The restaurant industry is a tough nut to crack. It is highly competitive and the profit margins are slim. That is why you need restaurant marketing ideas that will help you stand out from the crowd and win your target customers over.
However, with so many ideas out there, picking the best ideas for your restaurant can be difficult. This article presents the major restaurant marketing trends that will give you that competitive advantage.
Localize your online marketing efforts
If you’re a small business owner, it wouldn’t make sense for your website and other online profiles to show up in places outside of your service area. You will only be wasting money on random customers that for obvious reasons (e.g. distance) can’t drop by your restaurant.
A few strategies you can use include:
- Google Keyword Planner – to figure out which search terms will potential customers likely use to queries related to restaurants in your local area.
- Business directory sites – put your business on the map by registering it to various business directories.
- Fill your business page with relevant information like your name, address, and contact number.
Host events
Holding events at your restaurant will attract people’s attention to your business. Think of creative ways to make your event fun and entertaining, especially during the holiday season. You may also consider changing up your menu to include dishes that are appropriate for your themed event.
Run contests
When it’s time to reward your loyal customers, run contests on social media where you can promote offers and discounts. This will also increase your social media following as your content gets shared across multiple platforms.
One of the key restaurant marketing ideas, SMS can be a two-way communication channel between you and your customers.
Want to send your VIPs special offers? Invite the regulars to sample on your latest dishes?
If you have an SMS marketing strategy in place, you will be able to reach out to customers easily, get responses within seconds, and grow your contact list.
So are you ready to give these top restaurant marketing ideas a try? Share your comments below.
The best ideas for marketing your restaurant will vary from place to place, but in general some of the best ideas are: localize your online marketing efforts, host special events, contests and promotions, and use SMS marketing to send discounts, coupons and announcements directly to customers.
A quick Google search is your best best for finding more restaurant marketing ideas, but also look around at what other succesful restaurants are doing to bring in customers and send out orders.
Digital media has a wealth of new tools for marketing a restaurant. Online advertising and email blasts are two great ways to reach customers, but you can also use less common marketing channels like text message marketing to reach customers.
Adapting to new technology has always served restaurants well, which these days means using online and mobile ordering and delivery apps to let customers place their orders with their computer or mobile device, even have it delivered.