The (Viral) Marketing of a Restaurant

This week I went to eat at La Pietra Cucina, a relatively new upscale Atlanta restaurant. It's a bit hard to find, to say the least.

It has no sign, with the exception of a small sandwich board on the side of the road that reads "Now Open" with the phone number printed very large and the name of the establishment printed very small. It has no website.

It is located on a very busy road, in the lower level of an office building, and is easy to miss, even if you pass by in the car every day. When you do manage to arrive, there is no indication of where you should park and you'll likely try to open the locked door that leads to the part of the restaurant that's currently being renovated before happening upon the less-grand, unlocked door a few paces down with a paper sign taped to the window displaying the hours of operation.

I even overheard a patron arriving after me comment to her dining companions, "You had to choose the hardest spot to find in all of Atlanta."

And yet, on a Tuesday night, in the midst of a recession, the restaurant was fairly busy and a large group gathered at the bar. This is likely due to a small number of respected, local food bloggers who have taken the new restaurant under their wing and written several rave reviews. It is a great thing that the internet allows word to spread and helps local businesses who are putting out a quality product (or delicious dishes in this case) get a real leg up, without doing a thing but excelling at what they do.

Consumers Look for Bargains Online

With the slowing economy, spenders are more likely to carefully research purchases, often turning to the internet to score the best deals.

New research by a team from the UK found that:

• Price remains the major influencer, with 64% citing this as the most important factor when making an online purchase over the next 12 months.
• 62% of respondents said they are now more likely to consult reviews written by other web shoppers before buying.
• Most (69%) search by product name when looking to purchase online, with brand names the next most searched for (43%).
• Women are more inclined to reduce overall spending during the economic downturn, but they are more likely to consult online reviews than men (64% vs. 58%).
• When comparing the different age groups, it is the “silver surfers” (age 55+), many of whom have paid off mortgages or enjoy higher disposable income, who are the least concerned about the economic situation: 43% said the economy would not affect their spending.
• They are followed by the 16-24 age bracket: 37% wouldn’t change their spending levels.

image via Flickr

Are You Recession Ready?

A recent report from the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index shows a continued downward trend in May and now stands at 57.2 (1985=100), down from 62.8 in April - and a 16-year low (Oct. 1992, 54.6).

"Weakening business and job conditions coupled with growing pessimism about the short-term future have further depleted consumers' confidence in the overall state of the economy, said Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. Consumers' inflation expectations, fueled by increasing prices at the pump, are now at an all-time high and are likely to rise further in the months ahead."

Check out these articles for ideas on how companies are making the best of a bad situation:
Wooing Customers in a Slowing Economy - Tips from Tourism Marketers
Empowering Employees as Customers Look to Haggle
Using Loyalty Programs to Boost Sagging Sales
Advertising Heads Online
What Tactic is Most Recession Proof?