LivingSocial and the National Restaurant Association have announced a new partnership; in hopes that both organizations can work together to educate restaurant owners and operators as to all the marketing outlets available to them to build brand awareness and increase sales.
The partnership will mainly focus on a major research project to study current restaurant marketing tactics and consumer attitudes, since restaurants make up a considerable portion of LivingSocial’s merchant base; a partnership like this makes sense.
“We’re excited to be working with LivingSocial to better understand how restaurant operators can market themselves locally and nationwide. Restaurant industry sales are expected to reach $632 billion in 2012, underscoring the industry’s importance as a driver of national economic recovery and solid employment growth. To continue to grow sales and create jobs, restaurant operators must closely follow consumer trends and leverage that knowledge to meet guest expectations.” – James Balda, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of the National Restaurant Association.
As part of the research program, LivingSocial has given the NRA an unrestricted gra
nt to conduct a study that will examine the effectiveness of a “wide array of marketing channels” for the industry. Insights gained from the survey will be used to create resources National Restaurant Association members can use when selecting marketing approach they feel will best help strengthen their business.
“Restaurants make up a large portion of LivingSocial’s merchant base and our mission is to help them attract and retain valuable new customers. We couldn’t be happier to work with the National Restaurant Association, and we look forward to applying the information shared through this relationship to better serve our merchants.” – Mandy Cole, Senior Vice President of Sales at LivingSocial.
According to the National Restaurant Association’s 2012 Industry Forecast, “The restaurant and food service industry not only feeds Americans, but the nation’s economy. It is the nation’s second largest private sector employer, providing jobs to more than 12.9 million people in 970,000 locations across the United States. However, despite positive signs of economic recovery, restaurateurs still cite ‘building and maintaining sales volume’ as one of their top challenges this year.
Joint research results will be release at the 2012 National Restaurant Association Restaurant, Hotel-Motel show in Chicago, in early May.
Source: BusinessWire
