ATLANTA, Sept. 20, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- Interland (Nasdaq:INLD), a leading provider of websites and online services for small and medium-sized businesses, working with Melissa Libby & Associates, has helped some of Atlanta's most popular restaurants -- including Food 101, Meehan's Public House, and SoHo -- succeed online.
Just 18 months after launching five websites -- one for each dining establishment -- 101 Concepts, an Atlanta restaurant group, reports the Web has been vital in its restaurants' increases in patronage and customer communications. As an Interland Website Built To Order customer, 101 Concepts was able to launch five professionally designed sites in about 30 days. All of the websites are maintained and updated using Interland SiteBuilder, a comprehensive do-it-yourself website building and maintenance tool.
Melissa Libby, owner of Melissa Libby & Associates, and her team manage all five 101 Concepts websites, operating www.101concepts.com as the gateway website for all three restaurants and the catering unit of 101 Concepts. Libby's staff has been pleasantly surprised that seamless site maintenance did not require extensive knowledge of Web design.
"Without technical expertise, I was hesitant to take over the five websites. But with only a one-hour tutorial, we realized how intuitive Interland services are for the end user," says Libby. "We can now keep the site content fresh, posting news about local events, menu changes and 101 Concepts recipes that customers can download for free. In addition, we can run reports on sites' activities-including how many monthly visitors we get and which pages those visitors find most appealing -- an advantage that we use to measure the success of our marketing strategies."
The online investment has proved especially fruitful for Meehan's Public House, the group's signature Irish pub. Meehan's draws a steady crowd by hosting special events and offering live music. Monthly Beer Dinners, 5M Thursdays (an evening of massages, makeovers, manicures, martinis and merlot for women), and weekly events such as dart tournaments and trivia are responsible for the flow of foot traffic throughout all three locations.
Prior to launching www.101concepts.com, news of these special events was not easily relayed -- 101 Concepts would post signs in the restaurant and rely on word of mouth. Today, Meehan's website promotes upcoming events, posts pictures from past events and offers e-newsletter subscribers the chance to receive weekly e-mails containing event announcements-a promotional strategy made possible through Interland E-Mail Marketer.
Averaging 120,000 unique hits per month, the Meehan's Public House website is cited by Libby as one of the major reasons the restaurant has increased patronage at each of the three locations. According to Libby, this steady flow of web traffic has also helped increase dining at the other eateries.
"When people visit Meehan's website to learn about special events or to view pictures from past events, they see links to our other restaurants," says Steve Buero, owner and manager of 101 Concepts. "This has given us a valuable way to cross-promote our other restaurants."
The importance of websites in the small-business marketing mix is substantial according to the findings of the Interland Spring 2005 Business Barometer, a nationwide survey of 1,032 leaders of small and medium-sized businesses. When small-business owners were asked to select three marketing tools critical in driving business for their companies, they placed websites (47 percent) at the top of this list, second only to community relations (55 percent). The full report can be downloaded at http://www.interland.com/about/news/.
"Even with a loyal customer base, the fierce competition in the restaurant business favors those able to use interactive marketing strategies to extend the dining experience outside the restaurant walls," says Denise Grey, vice president of marketing, sales and business development for Interland. "Savvy restaurateurs like 101 Concepts have realized this and are profiting from integrating online marketing and sales solutions into their marketing efforts."
In-depth information about Interland's website creation and marketing offerings is available at http://www.interland.com/website/ or by calling Interland at 1-800-336-9883.
In addition, restaurant owners can learn more about how to succeed online by requesting a FREE copy of Online Best Practices for Restaurants by sending an email to restaurant@interland.com or by calling 1-800-336-9883.
About Interland
Interland, Inc. (Nasdaq:INLD) is a leading provider of websites and online services focused on helping small and medium-sized businesses achieve success by providing the knowledge, services and tools to build, manage and promote businesses online. Interland offers a wide selection of online services, including standardized Web hosting, eCommerce, application hosting, website development, online marketing and optimization tools. For more information about Interland, please visit www.interland.com or call at 800-336-9883.