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<h1 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-free-june-july-2024-social-media-calendar">Free June &#8211; July 2024 Social Media Calendar</h1>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-more-last-minute-panic-brainstorming-for-your-social-media-posts">No more last-minute panic brainstorming for your social media posts.</h4>



Operating a business and at the same time staying on top of your social media content can be tough. Constantly coming up with new and engaging ideas for your next posts takes time you might not always have.



Download your free social media calendar for June and July 2024 now.



Featuring topical post ideas, hashtags suggestions and image inspiration for each month.

June – July 2024 Social Media Calendar

Connect with your customers and enhance your marketing

Stampede

Love it or loathe it, we live in times where mobile devices are everywhere. 
In our <a class="" href="https://www.stampede.ai/blog/press/boost-sales-with-smart-wifi">previous blog</a>, we offered up some great tips for using Smart WiFi to give your customers a great WiFi experience while visiting your business and at the same time boost your bottom line. Whether you are a café, pub, bar or restaurant, offering free WiFi gives you a competitive edge by providing fast and reliable internet access to your customers for social networking, checking emails, online shopping, and surfing the internet at all times. This can have a direct influence on building customer loyalty, resulting in increased sales.
So, here are another three reasons why offering free Guest WiFi to your customers can help your business.
Customers will spend more time
One of the biggest advantages of offering free WiFi to customers is a no-brainer, <img decoding="async" style="width: 320px; margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right;" title="Stampede Phone Pub" src="https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/2735287/Blog/phone-pub.jpg" alt="Stampede Phone Pub" width="320" data-constrained="true" />increased time spent in your store. WiFi access helps customers stay productive and connected, giving them no reason to rush the shopping process. According to <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com">Business Insider</a>, more than 62% of businesses reported that customers spend more time on their premise when WiFi is offered. Instead of examining the scenario as customers simply hanging around, consider using the opportunity to engage new customers and discover their needs.
Increased foot traffic
The fastest way to drive foot traffic is putting up a sign that brings awareness of free WiFi. This allows your business to attract new customers while enticing existing customers to come back. In addition to visual recognition, most consumers use apps like <a href="https://www.yelp.com">Yelp!</a> and <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/maps">Google Maps</a> to find businesses, selecting venues that offer amenities like free WiFi.
Mobile Marketing
Stampede’s WiFi solution allows you to promote your business before customers even sign in on their smart devices. You can customise the landing page to attract customers and share special offers. Typically, there is an opportunity to brand your network with a creative, custom name, like “Bob’s Awsome Bar – Enjoy Free WiFi.” Additionally, in the age of social media influencers, customers can do marketing for you through social networking. By allowing customers to “check in” at your business, they can spread the word about your business in real time.

<a class="eut-modal-popup" href="https://calendly.com/stampedeae/stampede-demo-request?month=2020-02">Click here to get started.</a>

post

How to boost sales with Smart WiFi in your business – Part 2

We’re in an era where individuals expect free, fast, secure WiFi wherever they go. This demand has created a gap in the market where small business owners can harness the power of a secure WiFi network to engage customers. It’s an opportunity to subtly nudge individuals into your store or restaurant without “obviously” selling to them. And let’s face it – “obvious” sales should be left back in the 20th century. 







When looking at <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/the-future-of-restaurant-marketing/">recent marketing trends</a>, people tend to stay loyal to businesses that offer a personal service. They also prefer supporting services that are proactive when it comes to social responsibility. Add this to a stable and effective WiFi marketing campaign and there you have the perfect all-round customer engagement solution. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">A Recap on What WiFi Marketing Is</h4>



Perhaps we’re jumping the gun and you’re not yet familiar with the new buzz-phrase “WiFi Marketing”. Let’s quickly recap and take a look at the concept. 



WiFi marketing is the process where visitors provide certain important details. I.e. email addresses and phone numbers in exchange for the free use of your business’s WiFi network. Individuals enter these details by accessing a login area on their smartphones. 



Once a business has these details, an opportunity is created where they can communicate with potential customers on a more specific level. Individuals can now be reached via text message, email, or through <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/rock-your-restaurant-with-wifi-and-instagram/">social media channels</a>. 



Think of it as a way to tap people on the shoulder through their mobile devices and say, “Hey, we’re still here and we have something great to offer!”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Why Is WiFi Marketing Important?</h4>



According to <a href="https://www.brickandmobile.com/mobile-stats/">Brick &amp; Mobile</a>, 84% of small businesses have reported that using mobile marketing methods increased their customer loyalty base. 



At the same time, <a href="http://www.devicescape.com/press-release/survey-quantifies-business-benefits-of-amenity-wi-fi/">62% of local consumers</a> spend more time in a store if WiFi is available.



It’s just a win-win situation!



<a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-marketing-with-wifi-benefits-your-business/">WiFi marketing</a> gives customers access to your wireless network and you get access to their information. This information is invaluable when it comes to creating a personal service and effective targeted marketing campaigns that truly engage people and their wants and needs. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Engaging Your Customers</h4>



One of the best things about WiFi marketing is that it gives you an <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/the-marketing-power-of-wifi-analytics-for-your-business/">in-depth insight</a> into the buying trends of consumers. The platform allows you to <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/the-marketing-power-of-wifi-analytics-for-your-business/">keep track of the customers</a> who have signed-up to your network by storing their following information:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>How often they enter your establishment and how long they stay on average</li><li>Which promotional material they engage with</li><li>What they generally purchase</li><li>How often they make purchases</li></ul>



And so on…



Now, you have a better idea of who your customers are and when and how often they visit your location. This data can be added to your CRM and other online engagement tools.&nbsp;



WiFi marketing also gives you the power to automate and personalise your messages based on customer demographics and frequency of their visits. 



It allows you to engage with your customers by implementing the following communication strategies:



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Proximity Marketing</h4>



Proximity marketing refers to the act of delivering targeted messages based on your customers’ behaviour while they were visiting your establishment. You can send out targeted promotional offers based on demographics, frequency of visit, and buying preferences.



For example, John Smith frequents your deli to purchase your famous chicken and avocado sandwich. So, you can send him a personalised message when this sandwich is on promotion – or you can simply remind him that “hey, it’s lunchtime and chickens on the menu”. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Campaigns</h4>



<a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/a-complete-guide-to-marketing-automation/">SMS, email, and push-notification campaigns</a> can be created to engage with customers who might visit you regularly. These portals can be used to send promotional messages, to invite individuals to participate in a competition you might be hosting. Or to simply remind them that you exist and that your doors are always open to them. 



By sending out subtle messages, you remind individuals that you are eager for their business. Also, that you are willing to provide them with the things that they want. 



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Social Marketing</h4>



When you ask customers to provide their details, you can do so by providing them with a splash page that features your branding information. Your guests are then given an option to share this information or to post a message on their social network profiles. This helps to increase social visibility for your brand.&nbsp;



Essentially, when one customer signs-up to your network, you can potentially reach out to their friends on social networks too.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Wrapping it up…</h4>



WiFi marketing creates a bridge that allows information to flow in both directions. In the future, the extent of this information will broaden and businesses will have access to endless marketing opportunities. You will be able to engage with customers on an extremely personal level. This allows them to indulge in your loyalty programmes and constantly inviting them back to your venue for another visit. 



Returning customers spend on <a href="https://www.bain.com/">average 67% more than first-time customers</a>. This means that you want to do everything you can to retain the customers you have while improving their experience with every visit. WiFi engagement is one such solution. 



Why not give it a go with our WiFi Marketing software?



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<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

Engaging Customers Through WiFi Marketing

The importance of powerful photos has grown dramatically as brick-and-mortar businesses lean on more online interactions with customers. High-quality images can help to attract more followers to your accounts and even to gain new customers. That’s the theme running through <a href="https://www.fsrmagazine.com/expert-takes/taking-perfect-restaurant-photo-leigh-loftus" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">this interview</a> in FSR Magazine with food and drink photography expert Leigh Loftus. 



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-css-opacity"/>



Through her Chef Shots organisation, Leigh aims to improve the&nbsp;photography skills of those in the food and beverage industry. The best part, it&#8217;s all based on smartphone cameras. You don&#8217;t even need expensive equipment to get it right.



In general, food and drink photography is a vast subject. However, a few quick improvements can make photos much more eye-catching on busy social media feeds.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-3-easy-photography-tips">3 Easy Photography Tips</h4>



Here’s the top phone photography tips we’ve picked up already:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Clean your lens to prevent blurry photos. The lens will pick up dirt, grime and fingerprints from being handled day-to-day. </li>



<li>Turn on the grid. Most cameras will have a grid option in the settings. This helps with the framing of pictures and making sure things are lined up. It also gets you started using the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMjvvltQpmw" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">rule of thirds.</a> </li>



<li>Tap and hold to focus. With the camera open, tap and hold on the item in the photo you want to show off most. This will focus the camera on that point and lock it in until the picture is taken, ensuring crisp and clear images of your subject.</li>
</ol>



There are even more quick lessons for food and drink photography on The Chef Shot Youtube channel. Including guides on photo editing and lighting. Worth checking them out!



With better pictures comes better stories for your fans and followers. The connection between your brand and them will grow, as will the power of your social media and email content to drive more business.



Want to turn your followers into loyal customers? Reach out to learn more about our <a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/loyalty/">digital stamp card solution</a>.

Better Photos = More Followers [Food and Drink Photography Tips]

You might have heard that data is the new currency; it&#8217;s the key that unlocks ultra-targeted marketing that drives customers through your doors. But how do you gather the data you need for your restaurant? And what kind of data is useful for your marketing, and why?







If you&#8217;d like to make better use of your marketing budget you might have considered buying data to help you target potential customers. But why buy data when you can generate an own your own data?&nbsp;



At first glance, it can seem trickier for an offline business to collect data and put it to use. But the answer is likely simpler than you think. You can generate data for restaurant marketing using <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/5-tips-for-setting-up-wifi-for-your-restaurant-or-pub/">Stampede captive WiFi</a>. And our portal service keeps you on the right side of the Information Commissioner when it comes to GDPR. 



