cookies for thought
DESCRIPTION
Your monthly restaurant industry magazineTRANSCRIPT
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Front page
Cookies for Thought
An O
verview of E-M
arketing and Site Analysis for the R
estaurant Industry
Edition 1December 2011
Welcome to this month’s special digital edition of Cookies for Thought!
We all know that digital is everywhere, Facebook dominates our mobile internet services and Google can proved billions of results on less than one second! How are we supposed to keep up?
Digital can bring tremendous benefits to the restaurant industry if it is used effectively. There’s no reason why you can’t use your website to develop relationships with your diners, show off your seasonal dishes or even launch competitions. You just need to know how to do it, and see some examples of who does it well.
That’s where we come in. Sit back and get comfortable, this is your guide to designing a great, interactive website that will keep your customers clicking and ultimately, walking through your door!
Enjoy!
Cookies for Thought Team
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ContentsContents• Industry Overview•Digital Marketing Mix• What Makes Good Content?• SEO & Traffic Building•Restaurant Comparisons• Meta Tags• Online Value Proposition•Dynamic Design & Personalisation•Customer Orientation• Aesthetics•Page Design•Copywriting•Navigation & Structure• Interaction•Social Media•Usability
From the EditorsFrom the Editors
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The Restaurant Industry OverviewThe Restaurant Industry Overview
The restaurant industry is a very competitive market to become part of, therefore the first thing to consider is the current market and current trends. This will help identify a possible gap in the marketplace and can ultimately lead to creating a successful business.
Firstly it is important to understand that around 24 million UK consumers will eat out for a special occasion, approximately 19 million will eat out because they feel like it, whilst 15 million eat out for a regular treat. Eating out or ordering a takeaway is no longer considered a luxury by the majority of the British population, but has become an embedded habit which is driven by convenience and the numerous choice that they have.
Recently, due to the recession although around half of consumers haven’t changed their eating out habits, approximately a third have either reduced their expenditure on eating out per month or reduced the frequency of visits. (Mintel, 2011) However, eating out is the most popular leisure activity across all demographics and although its market value has decreased slightly during recession, it has retained its strength. It has to also be noted that It is six times harder to attract new consumers than to please your loyal consumers.
However in 2009 The UK Restaurants Market Development Report highlighted how the next five years will see the value of the restaurant industry increase to £5449 million.Therefore this shows there is a high possibility of creating a successful restaurant. There are a number of aspects which can affect this, however this magazine will focus on just one…Digital! It will identify how using digital can increase the chance of a profitable business and how you can create a great restaurant for you and your customers. We have included examples of four restaurants which are based upon the Italian and Pizza theme. However all elements can be used for any type of restaurant from fast food to American, so read on and enjoy!
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The Digital Marketing MixThe Digital Marketing Mix
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When deciding to start a business online, the main consideration is whether your marketing mix will be affected and how. It is important to know that in fact ALL the elements of the mix will be affected by the online world. The e-marketing mix is CHANGING as products are becoming services, services are then becoming customer driven and customers are creating communities that are extending the brand into new online experiences.
The Digital Marketing Mix is important as:
Let’s Mix It Up...Let’s Mix It Up...
PlacePlace This is CRUCIAL to the success of any online business. The principle of place is to increase your REPRESENTATION and make it widely available and attractive to the target customers. You will
need to think about MULTI-CHANNELS for distribution rather than one specific type to attract
the correct consumer.
It affects all aspects of the business
The elements need to be effective
If the correct audience is being targeted.
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Many believe that with an online business a new P is added to the marketing mix, ‘Partnerships.’ This is due to 64% of the UK top 1000
companies confirming they have partnership marketing in place. These partnerships can open doors to vast new markets, and will be a great
advantage to your business. However skilled management is necessary to succeed with a partnership. Restaurant owners could possibly build
partnerships with well known food brands /suppliers such as; Heinz or Waitrose.
