Me:Mo’s Favourite Foodie Marketing Apps

Despite recent challenges, the London restaurant scene continues to bounce back, and alongside this there is a burgeoning market of third-party apps and platforms that aim to increase a restaurant’s visibility and drive covers. Use of these apps and platforms form a key part of the strategy of hospitality marketing to gain cut through against competitors, meaning that it is incredibly important to stay up to date on newcomers, as well as those long-standing. we’ve given thoughts on some of our current favourites below.

Embargo is a well-established app that puts customer loyalty at the forefront. Through Embargo, restaurants can build a strong customer base, as they aim to retain customers and turn them into regulars, by rewarding loyalty. Another strength of Embargo is their ability to reach out to new potential customers, as well as those who have stopped visiting. Insights into what type of customers are loyal, as well as how loyal they are, can provide you with direction of how to further improve your business. With an affordable cost and minimal set-up effort, listing your restaurant and loyalty scheme on Embargo may be a tactic worth exploring.

Another highly recommended app that many restaurants would benefit from being listed on is OneZone. With many people now searching the internet and browsing through Instagram accounts to decide where to eat, OneZone has cleverly turned this demand into an app. Through listing your restaurant on the app, you can receive greater exposure, which in turn will likely result in covers, as the exposure is targeted to individuals looking for restaurants or inspiration. Understanding the importance of hospitality marketing is key to building your brand and developing your business.

In a similar vein, another app that capitalises on the millennial’s hunger to discover restaurants is Grabbd, with approximately 1.4 million active users worldwide. Users can write reviews, ‘grab’ and save places they see on the app that they want to visit and curate and share their own lists, such as ‘Favourite restaurants in Soho’. One way in which restaurants can promote themselves is through the ‘Place of the Day’ feature. Like the name suggests, Grabbd puts the spotlight on one restaurant each day, which is pinned to the home page and shared on their Instagram feed, ensuring high visibility to the users of the app. As users often are guided by what is trending, this feature could increase your presence in a short period of time.

Additional mentions that may suit some businesses more than others include FirstTable and Dusk which are both great platforms for driving brand awareness with a new foodie audience and, crucially, driving sales. For a hospitality marketing and social media agency, knowledge of a variety of apps and platforms for restaurants is highly important. This of course is just a snapshot of some of the many apps we work with on a regular basis. If you have a favourite we haven’t mentioned please do share with us, as we love to know what the wider world is loving!