Marketing for restaurants: how to do it to boost your business
Owning and managing a restaurant is, without a doubt, a challenge. But one of the biggest challenges is increasing revenue and differentiating your restaurant from the competition. This is the reason why the marketing for restaurants it's so important.
Think about the moment we live in, digital transformation is palpable and is right in front of us. Based on this reality, can you identify what environment you need to focus on to be recognized?
That's why, with the right marketing strategy for restaurants, both online and offline, you can boost sales, increase foot and online traffic for your business, attract the attention of new customers, and retain regular customers.
Learn in this article everything you need to know about marketing for restaurants and how to apply it successfully to your business.
What is Gastronomic Marketing or Marketing for Restaurants?
Gastronomic marketing refers to the application of all marketing methods in the beverage and food sector and the efficient execution of management strategies that drive the success of your restaurant.
Restaurant marketing essentially refers to the way you present and promote your food business to the outside world. It involves every aspect of your restaurant, from the inside to the outside.
Keep in mind that marketing itself does not change, it is the market that is constantly changing and you must always be willing to accept these changes, in order to adapt your strategy effectively, so that you can differentiate yourself from your competition.
Why is marketing important in a restaurant?
Let us know what sets you apart from the rest in a simple way.
Marketing is a big differentiator in your restaurant. It is what makes your business known, recommended and among the local favorites.
In addition, it is essential to build customer loyalty and keep them close at all times, thus consolidating the reputation of your restaurant.
That is why we build good practices and marketing strategies for restaurants it will give you many opportunities for growth, which generates a good return on investment and an increase in your sales.
Benefits of Marketing in restaurants
The main objective of restaurant marketing is to increase your reach, increase the group of potential customers and turn those potential customers into repeat customers.
Among the Benefits of marketing for restaurants we can mention:
- It is an effective ally for the retention of your customers.
- Your restaurant becomes more competitive and is positioned among the best in the gastronomic sector.
- It allows you to boost your brand and publicize your corporate identity, which attracts more customers.
- You can venture into different areas to attract a new audience.
- You become more visible, this way you can achieve business associations with different brands.
- Create new opportunities with distributors and sellers.
It's clear that customers don't magically arrive at restaurants. And it is clear that if as a gastronomic entrepreneur you do not establish or carry out the ideal strategies that connect with the customer, you will not be able to meet their needs, which is one of the main objectives of marketing for restaurants.
Digital marketing strategies that work best for restaurants
The Internet has completely taken over our lives; so much so that digital marketing for restaurants has become the need of the moment.
Digital restaurant marketing is essential, as it helps you to target online customers, who may or may not promote your restaurant's online reputation through reviews.
Use these digital marketing strategies for your restaurant and start differentiating yourself from the competition:
Website or ecommerce
El website should make a good first impression, but also provide necessary and interesting information for customers.
For example, about opening and closing times. A good impression and usability of your website will help you attract repeat customers.
Web positioning
Update your Google My Business profile, including specific keywords on your website and prominently display the schedule, location, menu and online ordering platform on your website and profile of Google are easy and free ways to improve your restaurant's online presence.
Social networks
Like a website, restaurant customers today expect accounts of social networks. These help with advertising and marketing by building brand awareness and interest, even if your restaurant hasn't opened yet.
The restaurant's social media accounts should be part of your brand. This means that the photos and text sound and look as if they came from the voice of your restaurant.
Online advertising
Online advertising is a means of advertising through the Internet. Online advertising speeds up the communication process and attracts your target audience in a cost-effective way.
Online restaurant advertising acts like advertising in the sky in the virtual world for your intended clientele. It's like placing a huge banner on the side of a road where only your favorite audience leads.
Email marketing
Email marketing is another way to keep in touch with repeat customers and people who have visited our facilities in the past.
Good use of email marketing for restaurants allows you to build stronger relationships with your customers, provide them with information and promote offers for your new and best dishes.
WhatsApp Marketing
Use messaging apps, especially WhatsApp. Broadcast lists with WhatsApp allow you to develop a simple and affordable strategy to build customer loyalty.
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing works exceptionally well for restaurants, as restaurants operate in a particular area and target a specific customer segment.
Collaborating with food bloggers and social media influencers is a great way to reach your potential and existing customers.
Nowadays, Instagram has become the main channel for influencer marketing because it is a visual platform that works very well to attract customers through tempting images and videos of food.
Marketing Plan for restaurants, what it is and its importance
Un marketing plan is a written set of tasks for marketing your restaurant's products and services, as well as the activities necessary to carry it out.
The marketing plan for your restaurant should include the marketing strategy and related implementation methods, such as: marketing elements, resources that the company has and expected results.
In short, a good marketing plan for restaurants allows you to define your objectives, the best way to achieve them and reduce the likelihood of failed decisions.
Therefore, the marketing plan is important because it helps you in the efficient management of your restaurant. It also allows you to control planned plans, build a positive image of your brand and stand out from the competition.
Marketing for restaurants is extremely important to achieve what you want with your business.
How to make a marketing plan for your restaurant in 7 steps?
Learn how to make an effective marketing plan for your restaurant with these simple steps:
1. Identify your target audience
You know what makes you different. Now decide who your offer is for. Who do you want to reach with information about your restaurant? Taking into account your target audience helps you choose the right communication channels for your potential customers.
