Most effective restaurant marketing techniques

In recent years, restaurant marketing has become significantly more challenging. There are now an overwhelming number of options available to people wishing to eat. We've put together a list of restaurant marketing techniques and approaches to assist you in navigating this new marketing environment. Here are the concepts from the list that we believe will have the biggest impact.

1.Advertisements on Google, Facebook, and Instagram

Online advertising offer a low entrance barrier because they are simple to put up and you can test the waters with a very small budget at first. But heed the warning: in developed countries like the US and UK, digital advertising are no longer as inexpensive. Therefore, keep a close eye on their effectiveness and switch them off if necessary. To get a decent ROI with digital ads, you must know the fundamentals. Which are:

Targeting:

Learn how to successfully target consumers using interest and location-based categories to increase your likelihood of a positive response from potential customers, users and advertisers.

Creative:

It's essential to have eye-catching commercials that resonate with your target audience. Think on the advertising' imagery, copy, and topic. Do you advertise specials or just the restaurant generally?

Testing and analytics:

It's also imperative to keep track of the effectiveness of your ads and to consistently experiment with fresh creative and targeting combinations.

2.Develop your community on social media and advertise it there.

Reposting content from your clients on social media demonstrates your gratitude and celebration for them. This is a straightforward restaurant marketing trick that engages consumers and develops a mutually beneficial relationship with them.

3.Improve your webpage.

How simple is it for users, especially those using mobile devices, to get this information on your website? Think about how your website portrays your brand and how it allows visitors to get a feel for your restaurant even before they make a reservation.

4.Employing restaurant surveys

You are more likely to influence people's decisions if you address these issues in your marketing and emphasize things that diners report they previously liked. Without knowing what your consumers think of you, you can't make wise decisions. If you routinely survey your clients, the results will show you where you can improve and what matters to them.

5.Provide a fantastic online menu

Choose a simple, easy-to-read font and make sure it is mobile-optimized. Put the menu on your home page rather than hiding it on a subpage. The page on your website that gets the most attention is your menu; therefore it makes sense to include it in your marketing plan. Making a reservation is made easier when there is a clear, well-designed online menu available.

6.Retargeting ads for restaurants

Retargeting allows businesses to stay in touch with the 90% of website visitors who never buy anything. This typically involves calling or making an internet reservation at a restaurant. It needs some setup, but once it's done, it's a really effective ad channel.

7.Establish a Remarkable Brand

Customer loyalty is directly impacted by the reputation of your restaurant. Building a brand can take place within the restaurant as well as on your social media pages. A solid understanding of your target demographic is the foundation of strong restaurant branding. Consistency is crucial, and your restaurant's brand should be represented consistently throughout your advertising materials.

8. Gather and use visitor data

The ability to send your customers targeted marketing has a much higher chance of success than simply blasting them with random messaging. Keep track of how frequently visitors to your business visit, what their preferences are, and when they celebrate important events like birthdays. Customers demand this next level of care and hospitality, and personalized restaurant marketing is the name of the game.

9. SMS advertising

Can you market your restaurant with SMS? That relies on whether you choose the appropriate target audience and messaging. SMS typically has a very high open rate, but it also has a poor click-through rate. This implies that it is crucial to get the SMS message's content right. A discount offer that will likely pique interest in your destination is a smart place to start.

10. Display your Ingredients

Diners are getting more and more intrigued about items on the more premium side of things. The secret is frequently to demonstrate to customers that what you have to offer is unique. If you can prove that the ingredients are of high quality, potential customers would probably want to come to your restaurant more often.

11.Include booking links in Google Business

Yelp is losing relevance as Google takes over more and more of the internet food search market. One of Skift's megatrends was Google's dominance of local restaurant discovery. Google now gives you the opportunity to put a link to your website or reservation system on your profile in the "reservations" category. When restaurants use this straightforward method, they notice a 20% boost in online reservations.

12. Send email marketing campaigns that are effective

If used properly, email marketing is still a fantastic marketing tool, but you are up against all the world's most well-known companies for people's attention. Instead of merely "spraying and praying," you can produce email marketing that is relevant to customers by using your customer data and email marketing automation. Try looking into restaurant automation solutions like those offered by App and CRM for restaurants in order to improve your email marketing.

13. React to internet critiques

Online reviews can be helpful or harmful for a business, so managing and responding to online reviews is a crucial marketing tactic, particularly if they are negative.

How can you use unfavorable online reviews to your advantage?

A negative review can be used to your advantage if you approach it positively.

EASE is a good place to start when handling reviews.

• Empathize: Consider the situation from the visitor's perspective, focusing on their perspective.
• Acknowledge: Let others know you understand the issue and are paying attention.
• Solve: Take appropriate action to address their issue.
• Don't just send them a private message: Accept full responsibility and offer a public solution.

In response to unfavorable reviews:

• Avoid using copy/paste while responding: Avoid sounding robotic.
• Don't request a direct contact from them: This will make them angry.
• Do more than simply pledge to "look into the problem" Nobody accepts statements like this.
• Evaluate: Think about ways to prevent this from happening again.

14. Begin your blog

A blog can be a fantastic medium for the creative types to advertise their restaurant. Although you don't have to write 2,000 words a week, updating your website with content from your restaurant will keep visitors interested and entice them to go there. Think about concentrating on visual content for your site and using only sparingly for context.