PartnershipsPartnerships
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You’re competing with millions of other websites and thousands of restaurants when you put your business online. We’ve looked into how to drive traffic to your site, but what can you do to make your customers stay? And importantly, come back again? Here are a few tips about your content and how to make it as effective as possible.
What Makes Good What Makes Good Content?Content?
Simply the best...Simply the best...
Information ArchitectureInformation Architecture
This is the way you organise, label and allow navigation on
your website. Ensure it takes only 3 clicks for
users to get where they want to be.
Update frequently
Organisation
Frequent Updates
CRABS
In modern times there hasn’t been a more powerful tool for traffic building and that’s
social media marketing. Using social media cleverly can increase people’s
interaction with the brand and therefore generate more traffic.
Search Engine Search Engine OptimisationOptimisation
Ensure your website runs from one domain, this enables that one domain to achieve a
greater ranking, as a posed to multiple domains with poor rankings. Assigning
yourcompany.com as the primary address and redirecting www.yourcompany.com and any other domains you may use will greatly
enhance the ranking. It may sound simple, but ensuring your site has good content is key. Search
engines will scan paragraphs for keywords and make judgments about its
content from that therefore the more concise and well structured you make it the higher your site will rank in search
results.
It is important not to forget that ensuring all parts of your site are
accessible, all pages and sub pages should be easily navigable and abide
by the ‘three click rule’.
301 Redirect301 Redirect
Good ContentGood Content
Well LinkedWell Linked
Traffic BuildingTraffic Building
Social Media MarketingSocial Media Marketing
Correctly placed advertisements online can help traffic to your site tremendously. Treat online marketing like any other type of marketing, use your research. It’s easy
spending money on small campaigns because they’re so easy and cheap,
placing your adverts in the right places with the right keywords is key.
AdvertisingAdvertising
Utilize programs and schemes whereby people can be rewarded for promoting
your site with an advert or banner on their blog, site or other online resource.
Affiliate ProgramsAffiliate Programs
“It’s important to remember that when directing traffic to your site, that you target the right audience and ensure your site accommodates them”. (Ashley Ktorou Web Developer)
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Restaurant ComparisonsRestaurant ComparisonsThe Famous Four....The Famous Four....
Founded in1965 London, UK First to bring pizza to the UK high street Over 440 restaurants worldwide Owned by Cinven
Founded in 1958 in Kansas, USA Temporarily changed name to Pasta Hut to promote new pasta menu Over 11,600 restaurants worldwide Owned by Yum! Brands Inc.
Founded in the early 1990s in the UK Sells Italian wines from small producers Over 80 restaurants in the UK Owned by Tragus Group
Founded in 1960 in Michigan, USA The world’s largest pizza delivery company Over 9,000 stores worldwide Owned by Domino’s Pizza Group Ltd
Meta TagsMeta TagsEASE OF USE = Structure + Navigation + Page Layout + Interaction
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Three Clicks! Hip Three Clicks! Hip Hip…Hip…
Don’t forget the three click rule, its important to note users should be able to find what they want within three clicks, otherwise the site’s flow-ability may prevent users coming back.
Pizza Online pizzaPizza delivery
Pizza express pizza express pizza express uk Pizza express locations pizza express locations pizzaexpress restaurants
Bella ItaliaItalian restaurantPizza
pizza hut restaurant pizza hut pizza hut menu
Domino’s Meta TagsDomino’s Meta Tags
pizzaexpress jazz pizza express jazz pizzaexpress gift card pizza express gift card pizzaexpress club pizza express club
Pizza Hut Meta TagsPizza Hut Meta Tags
Pizza Express Meta TagsPizza Express Meta Tags
pizza hut deals book a table Order online Pizza Deals
Keep It Simple
Be Consistent
Use Signposts
Local pizza
Bella Italia Meta TagsBella Italia Meta Tags
Pasta London restaurant
Online value proposition is simply what a site can offer:
Online Value Online Value PropositionProposition
DominosDominosNew products advertised across siteEasier to order online than going into store but both options availableCore Product is key benefit
Combines quality dining In store and at homeFind, Book, Order Online or through their mobile appCore Product
Loud & Clear!… and Loud & Clear!… and StrongStrong
With such a huge choice online not only is good content, ease & speed important, but so is having a clear proposition.
