Case Study – Restaurant in Glendale increases business using Facebook

Gunther Toody’s & the Glendale Chamber of Commerce

Stimulating Business through Social Media

Introduction: The Challenge

For over 20 years, Gunther Toody’s has been a favorite Colorado dinning spot in both the Denver/ Glendale area and in Colorado Springs. With 8 locations, this well-established American style eatery has been serving breakfast, lunch and dinner 7 days of the week as well as happily hosting birthday parties, school fundraisers and everything in between. Locals know about “Nickle Burger Day” and have come to crave mouthwatering offerings like the Blue Suede Shoes Burger, Elvis fries and the Atomic Crispy Wrap. But in recent months, like so many other companies, Gunther Toody’s has been looking for ways to reach beyond their natural referral market and to increase their customer base of local diner enthusiasts.

The Glendale Chamber of Commerce exists to further a vibrant business climate and to promote a high quality of life in the Greater Glendale area. This includes being a valuable resource to long time members just like Gunther Toody’s. When GT’s general manager Annie Stalker came to the chamber, she had a simple two-part question:

“What is this Facebook thing, and how can I use it to get more people through my door?”

Action: The Solution

As part of its ongoing member services and resource referral program, the Glendale Chamber sent resident internet marketing expert and Director of Marketing for the Chamber, Ariel Davlin to sit down with the management of Gunther Toody’s to develop a social media strategy. After finding out what their current methods and goals were, she then had a second meeting with employees to train them in how to use Facebook. This meeting included ideas about how to ‘like’ local sports teams, schools and local businesses with which the staff interacts. This method was proposed to show support for other local entities and patrons, to highlight daily specials and to promote the overall brand by getting current fans of the restaurant to interact with the Gunther Toody’s Facebook page.

“It’s awesome to post to a school’s wall that we raised $1,000 for their hockey team at the previous night’s event, or to thank a local business for having their company party at our restaurant.”

Summary: The Outcome

The result of the work done by the Glendale Chamber via Ariel Davlin for the benefit of Gunther Toody’s has had multiple effects:

  • 483 ‘Check-in’s’ via Facebook in 3 months
  • Posts reach over 250 Facebook users per day on average
  • Specials are ‘shared’ and reposted or discussed an average of 17 times per day

Not only has the traffic increased exponentially on the Facebook page, bringing more customers through the doors, but the restaurant has been seeing a boost in morale along with an increased sense of empowerment among its employees.

“Our employees really enjoy being able to reach out and follow up on events we do, they are becoming more involved in the entire company including sales, which is producing amazing results.”

As the new “voice of Gunther Toody’s”, over the last 3 months, the staff has come to appreciate being the cheerleaders and ambassadors of the brand and have taken more ownership of their workplace. This combination of the measurable Facebook traffic, increased employee enthusiasm and the customer feedback being received directly through social media is making the future for this fine American diner seem both burger-filled and bright.

“Facebook has given us the ability to reach out and interact with our customers. We get more detailed, amazing feedback from it on favorite dishes, drinks and overall dining experiences than any paper survey has ever provided!”

At the Glendale Chamber, we are proud to help our local businesses build their businesses through networking AND online, that’s another reason why Glendale is indeed GREATER!