One of the biggest pros of this kind of <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-marketing-with-wifi-benefits-your-business/">WiFi marketing</a> is that it is a safe and compliant way to gather customer data. You can use it to build customer profiles, segment and target your restaurant marketing. It can give you an edge when it comes to providing superior customer service too. But where should you start? New customers often ask us what data they can collect and how to use it.



With Stampede WiFi, you can design your very own splash page to ask the questions you want to know the answers to. There&#8217;s a lot of potential data hospitality businesses can seek out. But of course, details and data hold different value depending on your business and marketing goals. Our captive WiFi portal does more than just gather data. It allows you to seek out information at different stages in the customer relationship and most importantly, add context. On your WiFi sign-in page, you can collect data directly about your customer and also gather context about their visit. Here&#8217;s how to do it.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Start with the basics</h4>



Name, date of birth, gender and address or postcode are <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/the-marketing-power-of-wifi-analytics-for-your-business/">common data collection</a> starting points. Your diner&#8217;s name is the first thing you need to begin building their customer profile. 



Date of birth helps you to segment them and lets you know when their birthday is too, which is handy when it comes to inviting them to celebrate with you. Gender is another variant that helps grow your segmentation options. Collect these four details from everyone who signs onto your WiFi and you&#8217;ll have a great foundation for planning simple and effective marketing campaigns.&nbsp;



This data can also fuel inspiration for events, menu changes or even rebranding to better fit your customer base. For example, you may work out that you have a lot of young mums popping into your establishment. You could encourage them to visit more frequently by changing your daytime offers. Or you might discover that you have a lot of single professionals visiting you for coffee. Individuals you could also target with offers for after-work drinks and nibbles.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Keeping in touch</h4>



Marketing to previous customers will generate a higher return on investment. So data that helps you to keep in touch with diners is very valuable. <a href="https://econsultancy.com/more-reasons-for-retailers-to-offer-wi-fi-in-stores/">One survey from OnDeviceResearch</a> found that 74% of people would be happy for a retailer to send a text or email with promotions while they&#8217;re using in-store WiFi. 



Captive WiFi is a cost-effective way to <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/email-marketing-tips-for-the-hospitality-industry/">grow email and SMS marketing</a> lists. You can check submitted email addresses and encourage reviews by sending guests an email thanking them for their visit. Asking them to leave feedback. Another option is to include an incentive such as money off or free item code within the email to encourage a return visit.&nbsp;



In some cases, your diners may not even need to fill out their contact details; you might choose to give them the option to login using their social profiles instead.&nbsp;According to information from <a href="https://www.cmocouncil.org/">CMO Council</a>, 56% of social network users stated they would use their social profiles to login in return for a customised experience. You gain valuable data associated with their social profiles. Helping you to build out their customer profile and allowing marketing segmentation. The customer benefits from a speedy sign in and the potential of tailored content and offers from their very first interaction.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Context and customisation opportunities</h4>



They say content is king. But in the data world, <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/the-marketing-power-of-wifi-analytics-for-your-business/">context adds an extra layer of value</a> that puts meaning behind your data. For example, you might ask your diner who they are dining with and the purpose of their visit. Is it a date night? Are they having a quick family tea? Is it a special celebration? What&#8217;s their favourite drink or pizza? 



This context helps you to understand why people are visiting, to try and attract more visitors aiming to do the same. It also allows you to customise your service and offers for them immediately. Providing them with a great eating out or entertainment experience.&nbsp;



Knowing how your customer found out about your venue, offer or event is also super valuable information to have. This lets you know how your marketing is performing and can help you to <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/tracking-digital-marketing-roi/">calculate your return on investment of digital marketing</a>. Also allows you to see how specific campaigns are performing. When customers are converted by marketing, it&#8217;s not always by the activities we expect. 



Data context really helps to ensure budget and time are being directed to the right activities to attract target customers. And when you combine this context and customisation with basic customer information, you have the makings of some great customer personas to inform your overall marketing strategy, campaigns and individual ads.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">In-store patterns</h4>



Some of the most valuable data you can collect from your Stampede WiFi doesn&#8217;t come from asking your guests questions. It can help you to better plan your staffing, identify problem times when you need to generate more customers. It can also help you achieve consistently better customer satisfaction levels. What is this data? It&#8217;s the simple connection data relating to each login.



Bookings don&#8217;t always match up with the numbers of covers in a service or the numbers of guests on the table. Nor do they tell you how quickly a table is turned. Reporting on your connections to your WiFi portal lets you see at a glance how many people were using WiFi in your restaurant. This means you can identify peak or slow periods and you also get an indication of how guests stayed.&nbsp;



As a customer’s device is associated with their login, it&#8217;s recognised by your captive WiFi portal whenever they visit. When those guests return to your venue or another one of your businesses, you can see patterns emerge that will help you build a fuller picture of your customer&#8217;s wants and needs. You might find that a regular customer always dines out late on Wednesdays. Or that you have lots of families visiting on Fridays. 



You might even decide to introduce a <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/engaging-customers-through-wi-fi-marketing/">loyalty scheme to encourage</a> those fortnightly visitors to come and see you every week instead. This way, you can continually work towards building a better picture of the lifetime value of your customer. And if the customer is someone who found you due to marketing and you know that, you can track against the original cost for acquisition



All of this information can be gathered without the need for your customer to download an app. With minimal data physically entered by them.



Do you have a firmer idea of what type of data might be useful for your restaurant or bar marketing and why? Set up a Stampede demo. To talk about the details of the very useful ways your WiFi can contribute to your restaurant marketing.



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<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

Gathering the Right Data for Your Restaurant Marketing

A new venue opening is always exciting and creates a big hype.



Press coverage, opening events, social media posts, website launch… And of course, word-of-mouth from those who have already paid you a visit.



Inevitable, after all the buzz there will eventually come a time when the&nbsp;initial spike in your footfall&nbsp;will start to slow down.&nbsp;



The good news, there’s a way to prevent this from happening.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">Keep Up Your Footfall With Customer Data</h5>



If you capture customer data from the moment you open the doors of your new venue, you’re able to&nbsp;build and grow a strong mailing list.&nbsp;



This mailing list is the foundation for your marketing and helps you turn all those first-time visitors into loyal customers.&nbsp;



The graph below helps you visualise how footfall is impacted over time, depending on if you have access to customer data from the beginning or not.



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29.png"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="636" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29-1024x636.png" alt="" class="wp-image-22567" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29-1024x636.png 1024w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29-300x186.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29-768x477.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29-150x93.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29-592x368.png 592w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Screenshot-2022-10-17-at-11.08.29.png 1050w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-quickly-grow-a-mailing-list">How To Quickly Grow A Mailing List</h5>



However, building a mailing list from your&nbsp;<a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/the-revenue-boosting-combo-of-wifi-and-bookings-data/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">table booking system</a>&nbsp;alone will only provide you with a limited amount of data. You will get the data from the lead booker but not the entire party, hence you’re missing out on a big bunch of customers.



So, ideally, you want to&nbsp;get the contact details of everyone&nbsp;who is in your venue.



The best way to gather this real-time data is by using your WiFi as a <a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/wifi" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">captive portal</a>. This means customers enter their contact details when they sign up for your WiFi. 



Now all you need to do is to set up email and SMS campaigns to reach out to those customers.



Save some time and make use of&nbsp;<a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/easy-and-profitable-marketing-with-automations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automated campaigns</a>:



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Post-visit&nbsp;&#8211; thank them for their visit and offer a discount for next time</li>



<li>Referral&nbsp;&#8211; offer a discount or upgrade if they bring in new customers</li>



<li>Win-back&nbsp;&#8211; reach out to those who haven’t come back yet with a special deal</li>
</ul>



Tip: If you ask for your customers’ dates of birth, you can surprise them with a personalised offer for their big day!



Start capturing your customer data to sustain your footfall in your new venue.&nbsp;<a href="https://h.stampede.ai/meetings/stampede/demo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Get in touch</a>&nbsp;with our team to find out more about the&nbsp;<a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/wifi/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stampede Captive Portal</a>.

New Venue? Keep Your Footfall For Longer With Customer Data

Tammie Hurrell

Montpeliers Group

Grant Murray

CRU Holdings

Emma Luke-Ward

Lane7 Group

Steve Watson

Signature Pub Group

Nick Gregory

Society Manchester

Shivani Kenth

Zindiya Streatery & Bar

Graham Atkinson

Butta Burger

Lottie Bedford

Birdhouse London

Chris Hughes

Mele Group

Chris Aitchison

Bar Tonic

Ieuan Davis

The Coal Exchange Hotel

Personalisation is an ultra-hot topic in HORECA. There’s no denying hospitality is a human art. The word describes the relationship between guest and host. We know that technology can put the ‘person’ into personalisation. Wait staff ask customers how they like their steak and coffee shops now offer a world of variation on the humble cup of coffee. But should businesses like yours adopt an even more personalised approach? What are the actual benefits of personalisation?







<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Bolster your marketing efforts</h4>



When you need to <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/tracking-digital-marketing-roi/">increase the ROI of your marketing</a>, targeting through personalisation gives you the edge. Tailoring your marketing makes your money work harder. We’ve covered the basics of how to get started with personalisation in Useful data for restaurant marketing. It’s most important to realise that personalisation can help at each stage of the customer journey. It informs campaigns so you use the right tactics to reach and <a href="http://www.hemingwayapp.com/#_msocom_1">influence your audience and boost your engagement</a>. Plus, you can serve your paid social ads, email offers and stories in a personalised way too.&nbsp;



Your personalised marketing efforts shouldn’t stop once a prospect becomes a customer either. By building up a profile of your guests, you know which special email offers will tempt them to visit you. Additional benefit to make it even more personalised, with Stampede, you can even choose to present your guests&#8217; different offers while they’re on site. Our stories feature gives an easy way to entice customers with the right offer.&nbsp;



You may be lucky enough to have great wait staff that get to know your customers, what they like and how to upsell them. But the reality of the hospitality industry is that you lose information when staff members leave. They move onto a new role and take that important customer rapport with them. <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-marketing-with-wifi-benefits-your-business/">By collecting the right data</a> to feed into your CRM, you can use personalisation to give all your staff a confident starting point. This makes connections easier to build and maintain.