The services offered and credibility to deliver should be shown in the proposition
That is different to its competitors
That is better than the real-world.
That benefits the customer
Pizza ExpressPizza Express
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Family dining, restaurant locatorView menu online & book tableNo surprises when visiting and helps plan
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New products and deals shown across siteExclusive offers that need printing to be claimed in storeDelivery, collection, dine in store all options are catered for
Pizza HutPizza Hut
Bella ItaliaBella Italia
So which webpage is the best for OVP?Domino’s is definitely the champion for online value proposition as it provides the consumer with a clear proposition of what they can offer them, using moving image on the webpage to highlight deals and offers. WINNER! 10/10
Pizza Express also have a good online value proposition as they have created an application that can be downloaded by iPhone users. This is a clear advantage over their competitors as it means the site is more accessible and easier to use. There core product of quality products both instore and dining out is also a key benefit. 8/10
Bella Italia website lacks online value proposition, it has similar aspects to their competitors and does not promote a key benefit to their site. They need to create something unique which will improve their OVP and appeal to their consumers. 2/10
Closely following second place is Pizza Hut. They consistently use their website to promote offers both online and in store. They also provide different choices to the customer such as; delivery, collection and dine in store which the other websites do not. They also have two different WebPages depending on the consumers need. 9/10
Dynamic Design & Dynamic Design & PersonalisationPersonalisation
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Remembering customer names and their needs is a personal thing. It is vital for websites to get personal. With the combination of web technology and database technology any number of customers can be recognized, their preferences remembered and served immediately.
Cookies are the key to web personalization.
Customized website content for each customer.
Sell, Serve, Speak and Sizzle
It’s Getting Personal...It’s Getting Personal...
COOKIESCOOKIES
Cookies are a vital tool within web personalisation, when a new visitor arrives at a website a cookie or small text file is placed on their computer which is personally identified to them, on their next visit, this is recognised and a personalised message will be displayed.Cookies will remember previous information about how they used the particular service and what they are most likely to want from the website. Restaurant websites use cookies to remember what their customers last ordered, where and when they last booked a table and what offers and deal will relate to them. By using this personalisation method, their customers are more likely to return to the restaurant and order from the website again.
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> SELL, SERVE, SPEAK AND SIZZLE> SELL, SERVE, SPEAK AND SIZZLE
This makes it easier for customers to select their products or services that they require and to have this remembered
on their next visit.
Pizza Hut and Dominos personally remember your last orders and address for delivery.Pizza Express and Bella Italia remember the customer on their next visit to the website & show when and where they last booked a table. Each website requires general personal information to be entered, which then will be remembered on their database. This all appears on the customers next visit to the website.
-Customer name-Location-Customer Preferences-Offers and deals specific to customer
All websites offer an opportunity to receive the latest deals and offers via email relating to recent searches, locations and up to date news.
Customer Customer OrientationOrientation
It’s Easy Peasy...It’s Easy Peasy...
Customer Orientation Provides:Easy Access
Appeal to a range of people
Familiarise the audience
It provides easy access to the content and services on the webpage for a range of different consumers, it should appeal to a wide range of people. The website should familiarise the audience about the organisation, their products and the website as a whole.
Generally couples, older customers and families on occasions. Does not familiarise the audience with their services.Homepage does not present any the food or services they are offering. The audience need to navigate to the ‘our food’ section. Presents booking a table in an easy way.
Pizza ExpressPizza Express
Families with younger children. Customers needs are addressed promptly as there is an option to view the menu, book a table or find a restaurant immediately. It familiarises the audience with the products it serves, by using images and also their brand by using a large logo. It promotes a child friendly atmosphere.