15. Persuade influencers to publish on social media

In order to be successful with influencer marketing, you must offer influencers to dine at your establishment for free. Local Instagram users in your area with a significant following are the greatest place to start when looking for influencers. Find people who fit the profile of your restaurants and have sizable followings.

16. Employ the framework for restaurant marketing

There are no separate marketing approaches and strategies. Combining your efforts into a variety of interconnected tactics frequently produces more than the sum of their individual parts. A framework is a method you can employ to organize various components of your marketing activities and divide them into digestible chunks. Fine Dine Restaurant Marketing Framework, which we created to assist restaurants, is an example.

17. Examine the internet reservation services

The majority of up-market restaurants include the price of these services in their annual marketing budget. However, you should determine whether these platforms are actually cost-effective for you since you could be able to make a reservation for nothing. Consider utilizing reservation finding sites as part of your plan because people can't resist how convenient and simple they are.

18. Send SMS and email birthday reminders

Keep track of your guests' birthdays. These are desirable to restaurants because they frequently come in large groups and spend a lot of money. Send them a customized email two or three weeks before to their special day outlining why you have the ideal location for their event. To make the purchase more enticing, you might also think about including a special discount.

19. Integrate live chat into your front-of-house website.

Live chat is quickly replacing email as the preferred method of online client communication. People are given direct access to your restaurant and a personal touch when your host stands or reservation staff is handling your live chat. Questions can be asked by potential diners, and you can take those crucial reservations right from the chat box. There are many ways to begin going for no cost, like Google Free Live Chat for Website.

20. Launch your online delivery service

Every month, these applications bring thousands of local customers to eateries. Possibly a significant marketing triumph for restaurants. Apps for food delivery handle logistics and provide a pleasant user experience for customers. The largest development in the market in recent years may be online food delivery. And customers adore it, so it's a wonderful thing!

21. Engage users with real-time social media tales

Every month, hundreds of millions of users interact with social media stories on Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram. Stories allow you to concentrate more on the atmosphere of your restaurant on a daily basis. For example, you may provide videos of fascinating kitchen preparation or brief interviews with the executive chef.

22. Commit yourself to posting high-quality photographs on social media.

One of the best ways to attract customers to your restaurant is by showing them how delicious your food is - so here are some top tips on how to create Instagram-worthy images of your food. It's difficult to take stunning food photographs, but hiring a professional is one choice that shouldn't be disregarded. We offer a guide on how to take better food shots, but you might also want to think about enrolling in specialist online or classroom classes. If you want to take the photos yourself, that's fine too, but get some instruction on using angles and lighting to make your cuisine stand out.

23. Strengthen Public Relations

You can spread the good PR you receive across your website and social media if it is excellent. Customers receive the best messages when articles and reviews are published by reliable media outlets. Don't solely rely on having a review published. You can utilize it in advertising if the PR is excellent as well.

24. Promote and/or reward online reviews

Having thousands of 5 star ratings makes it very simple for people to choose your establishment over the competitors. Try encouraging customers to submit reviews if they have a pleasant experience, or take it a step further and simply offer incentives. When choosing a restaurant, online reviews are frequently considered to be crucial.

25. Improve food presentations to make them Instagrammable

"Instagrammable dessert" is a relatively new phrase in the world of restaurant marketing. The fundamental tenet is that a dish's plating and presentation inspire consumers to take photos and post them online. To master this method, one must develop an original thought that is neither twee nor conventional.

Creating Instagrammable food: 8 techniques

• Think about using items with complementary colors
• Create an event and a show that can be caught on camera.
• Create meals that coordinate when they are photographed together.
• Make the meals colorful.
• Utilize restaurant lighting to present meals in their best possible light.
• Plates should be as spotless as possible.
• Take into account not only the plate but also the adjacent table.
• Include more eye-catching ornamental items in the eating area.

26. Implement discount and coupon promotions

Offering something for free stimulates consumers more than offering a discount; hence BOGOF promotions typically have the best results. Discounts frequently have the effect of softening the brand's tone for higher quality eateries. Customers may start to expect discounts from you if you perform them too frequently. Offer complimentary meals, 10% off, or the best restaurant deal of all - buy one, get one free.

27. Pay attention to client loyalty

One of the key focuses of restaurant marketing should always be building client loyalty. The least amount of marketing is needed to entice returning consumers. You can manage everything yourself or work with a loyalty-focused app provider. Luxurious eateries often emphasize complimentary enhancements to the eating experience. Restaurants with a more relaxed atmosphere could choose to just give regular customers a discount.

28. Regional internet ads

Most of your clients will be local, unless your restaurant is located on a secluded island. Naturally, this indicates that you should focus your marketing efforts on your area. If you are running online ads, check to see if geo-targeting is active on all the main ad networks like Google Ads, Facebook, Snapchat, etc. You can tell the system to target folks around you by entering your city or zip code on the ad platform.

29. Increase local search engine optimization for restaurants

There are thousands of searches for phrases like "Italian restaurants near me" every day. A modern restaurant marketing strategy should take into account how your business will appear in these local online searches. 20 million individuals worldwide conduct searches for restaurants near me’ each month.

Start by taking a look at the following:

• Google Business profile was claimed and updated.
• On your website, accurate location information. The alleged NAP
• Reviews on Google.
• Using location keywords in the URL structure of your website.
• Optimized web pages for search engines.