Further reading: <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/personalise-your-customer-journey-at-your-restaurant/">https://stampede.ai/blog/personalise-your-customer-journey-at-your-restaurant/</a>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Standout customer service</h4>



We recently wrote about personalisation as an important factor in <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-to-nail-customer-service-for-families/">customer service for families.</a> There are obvious benefits to offering picky-eating kids exactly what appeals to them. But why restrict such choices to children only? You could opt to provide personalisation at the ordering stage, like McDonald&#8217;s. They reported a <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-marketing-with-wifi-benefits-your-business/">30% rise in order values in US trials of self-ordering screens</a> and these screens have now made their way to the UK. The evidence suggests that when people are able to order something exactly how they like it with less fuss, they spend more. And isn’t smooth service good customer service?&nbsp;



To elevate service through personalisation, businesses can use technology to anticipate and meet customer preferences. This needn’t apply to the menu only. By incorporating order ahead or takeaway options, we give customers more control over their journey. It will be interesting to see if service levels become even more personalised in the future beyond the world of fast food. 



Could you offer customers a cheaper price for ordering via technology at the table? And would this encourage shy customers to order or visit you more? How about giving any noise-averse customers the option to book during a ‘quiet hour’ in the same way travellers can book a quiet coach?&nbsp;



Offering countless variations on every aspect of your menu or service is unlikely to be practical. But simply knowing some preferences are catered for can make choosing your venue simpler for individuals as well as groups. It’s not necessarily about offering overwhelming levels of choice. Customers want to feel listened to and valued. Whether that’s auto-filtering a menu for allergy sufferers or helping those with decision fatigue to make a faster choice. Like the ideal burger, ideal customer service differs between individuals, are you catering to your customer’s needs?&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Personalisation’s business lessons</h4>



You need to have some idea of your customer’s needs and preferences to cater to their personalisation want. But in doing so, you have the potential to gain further valuable information. Offer your burgers with or without gherkins and you may discover most of your customers don’t like them. This will allow you to save on stock and rethink your recipe.&nbsp;



Marketing can also be supercharged when you know what tempts individual and segments of visitors to visit you. You might even choose to use a guest’s previous ordering history to target marketing specifically to them before and during a visit. And you can be sure your message is delivered to them according to their preferences for a better response rate. 



Offer and analyse points of differentiation to see what makes your customers tick. In turn, this should improve your marketing reach, lead to more visits and higher sales. Personalisation can fuel everything from customer acquisition to more effective customer loyalty programmes.



If this sounds a little far-fetched, let us show you how bringing together this information together can be easier than you think. Our solution also integrates with CRM systems to help you better understand each customer journey. Are you ready to create tailored experiences that build loyalty for your business?



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The Benefits of Personalisation for HORECA Businesses

The online space can be challenging. If you thought the competition was widespread in your neighbourhood, then social media might surprise you with its vast assortment of amazing restaurant profiles and active social engagement. As intimidating as <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/rock-your-restaurant-with-wifi-and-instagram/">social media marketing</a> may be, it’s important that you embrace it, especially if you want your hospitality business to work. 







So, you’ve created your social media profiles, you’ve compiled interesting content to post regularly. Most importantly – you have gathered a collection of high-quality photos and designs to represent your restaurant across your social platforms.



Problem is, now you can&#8217;t get anyone to engage with your profiles.



<a href="https://restaurant.eatapp.co/blog/hashtags-for-your-restaurant">With over 2 billion active users on Facebook and 800 million on Instagram</a>, it’s just a matter of catering to the right audiences and then drawing them in. &nbsp;



Further reading: <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-to-find-the-right-social-media-channel-for-your-hospitality-business/">https://stampede.ai/blog/how-to-find-the-right-social-media-channel-for-your-hospitality-business/</a>



Our secret &#8211; #HASHTAGS



When it comes to having your turn of fame on the internet, then hashtags are your best bet when your focus is to place a restaurant in front of the right audiences. In this article, we will discuss what hashtags are, exactly. We will share some tips on how to choose the best hashtags for your restaurant.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What are Hashtags?</h4>



Most social media platforms allow you to do three things when posting content, namely:



<ol class="wp-block-list"><li>Adding a short caption or description</li><li>Uploading a photo or an image</li><li>Adding hashtags</li></ol>



When you add a hashtag to a post, then you categorize your posts. This means that when users browse for something online that’s relevant to your category, then the chances of your very own content appearing on search engines and feeds increases.&nbsp;



For example:



If you use the hashtag #greatfood in your post, then it will stand a much better chance of being discovered by audiences who are searching for “great food”.&nbsp;



Most social media platforms allow you to use more than one hashtag in a post. This increases the chances of your post being found even further. The more your post is seen, the more engagement it will attract.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How to Choose the Right Hashtags for Your Restaurant?</h4>



Right, now that you have some basic knowledge on what a hashtag is and how it works (and why it’s important), let’s walk through some steps on how you can choose the best hashtags for your restaurant, coffee shop, or café.&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Do some research into which hashtags your top competitors are using.</li></ul>



Look for posts by popular restaurants and see which ones have the most engagement. Then, take a look at which hashtags are included in these posts. This is a quick way to gather a list of hashtags that have proven to be valuable.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Investigate to see which hashtags social media influencers are using.&nbsp;</li></ul>



Take note of the hashtags that social media influencers in your industry are using. Study the posts of famous chefs and popular foodies to see which hashtags they use religiously. Social influencers are people who have spent years capturing the same market you are interested in, so following their lead makes sense.&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Get to know your audiences and what they are looking for.</li></ul>



If you can define who your audience is, then it’s easy to delve into what it is they’re after. Wi-Fi marketing, for instance, is one tool that can be used to follow customer trends. You can also look at the hashtags your followers are using to get a better understanding of what interests them.



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Keep your eye on current trends.&nbsp;</li></ul>



Every now and then, an event or cause will create a stir. Large audiences will turn their focus on these trends and this is the perfect time to create posts around that topic to catch a ride on the wave of popularity.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Need More Advice?</h4>



When it comes to adding hashtags to your restaurant posts, use a variety that will typically fall into the following three categories (let’s assume you are running the Instagram account for an Italian restaurant in New York):&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Large region-specific hashtags.</li></ul>



These hashtags categorise a post according to a broad location you are targeting. They will draw the attention of holidaymakers or nearby “out-of-towners” who may be on the lookout for a place to eat when they decide to visit your neighbourhood. Example: #newyork #thebigapple #nyc



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Smaller region-specific hashtags that relate to your industry.&nbsp;</li></ul>



These are hashtags that feature more specified search terms that are relevant to what you offer &#8211; oftentimes having thousands of posts per tag. Example: #newyorkfood #newyorkrestaurants #italianfoodnyc



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Generic hashtags.</li></ul>



Generic hashtags do not specify a location but focus more on relevant keywords that will apply to your services. Example: #food #whatsfordinner #instafood #veganfood #pasta #pizza



Tip: If you only have one restaurant to market, then combine your smaller region-specific hashtag with a generic tag to create engagement with nearby audiences. Example: #whatsfordinnernewyork #veganfoodnewyork



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">We’ve Got Your Back!</h4>



Here’s a list of effective hashtags that you can use for your restaurant to get you started (just make sure that they are relevant to your post):



#foodie (currently trending)



#foodies



#hungry



#healthyeating



#instafood



#foodgram



#veganfood (currently trending)



#yougottaeatthis (adds a touch of fun and intrigue to your post)



#foodoftheday



* You can use the above keywords and merge them with your location to make them more localised.&nbsp;



Further reading: <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-to-effectively-design-social-media-posts/">https://stampede.ai/blog/how-to-effectively-design-social-media-posts/</a>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Hashtags are not the only effective technique that can be used for internet and social media marketing. If you want to know more about how you can nurture both <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-marketing-with-wifi-benefits-your-business/">online and offline marketing efforts</a> and draw in followers, then please chat to us here at Stampede. Our mission is to provide a level of customer insight and marketing automation that works for businesses in the hospitality industry and beyond.&nbsp;



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>





<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>

How to Choose the Right Hashtags for Your Restaurant Posts

As the internet gets “bigger” there’s a constant need for how we interact with it to keep up in performance. People want more, and they want it faster than ever.



Keeping that in mind &#8211; plus a few prickly real-world experiences &#8211; our teams have just completed upgrades to our guest WiFi service.&nbsp;



A great WiFi login is butter smooth, lightning fast, beautifully branded and tastefully personalised. Our latest update levels up all these areas.



Many of you reading this will know that <a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/wifi/">guest WiFi</a> was where <a href="https://stampede.ai/company/">we started back in 2015</a>. Our founder Patrick knew there was a better way to get customers online in hospitality venues. We’ve grown since then, but that mentality is still our driving force.



The other driving force is time. We’ve done this update now (Oct ‘23) so that Stampede users and their customers get the most from the upcoming “golden period” of Christmas.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-highlights">The Highlights</h2>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-speed">Speed</h4>



Three times faster. Or 320% faster to be more accurate. That is the headline result of our recent performance improvements. Customers get online quicker, even in low bandwidth areas.&nbsp;



This results in fewer complaints to staff and less time spent dealing with IT companies. It also means more customers will opt-in to your marketing &#8211; an ideal way to grow your mailing list. <a href="#technicals">Read on</a> to dive into the technical details.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-branding-and-design">Branding and Design</h4>



Consistent branding for your business across all pages with our <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/updates-september-2023">newly released brand kits</a> &#8211; you can read up on them here. Loading, welcome and email validation screens all support brand kits too.&nbsp;



This makes the entire experience more brand-focused, increasing customer recall and making your retention marketing more effective.



A lot of you ask about custom fonts &#8211; this update makes them now available on your WiFi portal and other screens, as per the brand kits.