Bella ItaliaBella Italia
Families, children and students due to its value for money approach. The option for takeaway is a quick and easy method of purchase. Connect their audience with the information they need.It is easily accessible for all types of audiences and easily identifies a customers need.
Pizza HutPizza Hut
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So which webpage is the best for Customer Orientation?
Bella Italia provides a website which appeals to a range of different people, they make it easy for children and adults to achieve their needs whether it is to book a table, look at their food or find a restaurant. This is definitely the WINNER! 10/10
Domino’s have created a great customer orientated website which allows customers with a specific menu depending on their postcode as many Domino’s restaurants provide different products. However there is not an option to look at the menu without having to create an order which is inconvenient for some consumers. 7/10
Pizza Express was considered the worst website for customer orientation due to the fact that it does not appeal to children, whilst the others do. It does not familiarise their food immediately and navigation is needed to address the need of the audience whereas elsewhere it directly tackles them. 3/10
Pizza Hut follow closely behind Bella Italia as it provides excellent customer orientation due to ease of use, familiarising the product and brand to the customer and also addressing their main needs immediately. However the layout of this is not as easy as Bella Italia, therefore it has to take a worthy second place. 9/10
Families and students due to their promotions and deals presented on the homepage. It efficiently connects their audience with the information they need. It is easily accessible for all types of audiences. They conveniently check that the customer can receive their services by allowing them to enter their postcode.
Domino’sDomino’s
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AestheticsAestheticsIt’s all about your It’s all about your image..image..
SITE PERSONALITYSITE PERSONALITY
Effective website design includes both form and function, this covers both the
visual design layout and interaction, navigation and structure of the website.
To help communicate a brand’s essential values and what they offer a website
must portray powerful aesthetic appeal.
Site Personality
Site Style
Colour and Typography
Aesthetics = Graphics + Colour + Style + Layout and Typography
A website’s personality must be consistent with the brand, what they want to perceive and how they want to be represented is shown through the design style, colours and layout.
Pizza Hut and Dominoes highlight a sense of fun, excitement and value for money through their website design. The bright colours used throughout both emphasis this.Pizza Hut presents itself as an informal restaurant in comparison to Bella Italia and Pizza Express and since Dominoes is a delivery service they highlight their services through their quick and simple layout on their website.Bella Italia and Pizza Express present a more formal and elegant approach, highlighting good quality, high end service and a place for special occasions.
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SITE STYLESITE STYLEInformation Intensive vs. Graphic IntensiveInformation intensive sites may appear cluttered because they have a lot of text but the intention is to provide a lot of information to the visitor and come across more formal and usually more expensive. On the other hand graphic intensive sites contain lots of images, animations to create an instant impression.
Info intensive = Pizza Express and Bella Italia: although both websites have images and few graphic animations, they offer vast amounts of information to highlights events, what they offer and other forms of promotional activity.
Graphic Intensive = Pizza Hut and Dominoes thrive on grabbing their visitors attention through colour, animation and images. This shows simplicity, to the point information about the brand as well as making it exciting and fun to look at.
Bella Italia have articles and large amounts of text information for their customers to read. They
want to keep their visitors on their
website for as long as possible.
Dominos use graphics, loud colours, animations and large text to capture the
audience, make the website exciting and get to the point as quick as
possible. Like their service they want their website to represent a quick, easy
and exciting brand.
Company name and logo clearly at the top of home page and is coherent through every page navigated to. The navigation bar along the top is consistent. Simple headings create ease for visitor. The traditional layout of the website allows the customer to access all information easily. Black and white are the main colours used.
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Page DesignPage Design
There are many page design aspects that a restaurant website must consider whilst in the constructing stage. A good page design will have the following; a visually pleasing
layout, emphasis of different content types, clear navigation options, prioritisation of
marketing messages and finally consistency throughout the website. If these are applied correctly the restaurant will achieve effective
web as well as being attractive to the audience.Pizza ExpressPizza Express
The page design aspects which need to be considered are:
Visually pleasing layout
Emphasis on different content
Consistency
Time for a makeover...Time for a makeover...
