Welcome

As we approach those tricky summer months in the restaurant business, the team here at Livebookings
are looking for new ways to increase your online marketing network, and bring you more reservations
through the web. Mobile technology is becoming more important for diners, so in addition to smart
phone apps developed by our partners, diners can now book through your own website when they are on the move.

More exciting news comes in the form of our new partnership with The Times+ - again increasing your coverage and driving incremental bookings from a brand new group of diners. Don’t forget that there are constantly opportunities coming up to promote your restaurant through initiatives like Kids’ Week, run in association with Ticketmaster. Read on to find out more about how to get involved in this and other seasonal promotions through the Livebookings Network.

Olivia Fitzgerald
Regional Director, UK & Ireland

Marketing Tip

Twitter - How Can Your Restaurant Benefit from this Social Media Phenomenon?

With over 190 million users, 300,000 new members joining every day and 5.4 million messages being posted each hour, restaurateurs are now beginning to realise the potential benefits of Twitter. Examples of how you can capitalise on this social media phenomenon include:

• Taking reservations
• Broadcasting restaurant news, special offers and events
• Actively soliciting feedback
• Actively soliciting people to visit your restaurant
• Listening to your customers
• Analysing your methodologies
• Learning from your mistakes
• Showing your personality
• Building relationships to increase sales

For more information, please attend our next Academy, "How Noisy are You?" This will include ideas on how to build your brand and attract paying customers using Twitter as well as Facebook. You can also download our Best Practice Guide, How to: Get Started on Twitter.

Upgrade Your Barometer Report and Increase Repeat Business

With one third of diners who book online providing feedback about their dining experience, Livebookings Barometer has revolutionised the way restaurateurs gauge the expectations of their clientele.

We are now offering restaurateurs the opportunity to delve even deeper to find out more about their customers' dining experiences.

Benefits of our Advanced Barometer Reports:

• Compare your restaurant to the aggregate results of your five most relevant competitors e.g. same area, similar price or cuisine
• Detailed feedback broken down by day and session allowing you to monitor your daily operations closely
• Ask customers to write and send private reviews directly to you - this discourages negative reviews from being posted on public websites
• Key service issues highlighted, linking directly to dining times
• Use the results to fine tune your customer service, food, beverage and ambience
• Collect customer contact details so you can follow up directly on any good or bad experiences
• Happier customers, happier staff, more repeat business and increased revenue!

Promotional Ideas

Special Offers - Making the Most of the Quiet Summer

Traditionally, restaurant bookings tend to decrease over the summer period. To combat this, restaurants can run special offers providing customers with an added incentive to book.

Complete our online offers form and we will do the rest. Please note, if you want to renew or extend an existing offer you do not need to complete this form again. Simply email offers@livebookings.net with the name of your restaurant, the title of your offer and when you would like to extend the deadline to.

One more thing - ensure you keep your availability open to ensure as many bookings as possible.

Kids Dine for Free During Theatre Week

The Society of London Theatre, in association with Ticketmaster are running this fantastic promotional offer whereby one child will receive a free meal from the childrens' menu, when one adult main course is purchased. Participating restaurants will be marketed offline, on Ticketmaster.co.uk (confirmation screens and landing pages) and via email.

To be a part of this promotion, please contact your Livebookings Account Executive today. Please note, this offer is only available for restaurants based in the West End and Victoria, is limited to children between the years of 5 - 16 and only includes dining dates from 13 - 27th August.

Events

Livebookings Workshop -
SEO: How to Optimise your Website for Search Engines

With over 200,000 Google searches made every hour, restaurants are one of the most searched types of businesses on the internet.
Ultimately, the goal of your restaurant's website is to attract internet users who in turn make an online booking. 73% of all online transactions begin with search engines, so now is the time to get to grips with search engine optimisation (SEO).

In this introductory workshop on SEO, our resident expert - Magnus Hultberg, Strategic Advisor for Livebookings - will explain how search engines work, demonstrate how to align your website with search engines, then outline ways to boost traffic to your site.

This comprehensive workshop will provide you with:

• An introduction to search engines - how do they work, why are they important?
• Ways to identify if a website has been set up with SEO in mind
• Methods to get more visitors to your website
• The confidence to discuss SEO with web agencies
• Practical examples of good and bad sites

Workshop Details

• Date: Wednesday 28th July
• Time: 9.00am – 12.30pm
• Venue: Livebookings Head Office, 5th Floor, Elizabeth House, 39 York Road, London SE1 7NQ
• Cost: £199

Book your place today (places are limited to 9 people).

Action Against Hunger Charity Run

Sign up your restaurant's team today and join Action Against Hunger as they race to raise vital funds for severely malnourished children and their families across the globe. Are you ready to take the challenge?