Lastly &#8211; we’ve made the WiFi service more easily accessible for international customers without the need for them to choose language manually. Using the devices’ locale we automatically change the language in the portal. It’s a nice touch for those of you with regular international customers.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-note-on-paid-wifi">A Note on Paid WiFi</h3>



We’re still supporting many businesses who offer a paid WiFi service, and have dedicated a large amount of effort in this update to improving that side of our guest WiFi.



Using paid access we have supported £1.28m for customers across 59,600 unique payments since starting.



To improve the user experience, the updated paid access now looks and feels like a modern e-commerce shop. The goal is to make it easy for more users to get online in these use cases.



Behind the scenes, we have completely refactored the integrations between PayPal and Stripe to give the whole system a fresh start.



Device management on paid access has historically been problematic for some businesses and users. This has also been reconfigured to make it easier for guests/users to share paid access between accounts.



<code>&lt;a name="technical</code>s&#8221;&gt;&lt;/a&gt;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-getting-technical">Getting Technical</h3>



If you’re here then it’s time to get into the details. How have we taken world-class guest WiFi and made it even better?



Pre-generated everything



We are now pre-rendering every splash page before guests’ devices to speed up loading times. This is also done in all supported languages (14) which means &#8211; at the time of writing &#8211; we’re generating ~80,000 WiFi login pages before people even log in through them.



Bundle size&nbsp;



As all page generation is pre-generated the bundle size of our WiFi feature has decreased. To load a full page now requires ~140 KB of bandwidth &#8211; it used to be 430kb minimum. This means that WiFi portals will load quickly even in the most challenging connectivity environments.



Event-based



The WiFi feature has been moved into its own dedicated infrastructure which means API calls are entirely independent of other Stampede services. Interconnection between this service and Stampede still happens. This dedicated resource simply acts like a unique power source so it no longer shares power with other Stampede functions.



Client authentication



For true cloud-first WiFi hardware vendors &#8211; like TP-Link and Ubiquiti &#8211; we are now authenticating the guests server-to-server, previously done via client-to-server. This drastically speeds up authentication time, getting users online faster.



Streaming components



Components that affect page load speed like the phone number input, Apple Sign-in and Stripe checkout, are now being <a href="https://nextjs.org/docs/app/building-your-application/routing/loading-ui-and-streaming#what-is-streaming">streamed into the application</a>.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-signing-off">Signing off</h3>



There’s no doubt that this is a significant update. It wouldn’t have been possible without the feedback and input from our customers and partners, so a massive thanks to them.



The depth and detail of this update tell us that even the best always have room to improve. Don’t get too comfortable with the status quo, someone else will be moving the needle elsewhere.



If you want to explore any of these updated features in <a href="https://product.stampede.ai">your Stampede account</a>, or to upgrade your existing guest WiFi, <a href="https://stampede.ai/get-started">our team is here to help.</a>

October Update – 3x Faster Guest WiFi and more

The Power of Reviews and Recommendations

The troubling news:&nbsp;72% of hospitality operators have noticed a dip in visitor frequency&nbsp;recently. But more importantly:&nbsp;59% have also observed an increase in spend per head!



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



While the frequency might go down, customers want to treat themselves whilst they’re out.



So, what’s the best way for hospitality operators to tackle this? Level up your&nbsp;upselling strategy!



Here are two simple techniques you can use to increase spend per head and table.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deploy-marketing-for-pre-visit-upselling">Deploy Marketing For Pre-Visit Upselling</h5>



There are many opportunities to make some additional sales before customers come to your venue.



Start with your&nbsp;booking confirmation email. Make sure to highlight any offers or special packages straight away. Give customers a sneak peek of what they might miss out on and leave them with an&nbsp;easy option to book any add-ons.



On top of that, send an automated SMS (or email) the day before or on the day of the booking. This message should focus on your promotions once again but this time&nbsp;create some urgency, i.e.&nbsp;&#8220;last chance to enjoy our …”, “you don’t want to miss our … special”.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">2 Quick Win In-Venue Upselling Ideas</h5>



The biggest upselling opportunities present themselves once customers are actually at your venue.



Check out these two proven in-venue techniques that will help you increase spend per head:



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">1) Train your staff for at-the-table upselling</h6>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Use cross-selling and offer pairing recommendations, i.e. drinks or sides</li><li>Make personal staff or customer-based recommendations &#8211;&nbsp;“I love our new …”, “One of our most popular …”</li><li>Try to upsell on high-margin items and suggest the larger option first</li><li>Highlight popular daily or seasonal menu specials</li><li>Make personalised recommendations based on previous visits &#8211;&nbsp;“Same … as usual?”</li><li>Let customers sample drinks</li><li>Offer desserts to go</li></ul>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">2) Use digital upselling</h6>



The most effective in-venue upselling technique is to&nbsp;push your&nbsp;promotions directly to your customers&#8217; phones. Instead of relying solely on table displays which might not grab their attention.



This digital upselling can be done through a&nbsp;<a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/marketing/#upsell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">captive portal WiFi solution</a>. Once customers have joined your WiFi you can immediately reach out to them with automated marketing messages.



Using digital tools for upselling also helps you to&nbsp;compensate for any staff shortages and busier periods.



<a href="https://h.stampede.ai/meetings/stampede/demo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Reach out</a>&nbsp;to find out more about how our Guest WiFi solution can help you increase spend per head massively through&nbsp;<a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/marketing/#upsell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">digital upselling</a>.

How To Sell More And Increase Spend Per Head With Upsell

<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-burst-into-your-customers-inboxes-and-maximise-your-promotions">Burst into your customers&#8217; inboxes and maximise your promotions</h4>



To make your job a little easier and save you time coming up with campaigns, we’ve created an Email Marketing Handbook specifically for hospitality brands.



Download your FREE Email Marketing Handbook for August 2024 now and start scheduling and promoting your campaigns. Get inspired with ideas for the Olympics, Prosecco Day, August Bank Holidays and more, all in one handy guide.



Featuring 5 instant and seasonal campaign ideas, 4 ready-to-use templates and 8 additional resources from our blog.

August 2024 Hospitality Email Marketing Guide

This week’s social media topics are great to boost engagement with your customers in a funny way and also to do something good.&nbsp;



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



 Here are our top picks for this week.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-8th-of-december-pretendtobeatimetravelerday">8th of December &#8211; #PretendToBeATimeTravelerDay</h4>



Calling all those Doctor Who fans out there, this is your day! Time travelling has captured our imagination for centuries. It’s about getting an answer to the “What if?” question, learning more about the past or finding out what the future holds.



 Choose a time period you want to be in. Get dressed accordingly and start acting as a time traveller. Get creative here, you might use words from the past and regard everything with curiosity and fascination. Technology, what’s that?



 Tip: Ask your customers &#8211; If you could travel back when/where would you go?



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-9th-of-december-christmascardday">9th of December &#8211; #ChristmasCardDay</h4>



Are your team “I love sending greeting cards to everyone” or rather “Nah, can’t be bothered”?&nbsp;



 Each year approximately 2 billion Christmas cards are sent in the US, with 900 million in the UK. That’s a lot! On average, people in the UK sent 16 cards. Despite the trend moving towards e-cards and greetings via social media, paper cards are still preferred by the majority.



 No matter if you go for paper or digital, the tradition of sending a card to loved ones has been upheld. It is always nice to receive a personalised card, someone is thinking of you and spent some time writing a card.&nbsp;



Tip: Newsletter time &#8211; start preparing your holiday wishes to your customers. Think of the content and images you want to use. You might use a quote or share a story of your venue.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-11th-of-december-christmasjumperday">11th of December &#8211; #ChristmasJumperDay</h4>



Christmas jumpers are a substantial part of Christmas! Who’s got the silliest one? Once a tradition, now definitely a trend. But how did the knitwear become so popular? It was in 2001 when two Canadians organised the first “Ugly Christmas Sweater Party”.&nbsp;



 But did you know that Christmas Jumper Day is a cheerful and festive event to raise funds for the Save the Children charity? Get your team involved and don’t forget to share it with your customers. <a href="https://www.savethechildren.org.uk/christmas-jumper-day" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Find out more here</a>



Tip: Share a pic of your staff proudly wearing their jumpers. Also a great opportunity for a social media competition &#8211; post a pic of you in your favourite jumper and tag a friend to win.&nbsp;



 If you&#8217;ve got your email holiday greetings ready to go and could do with a little helping hand, <a href="https://stampede.ai/company/#contact" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">get in touch</a> with our team. We&#8217;ll support you getting the word out to your customers.

What’s On This Week – 7/12/2020

New service keeps spontaneous pub trips alive while supporting track and trace

People around the world have had to adapt to sudden changes in routine. Many of us, for instance, have found ourselves at home with hours of free time at our disposal. Is this you?



You’ve done the relaxing thing and caught up on sleep, you’ve updated your website and social media accounts, you are ready and waiting to implement new marketing ideas, and you have cleaned your home and venue from top to bottom. Now what? &nbsp;



Now’s the time to find alternative ways of being productive. It’s time to upskill during downtime! It’s time to take coronavirus by the horns and show it that it’s not going to get the better of you. You’re going to improve your knowledge and your insight so that your brand is stronger and ready to take on the market during the toughest of times.&nbsp;



Let’s do this!



But how?



One way to use your time constructively is to learn new skills. This way, you can gain or maintain certification while differentiating yourself or your hospitality business moving forward. With on-demand modules and other online options such as webinars, home-study courses, educational podcasts, and endless video tutorials, the opportunities to learn remotely, safely, and in your own time are seemingly endless. Allow us to point you in the right direction.



