Owning a restaurant is hard. Especially in this days where competition is so fierce and people have more than plenty of choices to take their business to, making sure they pick your place poses a challenge that will either make or break your business.
With so much competition in place and many more on the way, it becomes increasingly hard to stand out among the crowd, in an industry that is over-saturated to an extreme point and has a high failure rate.
Most restaurants have a lifespan of two to three years before they close up shop and some other restaurant takes their place, only to go through the same cycle. Make past those beginning years and you might be on your way to something special.
Like any other industry, the restaurant business faces more of the same challenges, both in the real world and the digital world cost of establishment, operation and marketing to name a few. But those are only the monetary issues.
Arguably the biggest one is building a customer base, retaining them while at the same time trying to attract more and more customers. What makes it particularly tough is that you are not the only one with that goal in mind.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of restaurants, will be fighting through their teeth to gain that competitive edge over you to attract new clients or even poach yours.
For the restaurant business, times are not opportune. They have not been for the longest of times. With the prominent rise of the Internet, social media has become the new battleground for businesses looking to attract a new crowd. Marketing has taken a new turn, delivering completely new tools to work with.
What worked once may not be as effective anymore. Adapt and you might stand a chance. Reject the modern practices and you might as well kiss your business goodbye. Combine both traditional and modern tools, and you will go toe to toe with the best of them.
The margin of error is incredibly small, the failure rate is relatively high. What do you do: give in and make peace with your failure, or try your best and take your chances? For those who belong to the latter, here are 10 practices that will help improve your restaurant marketing strategy and launch your business to the top.
Offline Marketing for Restaurants
If you are on the fence in regards to online marketing and favor the old school
methods, you are in the right place. These tips will provide you with the fundamentals that you can build your restaurant marketing strategy upon:
Print Marketing
One of the oldest tricks in the book that might seem archaic in a technology-driven world. Its effectiveness, nevertheless, cannot be doubted. Print marketing can go a long way into ensuring that your business appears on the radars of potential customers.
It is also an effective way to target a demographic that does not have an online presence, i.e. the elderly who rely on print material to gather their info from. Flyers are a sure fire way of catching the attention of people.
If designed correctly with the aesthetics and colors of your brand in mind, they create an associative image of your brand that will be engraved in customer's minds, who will later think of your place as an option to dine at.
However, it is important that the flyers are informative as well, otherwise, you are missing out on an opportunity to give people vital details that will, later on, play a huge role in their decision to pick your restaurant. For maximum results, you can additionally attach a one-time discount coupon to incentivize first-time customers.
Billboards
This seems like an obvious choice and a very old method at that, but only because it has been around for so long that we have already got used to seeing them everywhere and all the time.
The fact that businesses still implement billboards as part of their marketing strategy is a testament to their longevity and success, and that they have stood the test of time.
Billboard advertising is not cheap and the larger they are the bigger your bill gets. Also depending on the location where there is more traffic, the costs can get even steeper. It all depends on your budget and even though billboards do not come cheap, the exposure can more than make up for it.
Smart and unique design with a clear message can attract potential customers even from the first glance. Placement is important, so make sure to research a location that you think targets the demographic you are aiming for.
If you are short on cash or the budget is tight because of other expenditures, you can refer to alternative solutions such as using mobile billboards (vehicles wrapped around with ad placements). Billboards are somewhat of an expensive investment but one that will show its benefits in the long run.
Hosting Events
Create some exciting new experiences for your existing customers as well as for potential customers. Hosting events is a good way of attracting people to your restaurant because it gives them the opportunity to have fun while eating out.
Have a local band or a DJ perform at your place, host fun challenges based around different themes, invite celebrities that will create buzz around your restaurant or simply have a karaoke night that customers can participate in.
Not only will you be able to facilitate customer engagement this way but also you can bring in new customers through this method. Not to mention that fans of celebrities will follow the lead and give your place a chance if they see that their favorite band or celebrity is doing so.
In the restaurant business, it is important to remember that it is not only merely about serving your clients a good meal but also making the experience enjoyable and worthwhile for them, so that they have a reason to come back.
Advertising
Whether you are just opening up a new restaurant or managing an existing one, it is vital to make the world aware of your restaurant's existence. Running ad spots through radio, television or even a local newspaper is a decent way of catching the attention of people.
