Ask any independent restaurateur what brings in the most new customers and they will likely tell you word-of-mouth.  People telling other people about your restaurant, by most estimates, brings in seven to eight out of every ten customers.

What they don’t say, because many haven’t thought about it, is that word-of-mouth conversations don’t just start out of thin air.  They happen because of the things you do to wow customers and catch their attention.  You have to give them something to talk about.  Here are a few examples:

Special Events – We know a Spanish restaurant that regularly holds special events focusing on specific aspects of their cuisine – tamale making, menudo sampling, etc.  The events normally have a nominal charge.  For instance, their tequila tastings are $30/person and they are regularly sold out.  The word-of-mouth these events create is priceless.

Team Sponsorships – Is sponsoring a local Little League team worth it?  You only reach maybe a dozen or so families?  Think again.  You’re reaching many more when you consider the larger organization includes hundreds of kids and their families – all in your area.

Outstanding Online Ordering – Yep, that’s another word-of-mouth builder.  With NetWaiter, the simple act of using Facebook when ordering online can help generate word-of-mouth activity for your restaurant.  After logging in with their Facebook account on NetWaiter, the customer’s friends are automatically notified (with permission) that they just ordered from your restaurant.  The average number of friends someone has on Facebook is now 338.  If only 10 people used Facebook to login, an additional 3,380 people could potentially learn about your restaurant (and even click to place an order for themselves).

Word-of-mouth is not a random thing that happens.  What are you doing at your restaurant to spark a conversation?

Where are you?  It’s the underlying question when asking customers for their delivery address.  The problem is - people aren’t always at an exact address.

A recent article in the New York Times chronicles the growing trend of restaurants delivering not only to homes and offices, but often to places with no address.  This included someone waiting in his car in the Upper West Side of Manhattan (he ordered breakfast delivered to his car), a public beach, and even a local neighborhood playground.

These unique delivery locations are a natural progression to an industry that is making it increasingly easier to order takeout and have it delivered.  These are also the types of takeout dining experiences that customers will talk about through social media and word-of-mouth: “Just had Chinese food ordered to a park bench #awesome #nolongerhungry” (with a picture of their orange chicken included) 

With NetWaiter’s online ordering system, customers ordering delivery can enter special instructions regarding their delivery order.  When an interesting delivery request is made, embrace the challenge, make the delivery, and tout your capabilities on your own Facebook and Twitter steams (protecting your customer’s identity, of course).  Word will get around.

Some interesting and funny requests just from this week:

• “Grove Arcade but outside on O'Henry Ave between Barber and Printville - directly in front of the loading zone and covered in roof construction scaffolding. Have a midget dog who will bark at you when you come inside office.”
• “I'm on the roof. Please ask doorman to call my cell (xxx-xxx-xxxx) when you arrive. Thanks!”

Does your restaurant have any funny or interesting delivery requests/stories?  We’d love to hear them.