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow">10 Online Tools that Can Help You to Improve Your Skills for the Hospitality Industry</blockquote>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">1. <a href="https://www.udemy.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Udemy</a></h3>



Udemy has something for everyone. Whether you want to learn more about online marketing, perfect your customer service, or up your knowledge on health and safety in the hospitality industry – this is the go-to platform for quick certificate courses. The courses vary in price but are mostly easy on the pocket (look out for specials). You can also download the Udemy app so that you can up your skills while on the move.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">2. <a href="https://learndigital.withgoogle.com/digitalgarage/courses" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Google Digital Garage</a></h3>



Looking to brush up on the fundamentals of online marketing? The Google Digital Garage is a platform that has been created for those who are eager to take their business online and enjoy all the benefits. What we love about this platform (over and above the fact that it’s free to access) is that it delivers thorough digital skills courses. It teaches users by giving relatable examples of how different types of businesses can use digital channels in different ways. Once you have completed your online course, you’ll receive a certificate endorsed by Google and the IAB Europe.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">3. <a href="https://www.duolingo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Duolingo</a></h3>



Hotel and restaurant owners understand the importance of speaking a second (or third) language. This skill can keep you a step ahead of your competition and it also makes you look more professional (not to mention cool). And that’s where Duolingo steps in. The app allows you to learn foreign languages easily. You can also set weekly goals for yourself and track your progress. Best of all, it’s free.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">4. <a href="https://www.skillpill.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Skill-Pill</a></h3>



Skill-Pill is an app that helps you to be the teacher. By mastering the app’s modules and functionality, you can learn how to create courses and training videos that can improve the skills of your employees. From bettering your customer service to learning how to improve your sales and marketing techniques, you will be able to customise the learning experience for your employees so that information is easily absorbed.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">5.<a href="https://moodle.com/app/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Moodle Mobile</a></h3>



This nifty app has many diverse settings and has been designed so that users can access their course material even when they go offline. Apart from having access to a plethora of different learning material, you will also be able to use the app to view your course grades and socialise with users who are studying the same or similar skillsets. Did we mention that it’s free?



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">6. <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://itunesu.itunes.apple.com/coursemanager/" target="_blank">iTunes U</a></h3>



iTunes U is an open learning channel that features educational audio and video files from universities, museums, and media organisations around the world. The resources are endless, and you can search, download, and play the educational content the same way you would manipulate a song or a podcast on iTunes.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">7. <a href="https://moz.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moz</a></h3>



<a href="https://www.business2community.com/youtube/8-best-business-youtube-channels-to-sharpen-your-entrepreneur-skills-02254474">Business 2 Community[1]</a> refers to Moz as a “technical prowess”. It’s also a good resource to have when you are looking for user-friendly content to learn from. Specifically focusing on educating business owners about the ever-changing world of SEO and inbound marketing, here you will find up-to-date tutorials on the latest in digital online marketing. No misinformation here.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">8. <a href="http://www.hipsterceo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hipster CEO</a></h3>



We’ll admit, it was the name that first drew us to this mobile game. Yup, this is a sim game instead of a traditional set of courses. When looking into the dynamics of this application, however, we were more intrigued by its ability to help users brush up on their business skills whilst having fun. With a tagline “Build a killer start-up. Or whatever” the aim of the game is to select the industry which you want to start in, hire employees, and go through the ropes to ensure that your “business” is a success. In short, it’s a simulation game that allows you to give those “what if” ideas a test run.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">9. <a href="https://www.yourprimer.com/?force_layout=True" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Primer</a></h3>



This basic app allows you to pick a business topic or skill – and then you get to enjoy interactive activities around the set topic. It’s the perfect tool to use if you only have a few minutes a day to brush up on your hospitality skills. Whether you are new to business or want to learn about the best digital marketing strategies, this is a great user-friendly offline and online learning aid.&nbsp;



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">10. <a href="https://smallbusiness.withgoogle.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Small Business</a></h3>



Yes, we’re mentioning Google for the third time. This is only because it provides amazing business learning tools. <a href="https://smallbusiness.withgoogle.com" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Google Small Business</a>, for example, is one of the company’s more recent initiatives, but it’s a powerful learning portal despite its infancy. Essentially, the site helps you to learn how to master the art of marketing yourself on Google. It’s free, the content is easy to absorb, and the information will be extremely valuable to your business.&nbsp;



Want to learn more about Wi-Fi marketing? <a href="https://stampede.ai/company/">Contact Stampede</a> so that we can help you to up your knowledge on one of the hospitality industry’s fastest-growing marketing tools.



References:



<a href="https://www.business2community.com/youtube/8-best-business-youtube-channels-to-sharpen-your-entrepreneur-skills-02254474">[1] Business 2 Community. 8 Best Business Youtube Channels to Sharpen Your Business Skills</a>

Upskill in the downtime - where to learn new digital skills

Where To Upskill During Downtime

<a href="https://www.tempestbrewco.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tempest Brewing Co</a>.,&nbsp; a craft beer company nestled in the Scottish Borders, released details of their reopening but with a bit of a twist which caught our attention.



 Instead of another set of policies, guidelines and changes to operations, they have put full focus on their events program as their route to reopening.



 Their Tap Sessions events were a feature of their taproom before nationwide lockdown and the sessions are now live again as hospitality opens back up again. Every session is “built around a theme” and each person gets 5 different beers to try, a tasting session with the brewer, some bar snacks and a drink to take away for later.



 It’s a few small changes that make it stand out in your inbox or social feed.



 A “you must pre-book” policy now becomes “book your space at our regular events”. The “limited numbers of customers at a time” becomes a “private beer tasting event” with plenty of available slots to book in the months to come.



 Repackaging how you reopen presents many other potential benefits. Not only does it stick in people’s minds, but it will also appeal to those people who are perhaps more apprehensive of going to larger venues that are open for (relatively) normal service.



 If you’ve already reopened for normal trade with a&nbsp; “soft-launch” , don&#8217;t worry, the opportunity still exists to do something special to celebrate reopening. Discounts and promotions aren&#8217;t such an obvious choice but special events that make the most of new measures fit well.



Regardless of what you’re doing to promote your reopening, we can help you <a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/marketing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">get the message out</a> to your audience, whilst also making the <a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/hospitality-reopening" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">contact details collection</a> easy for everyone when they visit.

Get Customers To Choose You

Introducing More Tools To Thrive – Stampede 2023 Product Update

4 Best Restaurant Table Booking Software Compared

Strengthen Your Brand With Customised Booking Emails

Buyer’s Guide: 11 Key Features Your Table Booking System Needs

New Feature – Stampede Table Booking System

Customer experience in hospitality can be pretty tumultuous at the moment. Thankfully, email has long had a place in the customer experience. It can play a big part in boosting the customer engagement, regardless of current circumstances.



 While email is no substitute for person-to-person contact, it can supplement the customer experience. Keeping your business front of mind via their inbox will get you more repeat bookings and visits, and it doesn’t have to be a chore.



 Here are 3 types of email that can improve customer experience without costing you time



 Thanks for visiting This a simple email that can serve a couple of functions. It can work as a humble message from management to a recent customer to thank them for choosing to visit that venue.&nbsp;



This email is also a chance to ask for feedback and reviews. A “How was your visit?” email, with a thank you note, is a super-effective way to get more reviews and increase your overall score.



<p id="h-welcome-backwhen-a-customer-comes-back-you-can-automate-an-email-that-acknowledges-their-return-visit-with-another-short-message-while-it-might-be-different-staff-working-when-they-return-automation-technology-can-make-sure-repeat-customers-are-remembered">Welcome back When a customer comes back, you can automate an email that acknowledges their return visit with another short message. While it might be different staff working when they return, automation technology can make sure repeat customers are remembered.



 This short note of recognition will make repeat customers feel special, deepening that loyalty to your business. It also gives you a option to include a special offer, exclusive to repeat customers, that could increase their spend while rewarding them.



<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gABz6940YzU&amp;t=51s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Happy Birthday</a> Although it requires some more detailed data capture, this email undoubtedly pays off for the extra effort. Again there are a couple of ways to use it:



 A quick note to say “Happy birthday, have a great day!” keeps you connected with the customer and builds rapport, even when they’re not at the venue.



 But the way many Stampede customers use this message to get covers and bookings is with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gABz6940YzU&amp;t=51s" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a birthday offer</a>. Some offer a free bottle of prosecco with a birthday booking, or a discount on the bill for tables of 6+ and it’s incredibly effective.



 Arguably the best feature of these emails is that they can all be automated. Once the email is built it can be automatically sent to any customers when the time is right. There’s no need to constantly write emails and hit “Send”.



 To find out more about <a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/automations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automated messages</a> and how to set them up, <a href="https://stampede.ai/company/#contact" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">get in touch</a> with one of our team.

Hassle-Free Customer Loyalty

Tripadvisor recently rolled out their <a href="https://www.tripadvisor.com/travel-safe">TravelSafe</a> updates for businesses and travellers. The update focuses on bringing safety measures implemented in response to COVID-19 to the forefront.&nbsp;



These changes have the potential to really shake things up in terms of ratings and rankings on the platform as consumer interests change and adapt to life after lockdown. Our research has discovered that less than 1 in 100 restaurants in the UK has added their safety measures to Tripadvisor following the update.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">What does Travel Safe do?</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignright size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21.png" alt="" class="wp-image-18924" width="471" height="121" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21.png 942w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21-300x77.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21-768x197.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21-150x39.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21-592x152.png 592w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21-190x49.png 190w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.12.21-350x90.png 350w" sizes="(max-width: 471px) 100vw, 471px" /></figure></div>



For business listing owners, there are new sections available to provide details of safety measures in place. Businesses with this information get a badge on their listing preview.



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="alignleft size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Screenshot-2020-07-28-at-16.02.04.png" alt="" class="wp-image-18923" width="215" height="314"/></figure></div>



<div style="height:20px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



For customers, there’s a new filter in the search results for “Venues with safety measures in place&#8221; (which takes the top spot) and there is also safety measure specific questions for those travels and customers writing reviews.



<div style="height:143px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h6 class="wp-block-heading">Related Article: <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/guest-review-management/">Guest Review Management</a></h6>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Research Process</h2>



To get a better understanding of the impact this update has for businesses, we’ve gone through the results for hotels, restaurants and food and drink businesses in the UK’s 30 biggest cities (by population), from the point of view of a customer. We’ve gathered the results <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RluNwd94iCgJtc-lLKAsR2rZ3nslfqiWwOrIm-pTM9o/edit?usp=sharing">in a table </a>to compare hospitality industry segments and geographic areas.