Consistently used the company name, logo and navigation bar. The website is graphic intensive as the visual appeal is of high importance. More information can be accessed by clicking on the different graphics. The background uses moving image, each highlight a different message.
Pizza HutPizza Hut
Company name and logo clearly at the top of home page. The navigation bar along the top is consistent. The layout is kept the same throughout each webpage. The main colours red and blue are used to relate the webpage with the brand logo, it also helps make it visually appealing. However this website does not promote the Domino’s marketing message to the audience.
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The Pizza Hut webpage design is the clear winner, they provide consistency, visual appeals, use moving image to convey their marketing messages and the layout is simple, even though it is busy, everything is placed nicely. However they should pick a prominent colour to use throughout each page . 9/10
Pizza Express page design is similar to domino’s, they layout of the images and text is consistent throughout each page, they also have coherent colour scheme which is used throughout. However it lacks marketing messages to the customer, they should also include moving image to portray this. 6/10
Unfortunately, Bella Italia has been rated worst restaurant for page design. Even though they have many aspects which are positive, such as moving image and consistency, however the homepage is very cluttered which makes it less visually appealing to the audience. 5/10
Domino’s should be proud of their webpage design even though a few things should be included to improve such as; presenting their marketing messages more effectively all their other aspects are great, the layout is the best, using a simple design consistently with each page. 7/10
Domino’sDomino’s
Homepage layout is very busy, with many different aspects presented on the webpage. The navigation bar at the top and the logo are consistence throughout. They have good emphasis of different content using moving image. The colours used are mainly neutral however the bold colours are used to highlight important sections to catch the consumers attention.
Bella ItaliaBella Italia
So which webpage is rated highest on Page Design?
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Score: 4/10
Score: 7/10
Score: 6/10
Score: 4/10
CopywritingCopywriting Grab their attention..Grab their attention..When users land on your website, they tend to scan for information they can read quickly. You need to made sure the writing on your website is chunky, relevant, accurate, brief and easy to scan. And never, ever assume your visitors know about your company!
Bella Italia has very limited text
on its website. It assumes
visitors are familiar with the
brand and don’t explain their
brand image or culture. They
use advertising and social
media heavily, but should
dedicate more of the website to
explaining what the business is.
Copywriting is relevant,
accurate and certainly brief but
the site is too busy to be easy to
scan through chunky text.
Pizza Express provides information about
what it is and what it does succinctly on the
homepage. The website text is brief yet
provides substantial information. The words
‘PizzaExpress’ and ‘pizza’ are used a lot
which relevant and beneficial for SEO.
Domino’s uses its name and ‘pizza’
frequently in its text to increase SEO. It is
easy to scan as text is separated into
relevant paragraphs with clear headings
and bullet points and italics are also used
which helps highlight key points.
However, the homepage suggests that
the website assumes visitors know the
company although an explanation can be
found under ‘The Business’.
Pizza Hut’s copywriting is relevant to each page but is not chunky and too brief. It is however easy to scan as headings have been written in bold so visitors will easily find what they want. The news section has not been updated for almost a year and the timeline ends in 2008, website should be kept up to date so regular visitors have a reason to return.
Navigation and Navigation and StructureStructure
EASE OF USE = Structure + Navigation + Page Layout + Interaction
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Dominos have a simplistic page structure that compliment the brand and the business. As
dominos don’t do tables all food is for delivery or collection. The site takes you from the main
screen with postcode input, to a menu that follows you through the order. Sections
brighten to indicate your position in the site.
Bella Italia are more of a dinning experience, locating a restaurant, booking a table and
viewing the menu can be done from multiple areas. Similarly, buttons contrast to show user
of their location within the site.
