Pt. 1: Do Marketing Strategies Look Different for Food & Beverage?
There are a countless number of marketing strategies for different industries, but how does the food and beverage business differ?
In the first of a three-part series, I will be examining three different industries and which marketing strategies are most effective for each.
Dining has always been about making a lasting impression of taste and flavors, which means successful marketing relies heavily on our five senses: sight, sound, smell, taste and touch. Now, of course you cannot “smell” a marketing campaign, however certain visuals and tools can be used to appeal to each sense.
Take a look at five marketing strategies for a food and beverage business:
- Brand positioning
Brand positioning offers up the question: what does your outlet offer exactly? For example: if you are an organic smoothie shop on a street littered with fast food chains, you want to ensure people know that smoothies are a tasty and quick alternative to fast food. Certainly, your product needs to taste good, but you also have to appeal to a person’s other senses–does your product/restaurant look appealing, when a customer walks into the restaurant does it sound like a fun place to be, does it smell appealing like fresh fruits and vegetables?
- Product packaging
We all know the saying, “a book is judged by its cover.” Similarly, a product is judged by its packaging. What does your logo design, color scheme and messaging say about your smoothie outlet? Product packaging caters heavily towards sight and touch. Packaging is strictly visual, so it’s important to make it eye-catching and for it to agree with your brand image.
- Events
The benefit of having a food or beverage product is having something for people to taste and experience. Events are a great way to engage customers and give them an opportunity to experience your product first-hand. Look to establish brand partnerships, host or participate in food festivals, seasonal events and food-related celebrations that will enhance your brand awareness and get the word out about your establishment. Events are a great way to incorporate a fun theme as well. For example, May is National Strawberry Month… and we all love a good strawberry smoothie.
- Online/Social Media Marketing
And don’t forget about online/social media marketing. For so many of us, coming across a new product or service online may be our first point of engagement. Use this to your advantage–share smoothie recipes, ask customers to share pictures with their favorite drink, create contests or polls to find out what your customers like about your smoothies. There are a number of paths you can venture down when considering your brand’s online presence. Check out this article on what consumers like about brand behavior on Twitter.
Next up in our series will be the health and fitness industry!