We looked up the number of hotels and restaurants in each city, then applied the “Properties taking safety measures” filter in the left-hand column of the search results.



This was carried out for Restaurants, Bars and Pubs, Tea and Coffee and Hotels.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RluNwd94iCgJtc-lLKAsR2rZ3nslfqiWwOrIm-pTM9o/edit?usp=sharing">The Results</a></h2>



The numbers are striking. Out of 48,000 Restaurants in those 30 cities, only 406 venues showed up with the “Safety Measures” filter applied. That’s less than 1%.&nbsp;



For hotels, there was a marked increase in results showing up with the filter applied. From 9,000 properties, 625 included details of the safety measures they had put in place. A sturdy 6.9% across the nation.



London has the most restaurants with new COVID safety measures in the UK (134) but this is only 0.69% of London restaurants listed by Tripadvisor.



The southern cities of Bournemouth, Southampton and Portsmouth all feature highly on the list for restaurants with measures listed (3.93%, 1.77% and 1.63%). This is expected given their reputation as staycation hotspots on the south coast.



Nottingham and Glasgow top the list for the highest proportion of hotels with safety measures detailed at 12.5% and 11.5% respectively.



The full data for Restaurants and Hotels is below and you can view all the results of the research <a href="https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RluNwd94iCgJtc-lLKAsR2rZ3nslfqiWwOrIm-pTM9o/edit?usp=sharing">HERE.</a>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table.png" alt="Restaurant results for tripadvisor safety measures" class="wp-image-18932" width="579" height="629" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table.png 772w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table-276x300.png 276w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table-768x834.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table-150x163.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table-16x16.png 16w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table-592x643.png 592w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table-55x60.png 55w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Restaurants-Tripadvisor-Table-83x90.png 83w" sizes="(max-width: 579px) 100vw, 579px" /></figure></div>



<div style="height:37px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-large is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hotel-Tripadvisor-list-2.png" alt="Hotel results for tripadvisor safety measures research" class="wp-image-18934" width="537" height="611" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hotel-Tripadvisor-list-2.png 716w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hotel-Tripadvisor-list-2-264x300.png 264w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hotel-Tripadvisor-list-2-150x171.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hotel-Tripadvisor-list-2-592x673.png 592w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hotel-Tripadvisor-list-2-53x60.png 53w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Hotel-Tripadvisor-list-2-79x90.png 79w" sizes="(max-width: 537px) 100vw, 537px" /></figure></div>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Food For Thought</h2>



As one of the go-to sites when searching for places to eat and drink it’s surprising that so few venues have managed to get their Tripadvisor listings updated. Especially after going to so much effort to implement their safety measures and the consumer desire to be well informed of precautions.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.cga.co.uk/2020/07/20/cga-and-ukhospitality-set-out-the-industrys-road-to-recovery">CGA researc</a>h under a quarter (23%) of consumers are only returning to venues with caution and a third (33%) only doing so if they are sure that added precautions were in place.



Safety Culture says ‘while ‘Super Saturday’ saw millions flock to pubs and bars, just a quarter (26%) of the British public feel safe going back to pubs and bars and only 37% feel safe going back to restaurants and cafes.’ It says there is an ‘urgent need for business to be transparent about new measures for customer and employee safety.’



At the time of writing, only about 60% of hospitality venues have reopened. It follows that as more reopen, the number with measures listed on there will climb and competition within that filtered search view will increase.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Advice For Owners</h2>



First, head to Tripadvisor and carry out a search in your local area using the same process we laid out above, or check out the results for the nearest big city. Have a look at what others near you have done.



Here’s a great example of one we found to take inspiration from:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Steakhouse-safety-measures-tripadvisor-1024x343.png" alt="steakhouse safety measures on tripadvisor" class="wp-image-18938"/></figure>



The Tripadvisor platform allows you to give a bullet point list of measures in place, provide contact details for any further questions and provide a short written note which allows for a more personal touch too.



With this information in place, a business will be significantly more visible to those concerned and cautious customers who want to be reassured before venturing out.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Wrapping Up</h2>



Whilst we are still in early stages of reopening, it’s a critical time to act on this. The numbers were quite startingly given the struggles already faced and the need to come back strong. The updates look eye-catching to customers on Tripadvisor and they themselves have put a lot of weight behind showing off safety measures.



It’s well worth taking a few minutes to update your listing after all the effort gone into making the venue safe and those who get to it sooner will be better for it. There’s a huge opportunity out there for those businesses able to reassure customers and increase their footfall as a result.



If you&#8217;d like any more information on our research please <a href="https://stampede.ai/company#contact">contact us.</a>

How Tripadvisor’s Safety Measures Are Impacting Hospitality Businesses

4 Ways CRM Data Can Be Used in Day-to-Day Service by Your Staff

How to Use Segmentation to Increase Guest Engagement in Hospitality

Introducing Quick Campaigns

Snap Box – Stampede Network Application

Stampede-Meta Audience Connect: Simplifying multi-channel marketing strategies

A new kind of marketplace for hospitality apps

New Features & Updates – September 2023

Feature Update – Improved campaigns, reporting and imports

How To Make The Most Of Your Restaurant Outdoor Seating Space In Summer

The Ultimate Beginners Guide to WiFi Jargon

Love it or hate it, we all had some time now to form our own opinion on AI-generated content such as <a href="https://openai.com/blog/chatgpt/">ChatGPT</a> from OpenAI.&nbsp;



One thing is for sure, it is definitely causing one of the biggest uproars in the marketing world at the moment. You can’t escape it and it’s hard to keep up with the pace of its change.&nbsp;



With <a href="https://stampede.ai/connect">&#8216;.ai&#8217; in our web address</a> and a penchant for all things technology, we had to follow the hype and did some playing around with it to test it for you.



With every new thing, there’s the good, the bad and the ugly. So here’s our take on the latest craze of AI tools.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-take-it-with-a-pinch-of-salt">Take it with a pinch of salt</h2>



One of the great fears is that you might end up with plagiarised content. Such content could harm you in the eyes of Google (and others) in terms of search engine optimisation.



We’ve run some AI-generated content that we had written against a plagiarism checker and well, the outcome wasn’t looking good, hitting above the 90% mark. So this is something some of the platforms still need to work on.



Besides the originality of content, you also want factually correct information. There have been a good amount of examples floating around (see example below) showing incorrect output which might lead to misinformation spreading unwantedly.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="950" src="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-10-at-06.55.41-1024x950.png" alt="AI-generated faulty content" class="wp-image-22938" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-10-at-06.55.41-1024x950.png 1024w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-10-at-06.55.41-300x278.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-10-at-06.55.41-768x712.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-10-at-06.55.41-150x139.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Screenshot-2023-02-10-at-06.55.41.png 1102w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Platforms have always made it clear though, that the emphasis is mostly on creativity, not on factuality. So make sure to always double-check the output and apply some common sense.



And now, the biggest question of all: will it replace the human writer?&nbsp;



No.&nbsp;



AI is a tool, like any other we use in marketing, i.e. design tools, keyword research platforms, etc. A tool that can make our daily jobs easier, quicker and more efficient.&nbsp;



It’s more like your new writing assistant than a fully-fledged digital ghost author.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The tricky bit</h2>



Getting the input right is by far the most important yet most difficult bit when generating AI content.



You might not need to write the entire content yourself but you still need to figure out how to get high-quality content or the ideal structure of a piece.



So at least at the beginning, you will spend a decent amount of time on the AI tool. It’s about trying and testing different input styles to get it where you want it to be and in line with your brand voice.



Our tip: aim for simple instructions. How would you explain this to a friend?&nbsp;



It’s also essential to read the manual. You need to be able to speak the instruction language that the tools understand. They use different jargon to how you would ask for something naturally.



Below is a quick Jasper command example.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="458" src="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command-1024x458.png" alt="Jasper commands" class="wp-image-22932" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command-1024x458.png 1024w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command-300x134.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command-768x343.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command-1536x686.png 1536w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command-1200x536.png 1200w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command-150x67.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Jasper-command.png 1696w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Make AI-generated content work for you</h2>



No doubt, there is a lot you can do with AI, especially in marketing where we spend much of our time producing new content.



Here are 10 quick ways AI tools can take some workload off you:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Brainstorm on certain topics/keywords</li>



<li>Generate subject/headlines</li>



<li>Create and improve headlines for ads</li>



<li>Produce long-form content, like blog articles</li>



<li>Get instant social media posts</li>



<li>Produce SEO-relevant content</li>



<li>Create sales emails &amp; workflows</li>



<li>Do keyword research&nbsp;</li>



<li>Optimise FAQs</li>



<li>Summarise content into bullet points</li>
</ol>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Takeaway</h2>



It’s fair to say that AI is at a starting point. With time those tools will learn and improve and ultimately get better.&nbsp;



Savvy marketers will figure out pretty soon how to leverage it to their full advantage. And sooner or later, AI will probably become a part of our tech stack.&nbsp;



<hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/>



Stay tuned for <a href="https://stampede.ai/blog/chatgpt-vs-jasper-the-two-most-popular-ai-tools-compared">part two of this series</a> to find out more about how ChatGPT and Jasper, two of the most used tools compare.

AI Tools for Marketers: An Insider’s View

How to stay relevant right now if your hospitality venue is still closed? We have gathered some promotion tips for you to boost your sales.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



Reopening has finally kicked off across the UK. Businesses and customers have been looking forward to this for a long time. Lots of work and effort has gone into a successful reopening in the past few weeks. Sticking to all guidelines and making it safe for customers and staff.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/Article/2021/04/19/How-many-pubs-reopened-outside-on-Monday-12-April" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">recent figures </a>though, only a quarter of licensed UK venues were able to open for outdoor trading. Some simply don’t have any outdoor area or not enough space to adhere to distancing rules. Those venues have to stay patient to be able to open in a few weeks with rules further easing.



So, how do you make sure your closed business stays relevant if your neighbour has just opened up welcoming customers back in?



