyper-targeted marketing because it lets you communicate directly and authentically with your target audience and run hyper-relevant ads and promotions.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok allow you to create compelling content that speaks to your followers. For example, you can use the same hashtags they use, partner with influencers they love, and even leverage UGC.

Target Your Marketing Efforts and Increase ROI

In the restaurant industry, personalization is no longer an option: it’s the name of the game if you want to achieve a loyal clientele that sticks with you for the long haul.

And that’s where hyper-targeted marketing comes in. By using it effectively, restaurants can deliver tailored experiences to their customers while saving on marketing costs. As a result, they can increase their ROI and improve customer satisfaction and marketing efficiency. 

Use our tips to develop a hyper-targeting campaign that sets your restaurant apart from the competition.