Carey Bringle, owner of Peg Leg Porker Restaurant, Bringle’s Smoking Oasis, Pig Star and Peg Leg Porker Bourbon & Lifestyle Brand.
As a restaurant owner, you know how vital good food is to your community. Restaurants have always served as favorite community-wide cornerstones, across all locales and demographics—there’s just something universally appealing about going out and sitting down for a delicious meal prepared by professionals. But in today’s world, restaurants have to keep in mind that although customers want quality food, they’re also looking to see what more their favorite dining brands are doing.
That’s where marketing with a purpose through philanthropic endeavors comes in. Philanthropy and community support from restaurants is nothing new—in fact, a 2023 survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association found that 84% of restaurant operators have made charitable contributions since 2020—but it’s something that’s steadily attractive to and appreciated by customers. Indeed, over 70% of consumers report that they’re more likely to frequent a restaurant that supports local charity organizations.
So this tells us that business owners are recognized as contributing members of their communities and that their patrons are positively influenced by this. If you haven’t yet integrated philanthropy into your restaurant’s business model, the good news is that it’s not hard to do.
How Can Philanthropy And Community Support Benefit Marketing Efforts?
Philanthropic and community support initiatives undertaken by restaurants (no matter the causes you opt to support) serve a dual purpose. First, you and your restaurant are directly contributing to the well-being of your community in ways you’re passionate about; second, your efforts reap impactful marketing benefits as you share your good work and good deeds with your customer base.
While it’s easy to understand the goodwill you create by supporting causes you care about (for example, making an annual donation to a chosen charity), it might not be so apparent how your donations affect your marketing.
But by showcasing your philanthropy in your marketing and PR efforts, you’re actually working to bolster your positive brand image by highlighting that your restaurant is a caring, giving and generous enterprise dedicated to important causes and to helping others. This increases your restaurant’s visibility and enhances your messaging by adding authenticity to your public image—an expectation that consumers increasingly hold for all brands.
Tips On Integrating Philanthropy And Community Support Into Your Restaurant’s Business Model
Figure out what causes matter to you.
A great starting point for integrating philanthropy and community support into marketing efforts for your restaurant is to consider what causes matter most to you. Philanthropy, even when it’s being worked into your business and tied to your marketing, is still a personal choice at the end of the day.
Ask yourself what causes are important to you and if you have a foundation on which to begin contributing to those causes. You may wish to direct your efforts to a broad category, like education, health or the arts; or you may prefer a more targeted approach, concentrating on particular nonprofits, neighborhood organizations or community fundraisers.
Perform research to determine what causes your customers support.
You’ll want to carry out research so you can identify what causes resonate with your customers. Researching causes your customers care about can be done in a few ways. Perform online research with secondary sources focused on your industry to see what other businesses are doing. You can also go directly to your customers for input, by posting an online survey via your social media, for example, or by offering in-restaurant survey cards for customers to fill out about what causes they care about.
You’ll likely find a crossover between what you and your customers support. They’re your customers, after all, and they come to your restaurant for a reason—so there will probably be some overlap that provides you with a solid launching pad.
Identify ways you can genuinely show your support.
In a piece from Harvard Business School, the results of five studies conducted about participants’ product preferences noted that consumers are pretty informed about what businesses are doing at any given time, particularly regarding philanthropic work. And with informed customers, you have to show your philanthropy in authentic ways; otherwise, your efforts may not click with your audience as you intended.
To do this, you’ll need to figure out how you can evidence your community support by means that align with your brand and your chosen causes.
Blend the cause(s) you support into your marketing.
Now it’s time to blend your chosen causes into your marketing strategy. This can feel like a tricky step, especially because most people don’t want to come off as boastful or self-congratulatory to their audiences. But to effectively incorporate your community support into your marketing, embrace transparency and be loud and proud about your actions. Think about it: If you saw a social media post that said, “We just helped raise $25K for Addison Elementary School’s new playground!” would you think that business was bragging? Or would you think that business was a dedicated and committed community partner?
So when you’re partnering with an organization for an event, holding a fundraiser, donating time or money to a cause or even taking steps to source ingredients locally, share those efforts on your social media, in your restaurant and directly with customers in a way that suits your restaurant’s style. How you share your philanthropic efforts should be a natural extension of your brand voice and existing marketing—you don’t have to reinvent the wheel just to communicate what you’re doing to support your community!
As you begin to integrate philanthropy into your marketing, remember that looking beyond profit into what and who you want your business to stand for will serve you in multiple ways. You’ll fortify your business model through increased customer loyalty, brand visibility and new connections, and the people who enjoy your restaurant will see a positive, lasting impact from your efforts.
Forbes Business Council is the foremost growth and networking organization for business owners and leaders. Do I qualify?
Read the full article here