We had a look into some questions that might come up for those that are still closed and only operate through takeaway and/or delivery. Check out our ultimate promotion tips and ideas to boost your venue sales.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-to-promote-takeaway-and-delivery">How to Promote Takeaway and Delivery?</h4>



In general, it all comes down to staying at the front of your customers’ mind. Making sure that your venue is trending on all relevant channels, on a regular basis.&nbsp;



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-communication-methods">Communication Methods</h4>



The main focus here should be on email and SMS, followed by socials. Social media will be dominated by content from places open and serving. So, show up where others are not so visible.



Emphasise on the fact that reopening is coming closer for your business and in the meanwhile:



“To help you pass/shorten the waiting time &#8211; don’t miss on your weekly dose of your favourite [meal/drink]. ”



“Do you miss us? When was the last time you had [meal/drink]?“



“Rainy day? What about staying in and order some [meal/drink]?”



“Lunch’o’clock and still working from home? Time for a [meal/drink] order!”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-special-promotions">Special Promotions</h4>



For an extra nudge, come up with special offers and deals. Create a sense of urgency by using limited time offers or special weekend deals:



“Get % off for takeout orders placed with alcoholic drinks only valid between … pm and &#8230; pm.”



“For every 10th takeaway/delivery order places &#8211; Your chance to win a reopening voucher.”



“Free dessert to the first 15 takeout/delivery customers who use the code “SWEET.”



In combination with a Social Media contest:



“Who will be your first date once we’re open again? Tag to win.”



In combination with your loyalty scheme:



“Collect 5 stamps for all takeaway\delivery orders to get … % off for your first reopening meal.”



“We value your loyalty. Order now and save later.”



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inspiration-jump-on-the-picnic-bbq-season">Inspiration &#8211; Jump on the Picnic &amp; BBQ Season</h4>



Picnic and BBQ season has begun! A nice way of meeting friends &amp; family for some quality time outdoors. Plus, the weather is improving day by day and it stays within lockdown rules.&nbsp;



Promote a special picnic-style and/or BBQ takeaway or meal kit to further boost your sales. You can either just provide the food and drinks or the full hamper. <a href="https://www.olivemagazine.com/guides/top-10-take-away-picnic-hampers-in-london/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Get inspired by other venues&#8217; picnic takeaway offers.</a>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-next">What&#8217;s Next?</h4>



Got some great marketing ideas for your takeaway and delivery to bring to life? Get in touch with us on <a href="mailto:contact@stampede.ai?subject=&amp;body=" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">contact@stampede.ai</a> or <a href="tel:0131 510 7008" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">0131 510 7008.</a>



Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/stampede_speaks" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">#PrepStartsNow</a> for more tips around a successful reopening and don&#8217;t forget to check out our <a href="https://stampede.ai/prep-start-now/">Prep Starts Now Page</a> to benefit from amazing offers from our industry partners.

Venue still closed? 4 Promotion Tips to Boost Sales

There’s no escaping the fact that staffing is a major problem in the hospitality industry right now. Adding to that, recruitment to solve the staffing problem is not only time-consuming in itself but also challenging at the moment too.



However, there are a bunch of ways that digital tools and automation that can help you when short-staffed.&nbsp;It’s all about getting more done with less so that your team can focus on doing what they’re best at &#8211; creating and delivering an unforgettable customer experience.&nbsp;



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-digitise-and-automate-your-tasks">Digitise and automate your tasks</h4>



There’re various areas of your business that you can automate. As a starting point, have a look at platforms like <a href="https://zapier.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Zapier</a> or <a href="https://automate.io/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">automate.io</a> to get some ideas around easy workflow automations. They’re quick to set up but can take a big workload off your shoulders.



Tools like those are ideal for tasks like collating data from different sources into one, formatting large spreadsheets and creating alerts and messages for your team to act on.



In general, we would recommend focusing your automations on your customer communication and reviews.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-plan-and-schedule-social-media-posts">Plan and schedule social media posts</h4>



Operating a business and coming up with regular social media posts to engage with your customers can be tough. To free up some of your time, make use of platforms such as <a href="https://later.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Later</a>, <a href="https://www.hootsuite.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hootsuite</a>&nbsp;or <a href="https://buffer.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Buffer</a>&nbsp;to plan posts ahead and schedule them in advance.&nbsp;



Top Tip: <a href="http://assets.blackbx.io.s3.amazonaws.com/magnets/july-august-social-media-calendar-2021-Stampede.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Download our free social media calendar</a> to get two months worth of post ideas.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-email-and-sms-automations">Email and SMS automations</h4>



Marketers spend an average of 3.48 hours a week on email marketing. A good amount of your messaging will be repetitive, such as to welcome new customers, send out birthday offers or reservation reminders.



With email and SMS automations you can set up and send targeted campaigns triggered by your customers’ behaviour. Just let the automation do the work for you.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-automated-reviews-management">Automated reviews management</h4>



Even though more is better, gathering and monitoring reviews manually and then going through all kinds of review platforms to analyse them is probably giving you a headache.&nbsp;



You can set up automations to request reviews automatically and collect all of them (from various platforms) in one dashboard. What’s more, with the right review management system in place negative reviews can be held back. This gives businesses the opportunity and time to handle them.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-make-technology-do-the-work-for-you">Make technology do the work for you</h4>



Lastly, technology is a great support in your daily operations. It can take work off your staff and increasing productivity and revenue for you.&nbsp;



3 main tech tools you should consider implementing in your venue that will further support your staff:



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Smart <a href="https://stampede.ai/covid-19/track-and-trace/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Track and Trace solution</a> that captures your customers’ data automatically through your Guest WiFi and QR codes</li><li>Order &amp; pay app</li><li><a href="https://stampede.ai/how-it-works/loyalty/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Digital Stamp Cards</a></li></ul>



Also, have a look at our exclusive offers from our tech partners on our <a href="https://stampede.ai/prep-start-now/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Prep Starts Now</a> page that can further help you operate more efficiently.&nbsp;



<a href="contact@stampede.ai" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Get in touch</a> with one of our team to find out how our all-in-one platform can support you with Track and Trace, automations and more when short-staffed.

These Automations Can Help When Short-Staffed

Just in time for the busy festive period our engineering team have put together a brand new level of reporting on the Stampede software: Multi-site reporting.



As we begin working with more and more multi-site clients, the need to provide this level of detail for their marketing and management teams became a big priority. The new reporting suite allows users to compare all their locations working with Stampede, side-by-side across our numerous metrics.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">How Does It Work?</h4>



At a glance, users can now compare metrics like customer dwell time between their top performing venues, which venues have the highest review scores or easily spot which venue has the most return visitors. Likewise, the reporting can be used to spot potential issues such as a venue with lower than normal new customer numbers. 



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="420" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-1024x420.png" alt="" class="wp-image-13656" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-1024x420.png 1024w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-300x123.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-768x315.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-1200x492.png 1200w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-150x62.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-592x243.png 592w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-146x60.png 146w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers-219x90.png 219w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Total-Customers.png 1226w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Each location displayed as a bar on the graph</figcaption></figure>



Managers responsible for looking after multiple separate locations will find this time saving, but also incredibly insightful to help spot new trends and opportunities with their venues. You&#8217;ll be able to clearly identify the impact of your other marketing and advertising activities on your venues. Running an event for the first time at one site? You can see the business uplift versus other sites and getting planning for your next event, building on the success.



If you&#8217;re using our Reviews feature you&#8217;ll be able to compare all your locations review scores side by side. Using this info you can then make extra efforts to improve those sites with weaker scores. Dive in to the Reviews section of that site and read your customers&#8217; feedback. In our experience, there&#8217;s always a few easily identified trends that can make for a quick win.



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="419" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-1024x419.png" alt="" class="wp-image-13652" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-1024x419.png 1024w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-300x123.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-768x315.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-1200x492.png 1200w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-150x61.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-592x242.png 592w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-146x60.png 146w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers-220x90.png 220w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/New-Customers.png 1228w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><figcaption>Total across all venues is displayed top-left</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="420" src="https://stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--1024x420.png" alt="" class="wp-image-13653" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--1024x420.png 1024w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--300x123.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--768x315.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--1200x493.png 1200w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--150x62.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--592x243.png 592w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--146x60.png 146w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers--219x90.png 219w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Return-Customers-.png 1228w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Accessing the reports</h4>



To find Multi-Site reporting in the Stampede system head to Analytics -&gt; Multisite. You can change the date ranges and sort the columns by the stats you want to compare. Below the table you&#8217;ll find charts for each of the metrics with all your venues lined up