Needless to say, these are on the expensive side of the spectrum but they create brand awareness like no other method does. Center your advertisements around what makes your restaurant or its menu unique, showcase the kind of experience you can provide that others cannot and you will have a number of people lining up to check out your place.
Partner up with Other Organizations/Companies
Collaborations are key in the survival business. Restaurants are in a tough competition and you do not want to be alone when the competition is right up on your throat.
Partnering up with different organizations or companies helps mitigate the damage that your competitors can do. Donating leftover food that you typically throw out at the end of the day to charities, catering to events organized by other companies are some of the approaches that your restaurant can take.
Not only will you be forming partnerships along the way but also furthering your marketing efforts by generating goodwill among people and painting your establishment in a positive light.
Most importantly, business brings new business. Cater to one event successfully and you will be recommended to cater to other events.
Online Marketing for Restaurants
Restaurants looking to tap into the new market that the digital world brings may want to create a presence on the digital space first.
As people are getting more and more invested in technology, it is essential to keep up with the latest technological developments and invest in digital marketing.
Online marketing can be done through a multitude of ways, the possibilities are literally endless. The selected practices will give you a nice head start that you can, later on, turn into a more refined strategy based on your preferences:
Social Media
Undoubtedly the first thing you have to pay attention to when developing an online marketing strategy. Creating a social media presence is of great importance as it gives you additional platforms to advertise your restaurant on.
Social media is the digital equivalent of word of mouth. Create engaging content representing your restaurant, get the people talking and next thing you know you are the next hot topic of conversation in the virtual space.
The great part? Creating social media accounts is free and unless you also intend to do paid advertising on them, the only cost you will have to worry about is the maintenance costs of running your pages.
Even then, you can take it in-house and do it yourself to avoid additional expenses. Though bear in mind that some of the more successful restaurants, or companies for that matter, hire agencies specialized in this line of work for more professional work that bring maximum results.
Build a Great Website
Nothing establishes credibility like a well-designed website that is clean and easy to navigate through. Include all important details pertaining to your restaurant, its menu, professional photos of the dishes you serve and you will pique the interest of even the most skeptical client.
Well-designed websites let people know that your establishment is legit and cares about the way it appears on all fronts.
Collaborate with Food Bloggers
Yes, food bloggers are a thing nowadays and they have a huge following and influence on social media. Food critiques are no longer the restaurant's only source of worry when their reputation is concerned.
Depending on their experience in your restaurant, food bloggers can either tear your restaurant apart tarnishing its reputation or make it the next best thing since sliced bread, convincing their followers to check your place out.
So contact the nearest food blogger in your area, preferably one with a sizeable following, and invite them for a free meal in your restaurant. You are sure to be getting exposure from them on their social media which is what your main objective is.
Establish a Two-way Communication
Customers like to be heard after all your whole business is centered around serving their needs. Be receptive and communicate with them using all means necessary. Review websites like Yelp or your social media accounts can be used to interact with your customers. Have a bad review?
Let them know you heard their complaints and will try to do better next time. Or offer them a complimentary meal to make up for their bad experience. Make sure they know they matter to you to avoid customers taking their business elsewhere. Have a good review?
Thank them for coming to your restaurant and encourage them to revisit for more pleasant experiences. Conduct online surveys to gain an understanding of where your business stands from the perspective of your customers and listen to those suggestions.
Maintaining a good business image requires a lot of public relations effort and is no less important than any other step of marketing.
Email Newsletters and SMS marketing
What better way to spread promotional information than to use email newsletters and SMS marketing? Cheap, fast and effective. Moreover, SMS marketing campaigns reach far more people and have higher response rates than any other form of communication.
Have a new item in your menu? Let your most dedicated customers know it through a simple email or a text message. For those loyal customers, who are subscribed to your email newsletter or SMS service, reward them with exclusive coupons every now and then that are otherwise not available to others.
Incentivize return-customers and subscribers to come back to your restaurant and inform them of any news. Building customer loyalty is important for your brand's identity, reputation and general prosperity, because when the going gets tough and you are unable to attract new customers, you at least have a loyal customer base to fall back on.
