Jun 243 min read

Cambodia & CRA: Restaurants and social networks: mastering your identity and boosting revenue

As active as ever in promoting development in the restaurant sector, the Cambodian Restaurant Association (CRA) was back on Friday 21 June 2024 with a workshop on "Mastering social networks and boosting your restaurant's turnover".

Workshop room: "Mastering social networks and boosting your restaurant's sales"

The event took place on the premises of one of the Thalias Hospitality Group's most emblematic restaurants, Topaz Norodom, and was attended by almost seventy people.

Workshop objectives: strategies for the digital age

Today, mastering digital marketing networks and techniques has become a key factor in developing your business and creating a committed, loyal community.

With a view to addressing these issues and offering solutions to participants, mainly professionals in the restaurant and hotel sectors, the workshop focused on five key areas:

Understanding the importance of social network marketing for restaurants in Cambodia
Identifying the main digital platforms relevant to the Cambodian public
Developing strategies for creating engaging content on social networks.
Learn effective techniques for increasing community engagement and brand awareness
Explore tools and tactics for increasing traffic and sales through social networks

Franz Heng, Secretary General of the Association, emphasised the importance of social networking in the UK restaurant sector.

"The restaurant industry in Cambodia is constantly evolving, especially with the latest trends, and understanding them is crucial to success. Social networks have therefore become an essential tool for restaurants to connect with customers and develop their brand", she stressed, adding:

"This workshop is a great opportunity to learn together from each other's experiences."

The panellists and their expertise

The panellists were Lalaine Baldemor, Managing Director of Havas Cambodia, Ros Sokheng, Senior Marketing Executive at Gloria Jean's Coffees, Michelle Win Soe Htway, Marketing and Communications Manager at Raffles Hotel Le Royal and Zhern Je Lee, Founder and Managing Director of Epic Unicorn Pty Ltd.

These four speakers, all of whom have extensive professional experience in the restaurant, hotel and digital marketing sectors, shared their expertise and suggested tools for overcoming certain challenges and establishing a lasting identity in the restaurant industry.

Ros Sokheng, Michelle Win Soe Htway, Lalaine Baldemor, Zhern Je Lee (speakers) and Deke Nine (moderator)

The first topic addressed by the speakers concerned customer engagement through social networks, and several strategic areas emerged:

User (customer) content: Exploiting user-generated content to create authentic links with customers and strengthen brand loyalty.
Seasonal promotions and discounts: implement targeted promotions and discounts during specific seasons to attract and retain customers
Organising online events and live streams: Engage customers by thinking of virtual events to showcase products/services and interact in real time
Collaboration with local influencers: Establish partnerships with Cambodian influencers to increase brand awareness and reach a wider audience

Michelle Win Soe Htway insisted on the importance of choosing the right influencers, to ensure that the brand's identity coincides with the type of influencer and that their visit adds real value to the establishment in question.

Michelle Win Soe Htway, Marketing and Communications Manager, Raffles Hotel Le Royal

Participants were then able to learn more about how to keep customers engaged over the long term, in particular by varying the types of content, with a particular focus on the consistency of publications on the various digital platforms (Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Telegram, messaging, etc.).

Commitment across the various digital platforms stems from key factors such as regularity and interactivity with customers.

According to the panellists, producing regular, high-quality posts on a restaurant's social networks helps to establish the brand's presence, engage the public and increase its visibility on digital platforms, as well as creating interactive engagement, receiving customer testimonials and sharing behind-the-scenes stories.

Lasting interaction with customers also requires knowledge of the different generational communities (Millennials, Generation Z and families), the various demographic sectors (urban or rural), and also the latest trends in the restaurant industry.

The digital landscape in Cambodia's restaurant sector

With more than 17 million inhabitants, a fair gender split (50.5% women and 49.5% men) and an average age of 27.2 years, the Kingdom's population is young and connected.

In January 2024, 56.7% of the total Cambodian population used the internet and 68.4% were registered on various digital platforms. This represents an increase of 11.5% on the previous year.

In Cambodia, the most popular social networks are Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, with a strong presence of young people. This increase demonstrates the attractiveness of these platforms in targeting their audience. Cambodian society is therefore firmly rooted in the digital age.

The workshop ended with a group discussion and a question and answer session where participants were able to ask questions and talk to the panellists.