New Product Feature: Multi-site Reporting

<h2>Service Level Agreement</h2>
<h3>Overview</h3>
This service level agreement (‘SLA’) describes the levels of service that (‘The Client) will receive from Stampede AI Ltd. (‘The Vendor’). This SLA should be read alongside the terms of use (<a href="https://stampede.ai/company/saas-agreement/">https://stampede.ai/company/saas-agreement/</a>) between The Client and The Vendor. Although the SLA covers key areas of The Client’s provided services and support, other contracts may include areas not covered by this SLA.&nbsp;
<h3>Purpose&nbsp;</h3>
The Client’s received service depends on Stampede Software as a Service ( ‘The System’) that is provided, maintained and supported by The Vendor. This SLA sets out what levels of availability and support The Client is guaranteed to receive The System. It also explains what penalties will be applied to Vendor should it fail to meet these levels. This SLA forms an important part of the contract between The Client and Vendor. It aims to enable the two parties to work together effectively.&nbsp;
<h3>Scope&nbsp;</h3>
<h4>Dates and reviews&nbsp;</h4>
This agreement begins on the Effective Date as described in the SaaS Agreement and will run for the&nbsp; Subscription Term. It may be reviewed at any point, by mutual agreement. It may also be reviewed if there are any changes to The Client’s needs or uses.&nbsp;
<h4>Services Covered&nbsp;</h4>
This SLA covers only those services provided by The Vendor to The Client for purposes of monitoring the use of WiFi by end users. This SLA contemplates only those above-named services and makes no guarantees or representations as to the provision or availability of any other service that may be provided by other suppliers.
<h4>Exclusions&nbsp;</h4>
This SLA is written in good faith. The Vendor will always do everything possible to rectify every issue in a timely manner.&nbsp; However, there are exclusions. This SLA does not apply to: •&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Any equipment, software, services, third party or otherwise, or any other parts of the System not listed above.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Software, equipment or services not purchased via and managed by The Vendor.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Additionally, this SLA does not apply when:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The problem has been caused by using equipment, software or service(s) in a way that is not recommended.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The Client has made unauthorised changes to the configuration or set up of affected equipment, software or services.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">The Client has prevented The Vendor from performing required maintenance and update tasks.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">&nbsp;The issue has been caused by unsupported mobile devices, equipment, software or other services.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
This SLA does not apply in circumstances that could be reasonably said to be beyond The Vendor’s control.&nbsp; For instance: floods, war, acts of god, civil unrest and so on.&nbsp;
This SLA also does not apply if The Client is in breach of its contract with The Vendor for any reason (e.g. late payment of fees, improper use, violation of terms, etc.).&nbsp;
<h3>Responsibilities&nbsp;</h3>
<h4>The Vendor responsibilities&nbsp;</h4>
The Vendor will provide and maintain the System used by The Client. The Vendor will make the System available through WiFi.
Additionally, The Vendor will:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Ensure relevant software, services and equipment are available to The Client where necessary.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Respond to support requests within a reasonable timeframe.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Take steps to escalate and resolve issues in an appropriate, timely manner.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Maintain good communication with The Client at all times.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h4>Client Responsibilities&nbsp;</h4>
The Client will use The Vendor provided system as intended.&nbsp;
The Client will:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Notify The Client of issues or problems in a timely manner.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Provide The Vendor with access to equipment, software and services for the purposes of maintenance, updates and fault prevention.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Maintain good communication with The Vendor at all times.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
<h3>Guaranteed uptime&nbsp;</h3>
<h4>Uptime levels&nbsp;</h4>
In order to enable The Client to do business effectively, The Vendor guarantees that certain items will be available for a certain percentage of time.&nbsp;
The System is guaranteed to have a 99.9% uptime.&nbsp;
<h4>Measurement and Penalties&nbsp;</h4>
Uptime is measured over each calendar month. It is calculated to the nearest minute, based on the number of minutes in the given month (for example, a 31-day month contains 44,640 minutes). If uptime for any item drops below the relevant threshold, a penalty will be applied in the form of a credit for The Client. This means the following month’s fee payable by The Client will be reduced on a sliding scale. The level of penalty will be calculated depending on the number of hours for which the service was unavailable, minus the downtime permitted by the SLA.
<h4>Service Credits</h4>
From 1 to 15 hours beyond target, rounded up to the next whole hour.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">2.5% of monthly Charge for the affected Customer Premises per whole hour.</li>
</ul>
More than 15 hours beyond target
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">50% of monthly Charge for the affected Customer Premises.</li>
</ul>
<h4>Important Notes:&nbsp;</h4>
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Uptime penalties in any month are capped at 50% of the total monthly fee.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Uptime measurements exclude periods of routine maintenance. These must be agreed between The Vendor and The Client in advance.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">For the avoidance of doubt, Services operating on backup or resilient links, line errors and/or other intermittent faults which do not prevent Service use, would be excluded from the Critical Fault category.&nbsp; Fault resolution times under this section will not apply to any faults that arise during a scheduled maintenance window.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Initially, we will work remotely to resolve all network faults. If, after investigation, we consider that the fault has not been resolved or that a solution does not seem imminent, we may arrange for an engineer to visit the affected Customer Premise, or to provide replacement Company Equipment, unless we deem the fault to originate as a direct result of failure at a Customer Premises of any Company Equipment in respect of which we have no management or maintenance responsibility.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Progress towards resolution within Target Clearance Times may be affected by our inability to access Customer Premise(s) or equipment; clear detail on information requested as part of the fault diagnosis process, or your instruction for us to suspend progress for any reason. Should either circumstance occur, we will pause the incident (stop the clock) until action is taken to allow the incident resolution to be resumed. Overall duration of the fault will have the paused time removed from the calculation.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">We will calculate total fault duration in seconds up or down to the nearest minute.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Guaranteed Response Times&nbsp;</h3>
When The Client raises a support issue with The Vendor, The Vendor promises to respond in a timely fashion.
<h4>Response Times&nbsp;</h4>
The response time measures how long it takes The Vendor to respond to a support request raised via Vendor’s support system. The Vendor is deemed to have responded when it has replied to the client’s initial request. This may be in the form of a chat response, email or telephone call, to either provide a solution or request further information.
Response times are measured from the moment the client submits a support request via The Vendor’s online support system.&nbsp;
Response times apply during standard working hours (9am — 5.30pm) Monday to Friday (May exclude public holidays), unless the contract between the client and supplier specifically includes provisions for out of hours support.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Chat/ phone call &#8211; immediate response</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Email &#8211; within 30 minutes</li>
</ul>
<h4>Resolution Times&nbsp;</h4>
The Vendor will always endeavour to resolve problems as swiftly as possible. It recognises that the client’s use of the System is key to its business and that any downtime can cost money. However, The Vendor is unable to provide guaranteed resolution times. This is because the nature and causes of problems can vary enormously. For instance, it may be possible to resolve a fatal server issue in minutes, simply by restarting the server. But if a server fails due to disk error or a hardware fault (also classed as a fatal issue) it may take much longer to get back up and running. In all cases, The Vendor will make its best efforts to resolve problems as quickly as possible. It will also provide frequent progress reports to The Client.&nbsp;
<h3>Right of Termination&nbsp;</h3>
Vendor recognises that it provides services that are critical to The Client’s business. If Vendor consistently fails to meet the service levels described in this document, the client may terminate its entire contract with Vendor, with no penalty. This right is available to the client if Vendor fails to meet the above uptime or response time levels more than five times in any single calendar month.

Service-level Agreement (SLA)

The&nbsp;aim of a staff newsletter is to foster a community feeling and a sense of involvement&nbsp;amongst your staff. This is one of the key ingredients for successful retention. Check out our 25 content ideas and start creating engaging internal staff newsletters.



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



In&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://stampede.ai/blog/how-internal-newsletters-help-you-to-retain-staff-part-1/" target="_blank">part one of this series,</a>&nbsp;we provided some tips on how to set up the staff newsletter.



But you also have to make your updates worth reading. Staff newsletters should be&nbsp;informative, interactive and engaging. So, find a balanced mix of relevant information and important updates combined with something light-hearted.



To encourage your social sharing and employee advocacy, make sure to also include some content your staff can share on their social channels.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-25-ideas-to-inspire-great-internal-staff-newsletters">25 ideas to inspire great internal staff newsletters</h4>



We’ve compiled a list of content ideas to give you some inspiration for your next internal newsletter, featuring three main topic areas.



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">1. Company-related content</h5>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Upcoming key dates &amp; events</li><li>Open jobs &#8211; encourage them to share with their network</li><li>Internal updates &#8211; staff, common customer issues</li><li>Industry &amp; local news</li><li>Training opportunities</li><li>Free resources</li><li>Financial key results of the previous month, quarter, year</li><li>Reminders</li><li>Seasonal greetings</li><li>Guest post from suppliers/partners/brand friends &#8211; intro, short interview</li></ul>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">2. Customer-related content</h5>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Customer success stories</li><li>Recent reviews or feedback &amp; employee mentions&nbsp;</li><li>Customer content from socials</li><li>Updates on new menu items, new policies, etc.</li></ul>



<h5 class="wp-block-heading">3. Staff-related content</h5>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>Guest post from different people or departments</li><li>Team spotlight &#8211; a day in the life of&#8230;</li><li>Top 10 list &#8211; places for lunch, to-dos on the weekend, podcasts</li><li>Recommendations from team colleagues</li><li>Celebrate staff anniversaries, milestones, achievements, etc.</li><li>Poll &nbsp;&#8211; what’s your favourite …? Share the result in the next email</li><li>Competitions &amp; contests &#8211; send in your best shot of …, can you guess …?</li><li>Fun trivia &#8211; did you know? &nbsp;</li><li>Employee of the month</li><li>Virtual suggestion box for feedback</li><li>Social media events &#8211; how staff can take part</li></ul>



Last Tip&nbsp;&#8211;&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.wordstream.com/blog/ws/2021/01/05/creative-newsletter-names" target="_blank">give your internal staff newsletter a name</a>&nbsp;to make it even more engaging and recognisable.



Need a hand with setting up your first internal newsletter?&nbsp;<a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="mailto:contact@stampede.ai?subject=&amp;body=" target="_blank">Get in touch</a>&nbsp;with our team.

25 Content Ideas To Retain Your Staff With Internal Newsletters [Part 2]

Hello! Heres a quick round up of some our latest developments



✉️ Email speeds improved by 100% for large bulk campaigns 🎯 New integration with Loke 🚀 Wifi settings redesigned from the ground up



Busy time for us at Stampede and for our customers ramping up towards Christmas. At this time of year, conditions are ideal for maximising ROI with festive campaigns. Which for us of course means a big spike in traffic. With our latest update we hit a new personal best sending rate: 400 emails a second 💥



In other news&#8230; heres a sneak peak of our new booking modal with improved automatic table suggestions:



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="765" src="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/create-an-account-1024x765.png" alt="" class="wp-image-23225" srcset="https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/create-an-account-1024x765.png 1024w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/create-an-account-300x224.png 300w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/create-an-account-768x574.png 768w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/create-an-account-150x112.png 150w, https://website-backend.stampede.ai/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/create-an-account.png 1148w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



Oh and added to that ☝️ one can now lock booking to their tables so that important bookings or requested tables aren&#8217;t accidentally moved. Heres a quick run through of how that works&#8230;



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Homepage" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/857906961?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write"></iframe>
</div></figure>



And with that, onto to next month! We have a lot of exciting new features planned so look out for the next feature drop ✌️