Success Story

More Online Visibility Creates More BUZZ and Customers for Westside Fish and Chips

For Debbie and Chris Knobelsdorf, the challenge was almost cinematic: doing a better job of telling their own Westside story.

Debbie says she has fought what she calls "a constant battle to attain our share of the customers out there searching for a place to eat, whether they be our long-time, regular customers -- getting them to choose us an extra time or two per month - or a tourist just traveling through town."

Interestingly, she refers to the challenge as "not really a problem, just a constant battle with more and more choices out there for the customer to eat at. Decades ago, coffee shops sold coffee and donuts. Now you can get breakfast, lunch and dinner practically anywhere. Everyone is trying to get their own piece of the pie."

After 38 years "things can kind of get stagnant," Debbie laments. She and her colleagues "have made a conscientious effort to be more visible on social media, mostly Facebook, and to utilize - if I remember correctly - 'geofencing' (the use of GPS or RFID technology to create a virtual geographic boundary, enabling software to trigger a response when a mobile device enters or leaves a particular area). When a customer goes to your website, your banner ad follows them when they are searching elsewhere if they are in our targeted area."

For her own part, Knobelsdorf adds, "We are working hard to post more pictures on social media, and all of the staff have been instructed to share. That's where your story goes further, by people sharing."

Knobelsdorf encourages her customers to review her restaurant on the most popular websites in her area -- Yelp, Trip Advisor and Google. "We explain that it is the best way for little guys like us to compete with the chain restaurants. They're usually more than willing to oblige.

Additional steps have also helped. "For decades, our company vehicle has just had your basic name and number on it," she points out. "This past year I convinced my mother and partner to go all out. We've had so many comments about the graphics job; it's very noticeable. Long story short: we're trying to be more visible, in the customers face as much as possible."

Knobelsdorf credits RestaurantOwner.com for helping her become more involved in improving their restaurant's online presence. "They have pushed me to either implement certain things -- like pushing social media -- or re-enforce certain (other) things."

As a result of these efforts, Knobelsdorf says her restaurant is, in fact, busier. "Sales the past several months have been up 10% to 16%, which makes us happy, and the lean winter months much easier to handle. We just recently tightened our belt a bit and lowered many prices, and sales are still up 16% at the moment. We advertised that we cared about making it easier for our customers, that they deserved a break -- and they came."

The owners have succeeded in increasing awareness "and our bank account," she adds. "Winter months are very stressful financially. You can't be in business 38 years and not weather some storms. The increase in sales has improved our off-season financial picture. Now we can go into spring and summer with a good foot up already, and do it all over again."