SMM Management of the Restaurant Business Entity

Abstract

Topicality. Nowadays, the development of the restaurant business is concentrated in the digital environment plane, in which the positioning and promoting the brand form predicates of the consumer’s behaviour and the owner’s (founder’s) reputation, and the brand as a whole. Achieving this goal is facilitated by social media marketing (hereinafter SMM), as one of the leading areas of marketing management. Since social networks are the leading channels for searching information and communication between business entities and product consumers, monitoring the effectiveness of using their functionality in brand promotion becomes an urgent tactical and strategic task. Evaluation of marketing management and supply processes, analysis of key efficiency indicators (KEI) and metrics give an understanding to the restaurant founders and managers at which stage of the life cycle the business and the product itself ground, and which marketing strategies are appropriate. Therefore, their elaboration and facilitation of the methodology of their practical use is an important task in achieving business goals with the help of social networks. The aim of the article is to ground SMM management as a system approach for successful promotion of the entity of the restaurant business and its product. Research methods are based on the hypothesis about the effectiveness of positioning business establishment in social networks, which makes it possible to reach and attract a larger target audience, as well as increase sales. Interpreted for this research, the scientific topic determined using general economic, analytical and statistical methods, which allowed to define theoretical approaches and ground a hypothetical research tool, to form an appropriate marketing management system of the restaurant business entity. Results. The definition of “SMM management” was worked out, as well as its main goals, initiatives and functions were identified. The prerequisites for the development of restaurant brands in social networks were evaluated in dynamics. A model of SMM promotion of a restaurant brand was formed, which is a checklist for creating a marketing management system in social networks. Disadvantages and advantages of commercial activities in the social media space which provide an adequate assessment of possible risks or opportunities for development have been characterised. Specific steps to forming the SMM management system and evaluating individual agendas were studied. Directions for the development of the SMM management system based on the usage of a certain strategy, formed on ambitions of business founders and goals of the restaurant management, were offered. Prospects for further research are a thorough study of the methodology and the approbation of SMM management effectometry tools, which can be supplemented with practical insights from restaurant business entities. Conclusions and discussion. The conducted research demonstrated the relevance of SMM management, as it allows to study and scientifically substantiate the areas of activity in the digital space, which is a necessary condition for maintaining the consumer’s loyalty and preventing reputational losses for restaurant business entities. The sources used in the study confirm the importance of promoting the restaurant brand and its product in social networks, which is an element of the marketing management system of the business entity.