PJP is a pretty old company. We were founded in 1963. “Modern” probably isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think of us. But over the years we have learned that it important to embrace change and stay ahead of the curve, especially when it comes to technology. Technology can be an incredible way to attract new customers.

If you’re like us, an old school company that’s used to traditional methods of promoting your business, you might not know where to start. Don’t worry! We’re here to help. Here are 3 easy ways that you can use technology to attract new customers.

1) Loyalty Programs

You see loyalty programs everywhere these days, and it’s really no surprise. Every business owner knows that it is easier to retain an existing customer than it is to attract a new one. But whether it’s someone returning to your restaurant, or someone who has never been there before, it’s still revenue that helps you grow your business. Using a loyalty program that rewards customers for returning to your restaurant multiple times will encourage repeat business. It may also attract new business if the rewards you are advertising are attractive enough.

But how to instill a quality loyalty program? There’s an app for that. Actually, there’s a whole bunch of apps for that. Customers, especially customers in the coveted millennial age-bracket, are looking for ways they can use their phones to get discounts or rewards. There are a bunch of different apps that you can use as a business, even as a small business, that your customers can use without you having to pay big bucks to have your own app developed. Open Table, Belly, and LevelUp are just a few useful apps that you an incorporate into your business. Not only will you save on having to develop your own app, but many of these apps come with consulting services that can help you set up your loyalty programs and analyze their effectiveness.

Be careful when establishing your loyalty program. You will want to include enticing rewards, but be sure that they are not so good they are costing you money. You want the value you get out of the program to be worth the cost. Make sure you do proper analysis of any program before instituting it.

2) Email Marketing Campaigns

Email marketing can be an incredibly effective tool to generate business. There’s a pretty good chance that the reason you are reading this blog is because you are on our email list. (If you’re not, you can sign up here!) With email marketing you can inform your customers of new promotions you are running, or new menu items, or events you are hosting. It’s an incredible opportunity to stay in contact with your customers.

Building an email list can be tricky, but by offering a small reward to sign up, say $5 off their meal, you can have your wait staff get customers to sign up every night and before you know it you’ll have a sizable list to work with.

There are a lot of great programs out there you can use for email marketing. Mail Chimp, Constant Contact, and AWeber to name a few. These programs are easy to use, and provide you with great templates to use to build attractive and effective emails even if you don’t have graphic design experience.

3) Social Media Marketing

Social Media has become an integral part of how human beings communicate. Facebook has over a billion monthly active users. Instagram has over 700 million. These numbers are staggering. If you want to promote your business, not utilizing social media is a huge miss. Just like email marketing, you can use your social media pages to post about new specials, promotions, menu items, events, and much more.

Not only that, but social media has incredible targeting power. You can run paid advertisements that target people in your zip code, or people that like similar restaurants in your area, you can even target users to like your competition and try to steal them away. The marketing possibilities are endless. The power of social media is in the targeting. This technology is giving you a direct line to your existing customers and also potential new ones. If you’re not familiar, social media can seem intimidating, but many of the platforms offer consulting for business owners so they can help you get started.

What ways are you using technology to promote your business! We want to hear about it! Don’t forget to share in the comments below or on any of our social media accounts. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube!