Adding a deli program to your store doesn’t just give your customers delicious food (it does this in spades!), it also helps more potential customers find your business.
Adding a new product line like a foodservice program opens up opportunities for exposure. It helps to attract different categories of customers and allows you to advertise your store in strategic ways and increases your exposure online.
If you are looking to grow your business and are considering a foodservice program, here are four ways you’ll expand your ability to draw in new customers.
1. Attract New Categories of Customers
The prepared food and grab-and-go markets will sometimes overlap with your grocery customers, but not always. The market for prepared food is growing as more people have less time in their day outside of work and are looking for simple and easy options for dinner on their way home.
Adding a foodservice option gives these customers incentive to come to your store. You can capture the occasional visitors by making sure they know about your new grab-and-go options.
Some of your recurring, loyal customers will use your store for their prepared food needs. You’ll also be attracting this whole new category of customers that might not have stopped at your store before.
2. Found in More Categories Online
Adding a foodservice program means your business now falls into more categories in your Google listing. If you add a dedicated dine-in area, you can further expand into searches for local restaurants, or queries like “fast food near me.” This has the added benefit of capturing new customers that may have been looking for a good dinner option, but also offers exposure to a new regular grocery store.
You’ll need to make sure you take the time to update your online listings with Google and social media platforms so you can be found this way. Doing so will greatly expand your reach in a world that increasingly revolves around search engines.
3. Signage for a New Vertical
Being able to advertise more products means you are going to capture new types of customers, but you’ll also convert some of your occasional customers into frequent flyers. Proper outdoor signage can help attract new customers depending on where your store is located.
These are the signs that will help capture your new potential grab-and-go shoppers. There are many options when it comes to signage and it’s important to think about traffic size and budget when investing.
Another option is road signage: billboards are good at exits and busy intersections, while highway signs are available if located within 1-2 miles from the exit. Check with your local Department of Transportation for requirements to place highway signs.
4. Additional Referral Traffic
Businesses are thriving more and more on word-of-mouth and referral traffic. Adding a new way to delight your customers with scrumptious food means you can gain exposure through new referrals. It’s important to ensure you find the right, high-quality food to add to your store, or else you could suffer from the opposite word-of-mouth to avoid your foodservice program.
Increasing Exposure
A foodservice program creates opportunities, and it’s up to you to capitalize on them. When done properly you can increase your profits and drive the growth of your business, but it requires some dedication, purposeful marketing and customer service.
Great food tees you up to gain new customers and market share. Are you ready to take a swing?
