Over the years the food industry has been thriving so well. Especially when you have an amazing chef in your restaurant or you have your own special recipe and take on the food you serve, your restaurant is or will surely be a hit.
When you have everything under amazing control; you are in a very strategic location, you have an amazing restaurant ambience, a skillful chef, your own take of the food you are serving, some loyal customers, and many others. But at some point of your restaurant business’s life you’d have to jump more puddles or probably cross oceans to attract more customers. Your restaurant definitely needs effective marketing. Here are the basic restaurant marketing to instill in your marketing strategies (and should never be forgotten).
1. Make your existence known through social media.
If your restaurant doesn’t have any social media accounts yet, then drop everything and create one. Create your image and brand in Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It’s high time to place everything that you’re doing offline to online and become virtually present. Make use of the tools and tech advancement we are in right now. Use whatever social media resources that you can and create enticing content in all social media platforms you are in.
2. Boost your photography gaming.
Since you are in the food industry, what arguably is the best way to promote your business, but through photos that make potential customers drool and try out your food. Hire a good photographer to capture amazing photos of your food or menu. With good plating, amazing table setting, and great lighting, your foods would definitely make a sound in the hungry community especially in social media.
3. Partner with bloggers and influencers.
Amazing photos plus instant advertising in one. When you opt not to hire a professional photographer for your foods and choose to do it yourself, another way to gain a different photography perspective for potential customers is to partner with local internet celebrities.
Nowadays, a lot of internet influencers are taking social media and photography gaming to a whole new level. A lot of food bloggers are up in their game to take a snapshot of your food. And what’s better when getting these kinds of people? After a few tweaks of the photo, they instantly upload to bring the news to their followers and fans. Instagram stories, instagram posts, blog posts, Facebook posts, your restaurant will surely be making a sound.
4. Try geo-targeted ads.
Nowadays in the golden age of technology and the internet, people tend to look for new restaurants around the area using the internet, particularly social media platforms. Generate your ads and make sure you target users within a certain radius of your restaurant’s location. Because of this, a lot of people will tend to find your restaurant which will surprise them because hey it’s just around the corner! This will also help tourists and travelers get to know new restaurants when visiting the city.
5. Build a user friendly website.
Did you know that a lot of people are looking at restaurant menus on the internet? By creating a website that is easily accessible by your target market will surely help your restaurant marketing. Make sure your website is by all means easy to access when a person is hungry and just pulled her smartphone to look for a place to eat.
6. Consider online reservation, e-coupons, and online menu.
Just mentioned above, a high quality and updated menu is a big help especially when it’s put up in your social media accounts and website. Personally, I would go to a restaurant which I’ve already looked up on because I don’t want to enter a restaurant which I know nothing of and just sit there looking at their menu and end up not liking what’s inside and leave. Investing in social media marketing has many benefits and is a great option.
With this, you can also opt to consider online reservations. When you already have a growing market, your customers must be reassured that they can access a reservation and not end up waiting for a table to be available. Another new style of different restaurants is providing a floor plan of the table locations in the restaurant. That way, people can easily choose a spot when reserving.
E-coupons are also great to incorporate in your restaurant. For example, QR codes which your customers can download and present on the counter when ordering can give them good discounts and valued prices.
7. Loyalty programs.
A lot of restaurants are trying out loyalty programs for their customers who kept on coming back. What’s a better way to reward your loyal customers by giving them programs and discounts which can benefit them and at the same time make them come back for more. What’s amazing with these ideas is people will tend to recommend the business to friends and family and nothing is way better than word of mouth to create an offline and online presence.
Putting it in a good plating…
With these simple but amazing tips, you’d definitely grow your business and widen your market in no time. But one thing is important, in marketing, especially in restaurant marketing, you have to be flexible. One tip here can work for you and some may not. And you have to think outside the box. Create a marketing funnel where you can really plan out your marketing strategies from creating presence down to customer experience.5
What are your restaurant marketing ideas that you’ve tried and are effective? Let us know! 5