Have a restaurant that serves awesome food? Great! But guess what? That alone won’t bring more people to your doorstep. You need to bring more power to your brand to gain more customers.
No longer do restaurant owners depend on the word of mouth marketing for their restaurants. However, considering the vicious competition with a 60% failure rate of the restaurant business, it is vital that you get your marketing strategy not just right but top-hole.
Worried? Don’t be.
Here is the proper guide to make you go from zero to a hundred.
1. Go Social
We are in the era of food porn and social media platforms are buzzing with several pictures of delicacies that make people shed extra money. There are tons of social media platforms out there when it comes to food, Instagram is King, Facebook is Queen and the rest are puns. Having a website for your restaurant business is equivalent to having a food shop serving in every part.
A website opens up opportunities for a much larger market of consumers. The key to going social and gaining profit is posting top-notch food pictures and video clips. If you don’t know where to start, consider hiring a social media expert to give you valuable insight right away.
2. Don’t leave Email and text promotions
If you’ve been gathering info from comment cards or promotional cards, don’t let that list of email addresses rest. There are two ways to grow your email list; by getting customers to fill forms in-person and by getting them to fill forms online.
I would suggest you pay close attention to the latter because the world is moving rapidly towards digital. Offer monthly 2-for-1 deals if people sign up with you or leave their business card. Target the customers back if they revisit, through email and text promotions.
3. Collab
In today’s online-driven environment, ease of use is the king of the game. Many online delivery services streamline the ordering process, and people these days often love taking advantage of such delivery services.
Providing special coupons and everyday deals can be the main attraction for food lovers, one such app is Deal box.
Here are some delivery partner services you should consider:
– Zomato
– Swiggy
– Foodpanda
Also, you can partner with local delivery services to grow more.
4. Tap into the power of Food bloggers/ Influencers
One of the greatest marketing strategies today is grasping on the network of other businesses. As a restaurant owner, you can leverage the network of local food bloggers and influencers by connecting with them and getting them to share content related to your restaurant.
If you are new in the restaurant business, this can be the best way to promote it. You can provide them incentives such as free meals to popularize your brand among their connections.
5. Customer Validation
Reviews play an important part in growing your business. So never miss an opportunity to re-share the customer reviews as it will drive you a new customer.
User-generated content is always a great way to develop personal and intimate engagement with users. Host a photo contest by asking customers to share their favorite meal, and share the entries on a dedicated content page which will leave a personal touch.
6. Paid and Unpaid Advertisement
The key difference between social media management and advertising is that social media management and its strategies for digital marketing for restaurants primarily deal with organic growth.
However, with social media advertising, you will have to set aside a designated budget to run ads on Facebook, Instagram, or another platform. Ads can be of different types but target the most efficient and traditional called Geo-Targeted Ads which will get the most value out of your online marketing efforts by investing right.
Geo-targeting ads help you save money, ensuring that only users in certain cities or within a specific radius see your ads (eliminating non-relevant clicks, which can cost you big ad bucks).
Along with ads, you can run several campaigns related to expanding the views.
7. Show off
Social media marketing is one of the most powerful tools for any business. Social media marketing can put your restaurant in front of thousands of potential customers and can even break you in front of them.
Sharing your delicious dishes and menu can drive more customers as they know what they are paying for. Share beautiful pictures and videos and promote them. Sharing staff details and story will always give a personal touch to customers.
Share your successes and struggles, behind the scenes, workshops and anything else that might interest your customers.
8. Don’t miss out
Never miss out on any opportunity to make customers feel special. Plan festivals, birthday, anniversary coupons so that you be their first choice. Promote or share stalls in exhibitions, events, and promotions going nearby.
This is a lot of tricks and tips to start with. It takes time, organization, planning, patience, exclusive content, and creativity to create a successful marketing strategy. From building the foundation to keep trying different ways to better manage your restaurant, setting up your strategy won’t be a hassle if you follow the steps, tricks and try the resources mentioned above.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
