Sam Mustafa on How Gilroy Restaurants Can Start Off Strong

Starting a new business is never easy. Starting a customer-focused business in the hospitality industry is even harder. Not only is it competitive, but it also requires continuous efforts for raising awareness of yourself and the quality of the products and services you provide. This can prove a difficult task for business owners operating in Gilroy, as it is not a well known foodie destination in California. For example, an investor in the restaurant business will have to dedicate their time to marketing just as much as management. If they fail to do so, no amount of finesse will put their project on the map. So, how can somebody properly and organically generate buzz about their restaurant?

Challenges Unique to Gilroy

Restaurant entrepreneur Sam Mustafa has been in the hospitality business for over 20 years. He has found that all markets pose unique challenges that business owners must be aware of before starting their venture. Gilroy is unique in that the workforce has maintained a high proportion of manufacturing and production jobs compared with the United States as a whole. Gilroy also has the distinction of being one of the smaller communities in the Bay Area, with surrounding San Jose and San Francisco commanding the vast majority of tourist and business opportunities. This puts Gilroy in the unique position of having to fight not only for foot traffic from the locals, but tourists as well.

Gilroy also finds itself in an interesting place financially, as the community is expected to witness wage growth higher than most of the United States, but income is dwarfed by the surrounding area. That’s not to say however that costs in Gilroy are low, as the close proximity to tech giants in the Bay Area leave the cost of living and real estate at a premium. This leads to a highly competitive and high stakes environment for restauranteurs looking to get their start.

How New Gilroy Restaurants Can Start Off Strong

Social Media Marketing

As of 2017, there were almost 2.5 billion social media users in the world. Although that includes various platforms, one cannot deny that the involvement is unprecedented. Networking websites are slowly replacing all forms of communication. Instead of phones and e-mails, people now use Facebook to reach out to their family and friends. Additionally, they use Instagram to share some of their latest photos and Twitter to declare their viewpoints.

Non-traditional social media websites should not be overlooked. Aggregate review scores from Google, Yelp, Foursquare or GlassDoor can all impact your business’ bottom line. Despite these sites not being traditionally considered as social media, they rely heavily on the concept of allowing users to share their experiences and communicate their opinions to strangers.

Given such strong interest in social media, particularly in such a tech savvy area, one could safely say that marketing has a new stronghold. Even Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, recently said that the only source of income for his company comes from advertising. So, saying that social media marketing is the easiest way to promote a brand is not an overly bold statement. It is a fact.

Facebook Ads

Sam Mustafa offers his insight into how he would approach these challenges. First, one must attract the right audience. In order to have a successful venture, buyers must be interested in the product offered. This is where Facebook ads come in handy. Mustafa has used Facebook ads for all of his restaurant ventures, targeting their specific locations. These ads have increased awareness and traffic, both to the restaurants and their social media pages. Although there is a steep learning curve, beginners can use the platform to promote their venture for only a couple of dollars. You can increase your spending on ads when you see your ROI.

Facebook makes it easy to promote a brand through targeted interest groups and area focus. Meaning, one can choose what region will see their ad. Then, based on previous data and user spending patterns, the website will show ads to those most likely to convert. This increases the likelihood that the individuals seeing these ads will visit the restaurant.

Restaurants in Gilroy would do well to target people living nearby. With Facebook’s targeting, a high-class dining restaurant owner can specifically target only people living within a 5-mile radius, who make over a certain income threshold, and show an interest in the particular restaurant’s culture.

Eventually, as the campaigns gather enough data, they become optimized. That means that Facebook does a better job of reaching the right audience and raising brand awareness. The only downfall to the endeavor is a subtle lack of simplicity. Nevertheless, those interested in the long-term advertising on the platform should dedicate time to learning the process.

Instagram Influencers

Continuing down the list of powerful social media platforms, Instagram comes next. Although it is powered by Facebook, the way to advertise differs. Instead of setting up targeted audiences and select interests, one must simply find the right influencer. For restaurants, that means looking for those accounts and users that operate in the hospitality niche.

After finding the right account, brands can run something called "sponsored ads". In translation, they create an Instagram post that the selected user will display on their profile. Given high engagement ratios of followers on this platform, conversions can be quite easy to achieve. For an in-depth clarification, consider the following scenario:

A restaurant in Gilroy is looking for a way to promote a large opening. First, they find an Instagram page that deals with fine dining in the area. For the purpose of the scenario, we can assume that they find an account named "Best Restaurants in The Bay Area". Afterward, they create a post that shows their restaurant. Lastly, they pay the aforementioned account to put the post up for 12 to 24 hours. As a result, they will raise awareness with the audience in the area and instigate customer interest. This can be particularly effective in areas with such dense population.

Discounts and Mailing Campaigns

Another simple way to attract buyers is to offer discounts. Just consider all the restaurants that have customer reward programs and rebates. The reason for their popularity comes from the fact that consumers crave opportunities to save money. Thus, new restaurants can attract customers by providing ways to reduce people's spending. In return, they can ask for things like e-mails or social media following.

Similarly, one of Sam Mustafa’s favorite techniques to attract customers and help them save money is through social media giveaways. Giveaways can include a free dinner for two, half priced happy hour drinks, or restaurant swag. To enter the giveaway, people can like, comment, or repost the photo. Not only does this draw more interactions to a businesses social media, it can also act as free advertising.

After building a notable base of followers, the cost of promoting events decreases dramatically. For instance, brands that have popular social media accounts do not have to pay to advertise on those platforms. Instead, they can just use the already-existing following to showcase campaigns and raise awareness.

Suspense

The key to customers' interest is anticipation. As Sam Mustafa points out, projects that people are excited about tend to do well. For restaurant investors, that means doing a lot of work on the front end. Once the suspense reaches its peak, people will wait in lines to be a part of the movement. In return, revenues will undoubtedly rise. So what are you waiting for? Get out there, promote and engage!