Time for an Internet intervention

In the course of publishing a magazine for restaurateurs, we spend a lot of time perusing restaurant Web sites and considering how these eateries approach their online presence. At times, we ooh and aah over a site's ease of use, simple yet dynamic aesthetic and effective usability on our perpetually-in-use iPhones. But it seems far more often we're shaking our heads wondering how a business can operate with a site that's stuck in the early 2000s.

A few of our top pet peeves include: ineffective Flash-laden sites, obnoxious music with no visible mute option, basic contact information that requires a lengthy scouring and horrendous crimes against typography.

At the dawn of a new decade, it seemed only fitting to devote an issue of The Restaurant Standard to reevaluating where restaurants stand in embracing the power of the Internet, as well as compiling advice from experts so operators can take an honest look at how their efforts stack up.

Developing an effective Web presence is a daunting undertaking, especially for independent owners who are constantly toiling with day-to-day operations. Why spend money updating a Web site when profit margins are dwindling? Who can afford to spend a few extra hours a day on a Facebook fan page or a Twitter account?

It looks like in the 2010s, you can't afford not to.

Restaurateurs face the ultimate test in bringing the Internet into what, for hundreds of years, was simply a food-and-drink sales business.
Now the search engine is king and the utter explosion of mobile phone application technology and instant online reviews in just the past couple of years has changed the landscape for how the hospitality industry does business.

All of these changes present challenges, yes, but also incredible opportunity to capture customers who are literally searching for reasons to eat at your restaurant.

www.therestaurantstandard.com

Tags: marketing, media, online, site, social, web

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Comment by Keith Bernhardt on February 22, 2010 at 11:56am: @Emerald,
Totally agree !!

Comment by Emerald Reilly on February 22, 2010 at 11:18am: Angelica, very true points! Thanks for your blog.
Restaurants have always been out-dated with their online presence. The question is what is the tipping point that will drive them to make this much needed change? The ones who do see this opportunity to get up close and personal with their customers, or potential ones, will be ahead of the game.

Comment by Angelica Pappas on February 17, 2010 at 9:18am: @Jeffrey: A 50 percent rate for restaurants with Web sites is both believeable and unbelieveable at the same time! It just seems assumed that the majority of businesses in general would have some kind of Web presence, no matter how small.

Thanks for checking out TRS, @Paul!

Comment by Paul Green on February 17, 2010 at 7:18am: Angelica,

I read your internet issue, well, I'm still reading it actually. Anyone considering the launch of a website would do well to spend some time reading it. Thanks for the information.

Comment by Beth Carden on February 9, 2010 at 5:19pm: Good points and thanks for including my number one pet peeve, music on a site. No need for music unless your site is for a band.

Comment by FohBoh on February 8, 2010 at 1:29pm: Here's a link to the Web Marketing Association's Best Restaurant WebAward Competition.

Might find some inspiration there!

Comment by Keith Bernhardt on February 8, 2010 at 1:23pm: @Angelica

Terific post and you are so correct.
I've seen some restaurant websites (and food manufacturers) who don't have a contact address or phone number let alone email.
Enjoyed this article very much.

Comment by Jeffrey J Kingman on February 8, 2010 at 11:24am: @Angelica

You are so spot on. In September I visited 2400 restaurant websites in fourteen major markets assessing the ease of entering a restaurant through the virtual door. The results are here:

10% of USA Restaurants Use Social Media

Amazingly, in that study (which we are re-conducting again for all 50 states), at least 50% of restaurants did not have a website.

Comment by Michael Biesemeyer on February 8, 2010 at 10:15am: @Amanda: could you provide a few links to restaurant websites that work well, in your opinion?

Comment by Marios on February 8, 2010 at 5:58am: Hello Angelica,

Great post and 100% true, most restaurant websites are out of date and that's because the restaurant owners don't want to spend extra money updating the website or getting a new one. But trust me in 2010 they will have to because of the competition, and the online-reservations, and more people checking the restaurant website before going there. Restaurant owners have to realize that your website image is very important those days, and there are many benefits to it, in increasing their business.