How to Do Restaurant Marketing - Detailed Guide

27 Jan

We know that the pandemic has been a blessing in disguise for the restaurant industry since they quickly adopted online ordering and other marketing ways that fueled their business.

Now that the industry is back to normal, just like mushrooms after rain, multiple restaurants are popping up everywhere, giving tight competition.

Some studies predict that the value of online ordering alone will grow to over $220 billion by 2025.

But despite the fierce competition, you can still stand out with one powerful tool. Yes, it’s restaurant marketing.

Now tell me, what is the use of having an amazing restaurant ambiance, mouth-watering dishes, and other luxuries if enough customers don’t flock in?

If you want your restaurant to reach a wider audience, you must do marketing. Keep scrolling to find out the restaurant marketing ideas and trends in 2023.

What Is Restaurant Marketing?

Restaurant marketing is getting people intrigued by your restaurant’s food service business. This long process involves multiple strategies and methods where you must use data to research, analyze and understand your ideal customer profile.

You can build your restaurant brand by bringing brand awareness and gaining your customer’s trust.

Besides this, you can make your restaurant stand out from your competitors and also build strong customer relationships and earn their loyalty.

What Are Some Robust Restaurant Marketing Strategies?

Improve your branding

“Oh, I love this ABC restaurant for its signature pizza, and its red-and-black ambiance has my heart.”

As you can see, this particular restaurant is acknowledged for its ambiance and pizza.

So, this is what branding is about. Restaurant branding must vocal your restaurant’s personality, values, mission, and identity. And you can’t take chances on the same. Having a strong brand with a story that can easily connect with your customers is important.

You must make your restaurant known for its quality service, luscious food, ambiance, and good customer experience. By working consistently on your branding, you can increase revenue by 23%.

Get a website for your restaurant

In the digital era, having a website for your restaurant business is a must. In fact, people might question your business’ legitimacy if you don’t have one.

Your customers must get a good impression of your restaurant when you visit your website. The best advantage of having a website is that they will find you anytime, anywhere, 24/7. You can exchange information and increase your credibility. You can also let your customers reserve tables at your restaurant.

It is recommended to carry out the best SEO practices for your website to optimize online visibility. So, when your website’s online traffic improves, more people will visit it, and better the chances to provide your restaurant services to more people.

Now get a free online ordering website for your restaurant with PosBytz!

Focus on loyalty programs

Loyal programs are a customer retention strategy that helps increase revenue and referrals and enhance overall growth. Considering the cutthroat competition, focusing on offering loyalty programs to your restaurant customers is essential. You can collect customer data to build a community or a strong relationship with them via different mediums.

Create your own loyalty program with PosBytz for both your Online and outlet customers.

Try email marketing

One of the best restaurant marketing campaigns that are practical and low-budget is email marketing. More than 333 billion emails are globally sent and received daily, and the best part is that the average ROI is higher than other marketing.

You can tell your customers about your discounts and sales via promotional emails. Emails not only improve your brand’s visibility but also increase online orders with your CTA. So, ensure the email is well crafted with an attention-seeking subject line and image inside.

Did you know that push notifications are effective?

The online food delivery platform Uber eats , Just eats , Deliveroo , Hunger station , Zomato is nailing its push notification marketing strategy. Because the messages sent are crisp, engaging, creative, funny, and have a personal touch, providing value to its customers.

So, you can try the same thing for your restaurant customers and increase your in-app conversion rates.

Try out traditional offline marketing strategies

Flyers and door hangers:
Distribute discount coupons attached to flyers and door hangers to your restaurant’s locality and nearby places.

Newspapers and magazines:
Publish any events at your restaurant in newspapers and magazines and reach the masses. Add an attractive discount or plan something exciting like special menus, etc., to attract customers to visit your place.

Local radio or television:
If you have a chain of restaurants and you have planned to introduce a famous dish to your menu or simply give out significant discounts, you can advertise the same on local radio or television and attract a customer base.

Billboard advertising:
We still look at some attractive displays or billboards while waiting in traffic or roaming around the city. So, place a classic menu after your restaurant and a big signage board near your restaurant or a crowded place to let customers know a restaurant exists and increase your brand value.

Social media marketing is a savior

Did that overloaded cheesy pizza video tempt you on social media? These days, there are more food videos on your social media feed, and many restaurants have reported more conversions when they promote their dishes.

So, by promoting your food and your restaurant on different social media platforms, you can gain more followers and generate more leads for your restaurant. In fact, social media marketing can increase your brand’s awareness.

So, curate a strong personal brand by showing off your storefront with some top dishes presented well with creative and engaging content. You can even have your own hashtags.

Some quick examples of food marketing strategies examples for different platforms are:

Facebook

Turn your Facebook(Meta) business page into a community. But how to do it?

Use Facebook as a business directory, fill out all fields, add more reviews, and keep it updated.

Post pics, upcoming events, customer pics, hour updates, and special offers, engage with followers and inspire discussions.

Instagram

You can post attractive food pics on Instagram and promote your restaurant online with mouth-watering photos.

Time your tweets

Twitter can be the best place to promote your restaurants, where you can influence more hungry stomachs. But timing your tweets is crucial here. So, plan and schedule your tweets to target different meals of the day.

How Much Should a Restaurant Business Owner Spend on Marketing?

On average, a restaurant must spend 3–6% of sales on marketing to enhance its brand value. However, most restaurants set a marketing budget between 3 and 10% of sales.

Here are a few tips for setting your restaurant business’s budget:

First, decide on your objectives and goals. For example, I want to add loyal customers to my restaurant or increase sales by 5 to 10%.
Next, sort out the different campaigns you want to run during the year, especially during holidays, festivals, and special occasions.
Set your marketing budget.
Then decide how much you want to spend on different marketing channels.

Wrapping up

Apart from the above strategies, you can also ask for reviews, respond to them, and build a relationship. Also, invest in paid advertising, announce giveaways or discounts to loyal customers, and go the extra mile to attract potential customers.

Because they are the lifeline for your business, and considering the neck-to-neck competition, marketing your restaurant effectively goes a long way.

To make your restaurant business tasks more accessible and easy, try out PosBytz restaurant POS software to streamline simple tasks, manage inventory, and track sales and employees from anywhere. For more details, visit PosBytz.