Charlotte, NC, has an ever-growing food scene. As a restaurant owner, you want to stand out to diners and from other restaurants, but oftentimes, you must go beyond traditional marketing tactics to ‘wow’ the customers you want. Diners get bombarded with an overwhelming amount of advertisements from everywhere, including social media. Enter: grassroots marketing.
With an often unconventional approach, grassroots marketing tactics can get your message in front of a wider audience and help you stand out among your competitors, ultimately, driving traffic to your Charlotte, NC, restaurant.
What Is Grassroots Marketing
In short, grassroots marketing is innovative, unorthodox, community-driven, authentic and low-cost tactics to maximize exposure of your restaurant or brand. It works to surprise and engage your target audience by breaking through the clutter and delivering a memorable experience that generates buzz and positive word-of-mouth.
Why Grassroots Marketing Is Important
Grassroots marketing is one of the best ways to create an emotional connection with your target consumers, especially in restaurant marketing & PR. When you step outside of the box and deliver unique experiences, grassroots marketing campaigns can evoke emotions, such as surprise, awe, and delight. One of the main principles of marketing of any kind is that an emotional connection leaves a lasting impression and can increase brand recall and loyalty. Grassroots marketing has the unique power to disrupt the status quo and challenge industry norms.
Are You Looking For A Younger Audience?
Today’s youth are so bombarded by advertisements that they almost skip over them completely (unconsciously and otherwise). Your restaurant marketing tactics might focus on grassroots marketing if engaging with young, tech savvy individuals is your goal. Gen Z and Millennial consumers, in particular, are experts at blocking out advertisements, and they have a tendency to tune out the clutter. To capture their attention, you have to think creatively and offer experiences that align with their values, make them think, and give them something to giggle about. While you can certainly use social media to market a grassroots campaign, the best way to gain attention here is to get back to basics, strap on your sneakers, and hit the streets.
Social Media Still King
Although your grassroots marketing campaigns might be anchored in a micro movement, those tech-savvy individuals you’re targeting will help you go viral and spread the word. When a restaurant’s marketing campaign strikes a chord with its audience, it can spread like wildfire throughout social media and other online platforms. Consumers love sharing unique experiences with their friends and family. This organic spread can generate tremendous exposure and brand awareness. Not only is it a fraction of the cost of traditional advertising, but grassroots campaigns are quite simply more fun.
Upsetting The Status Quo
Finally, grassroots marketing has the unique power to disrupt the status quo and challenge industry norms. As a restaurant, you can differentiate yourself and your product by doing something different. The disruption that you create will capture attention and might even foster innovation and creativity within your restaurant or the industry as a whole. In other words, don’t be afraid to push boundaries and explore new avenues because you never know which road will lead you to success.
Are you looking to elevate your restaurant PR or marketing strategy? Charlotte-based McKeeman Communications can help! Our team has the experience and expertise to help you not only think outside of the box but also step away from the crowd so that you can stand out.