Pizza express has a deeper structure than the previous sites, a menu bar is displayed across the
top which like the others changes to indicate position on the site, they however have a sub menu that appears depending on whether the
page has sub links to further pages.
Pizza hut have a simplistic first page that rivals domino’s site. Greeted with whether you will be
dinning or getting a pizza delivered. From the user’s choice the site then takes you to the
appropriate side. Where the takeaway is very similar to dominos and dinning typical of the
restaurants seen so far.
Don’t get lost...Don’t get lost...Users need to be able to create a mental map of your website as they use it; this will ensure they find it easy to navigate and find what they want quickly and easily.
Mini Navigation & Structure ReviewMini Navigation & Structure Review
Keep It Simple
Be Consistent
Use Signposts
Mini Navigation & Structure ReviewMini Navigation & Structure Review
Mini Navigation & Structure ReviewMini Navigation & Structure Review Mini Navigation & Structure ReviewMini Navigation & Structure Review
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When a customer lands on your homepage, you want to engage them. The best way to do this is to interact with them and create two-way communications. This will make them feel more involved and in control of their experience with your restaurant.Interaction ranges from a simple mouse click to a web chat between an employee and a customer.
Score: 8/10
Interaction Interaction Get involved..Get involved..
Learning: simulations, geographical tailoring, e-mail a friend, testimonials “What kind of restaurant is this?”
Deciding: interactive sales advisor, chat facility, on-site search engines, e-mail a friend, location-based menus “Is this the right place for my celebration/ business lunch?”
Buying: location selection tool, promotional offers, book a table tool “I would like to eat here.”
After sales support: e-mail follow up “I’ll go there again!”
The Buying Process
Bella Italia’s website focuses on interaction. Most options on the website are enhanced by the ability to input details or by relating the page to Facebook or Twitter. Interactivity is prominent but it seems quite one-sided and Bella Italia could encourage customers to have conversations with the company through its website.
Reinforce Brand Values
Create an experience on your website
Conduct research from interaction
You can also track the interactions
to conduct company research. What
was the response to promotions?
Which pages are most visited?
Which links get the most clicks? This
will help you to understand your
customer base.
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Score: 8/10
Score: 4/10
Score: 9/10
Pizza Express offers many opportunities
to interact. Its social media is regularly
updated and there is blog with sharing and
commenting options. There’s a genuine
sense that they want to create a
relationship with the online visitors and
take this experience into the restaurant.
Interaction is mostly on a mouse click basis
as there are few drop down menus or
hover features.
Domino’s is a very interactive website because it is used to order pizza online for collection or delivery. The site design excels in this area. Drop down menus and click-through advertising has been utilised.
However, there aren’t any additional interaction features, like social networking, and the enquiries page is basic and not informative.
Pizza Hut has a highly interactive online presence. Not only have they used social media but there are many options to register to the site, tell a friend and enter competitions. There’s also a kids’ section so children can interact with the brand.
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Social Media: Friend or Social Media: Friend or Foe? Foe?
Social Media in Business
30 Ways to Use Social Media
Making Use of Social Media
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I found it hard to move
around Pizza Express’
page, things seemed to pop
up and then disappear. I
could use Bella Italia’s
website though, just simple
buttons to click which take
you where you want to go!
Paulette, 52
Domino’s is definitely the easiest to use. It’s really simple, especially
compared to Pizza Hut where there was so much going on. I think the other two were pretty similar: go to the website, see
menus and sign up for newsletters.
Can’t say that I struggled with any of them, they’re all straightforward. Maybe they should try harder to be more
unique.
David, 49
Grace, 19
Ben, 30
Robbie, 23
They’re all really easy to use and have lots of clear links so it’s
hard to get confused.
I found Domino’s and Bella Italia the easiest to use. Pizza
Express and Pizza Hut required more clicking to get where I wanted to go but I think all these websites are
quite good.
I found myself
getting a bit lost on
Pizza Hut’s
website.
Monica, 26
What do people really What do people really think? think? You really want to know...?You really want to know...?
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