Before starting promotional activities, it's essential to study your potential visitors. You need information about your needs, wants, expectations and behaviors.
2. Analyze your current situation
Any planning begins with a thorough analysis of the current situation in order to be able to set realistic objectives. What are the pros and cons of your restaurant? How can you increase sales?
After analyzing your restaurant, you can determine what you need to do for its future success. Use a simple SWOT analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of your business, as well as any opportunities and threats you may have.
3. Research and analyze your competition
To build the right marketing strategy, you need to know who your main competitors are in the market. Explore competing sites, visit establishments close to yours.
It doesn't hurt to visit them to evaluate the service, look at the menu and understand what your competitor offers the customer and what you should offer.
4. Set your goals with the SMART methodology
Objectives are critical to your success. When creating your objectives, use the SMART methodology.
Make sure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and within a specific time. You must clearly state what you want and be realistic with the resources you have.
5. Define the action plan: digital marketing strategies
Now is the time to build your restaurant marketing strategy. You should consider what promotion methods you'll use and how long you'll run each promotion for before renewing it.
Based on your objectives, customer profiles and strengths, choose digital marketing strategies that are identified and adapted to your presence and brand.
6. Calculate the budget of your digital marketing plan
Clearly describe the restaurant's marketing plan and calculate how much money you need for each marketing category.
To calculate an approximate marketing budget, you'll need to create a plan for at least one month, so you can understand how much money you need for advertising and can allocate this amount based on sales.
7. Constantly analyze and optimize
After your marketing plan is in progress, the work never ends. Continue to optimize and analyze your strategy, using KPIs to measure progress and readjust as needed.
Your website will always need an update. New promotions are vital to keeping your customers engaged. Pay as much attention to your marketing efforts as you do to cleaning your tables and seasoning your signature sauce, and you'll be ready to have a successful restaurant.
Social networks as the pillar of digital marketing in restaurants
Social media advertising is one of the most popular forms of marketing for restaurants. It is simple to perform, highly cost-effective and has the great advantage that it can be done from a smartphone.
Social media also gives you access to a large customer base. To have effective advertising on social networks, you can use the following platforms:
The entire world is intertwined by social networks. Which means that to be successful in this area, you must have a strong digital presence.
Instagram is a solid channel for your restaurant to connect with the public. This is due to its highly visual nature, ideal for capturing delicious menu items and the smiling faces of all the members of your team.
The potential reach, along with the ability to showcase your restaurant's brand and menu items in such a visual way, is an advantage you should make the most of.
A Facebook profile, also known as a fanpage, is a place where you can gather a group of people who like your restaurant and keep in touch with them.
In addition, through Facebook you will manage all the advertising campaigns to promote your restaurant on this social network and on Instagram.
TikTok
Nowadays, when most of the interaction between a brand and its customers takes place online, companies must take advantage of all relevant social media platforms. If TikTok is booming, your restaurant should be there.
TikTok can help you get new customers: if you can get people to notice your videos by posting attractive content, you should also add a link to your website or online order page to their profile and thus increase conversions.
Why is digital advertising important in a restaurant?
Digital marketing is becoming extremely important for restaurants, as people use their smartphones to find places to eat, as well as to check menus and read reviews.
Customers use their phones to reserve tables, place an order or search for food. La digital advertising it is also used to hire staff, build customer loyalty and promote your restaurant's brand.
Digital marketing for restaurants is one of the best ways to quickly attract audiences to your social media pages with branded posts.
This will increase traffic to your website and help you rank higher in Google in the long term. Digital marketing helps you build relationships with your audience and build trust, which is the ultimate goal of a successful restaurant marketing strategy.
Digital advertising platforms
Your options for advertising your restaurant digitally are very versatile. Whatever channel you choose, make sure it aligns with the objectives you set in your marketing strategy.
Learn about the main ways to digitally advertise your restaurant and choose the one that best suits your style and your target audience:
Facebook Ads: Facebook ads are one of the most direct ways to promote your restaurant to a prepared audience.
Whether you're running a high-end dining restaurant, a healthy restaurant, a fast casual restaurant, or any other type of establishment, Facebook has your target market right at your fingertips.
Facebook ads don't just offer a wide reach; they also offer a specific audience. A big advantage of Facebook advertising is the ability to narrow your audience down to the Facebook users you think are most likely to become your customers.
Instagram Ads: This is a fantastic channel for your establishment. Once you connect your Facebook page to your Instagram business account, ads posted on Facebook will also be shown on Instagram. An easy way to increase reach is to use appropriate hashtags and tag your location.
With the growing trend of posting images, diners can hardly avoid posting delicious images of the dishes they enjoy, with interesting and addictive hashtags such as #foodie #foodieforlife #foodporn and many others.
Google Ads: Google Ads helps you reach more customers and generate more sales. In addition to reaching the right audience, you can also track the performance of your ads.
Make sure your sales funnel is optimized for digital marketing and lead conversion. For example, a menu optimized for mobile devices and a clear ordering process will be more attractive to customers and will reduce cart abandonment.
5 tips before advertising online for your restaurant
Online promotion is great for growing your restaurant. Customers respond positively to well-done online advertising.
Follow these tips to promote your restaurant online and increase the number of customers in a short time.
1. Define your target audience very well: For your online advertising to be effective, you must have a detailed portrait of your target audience, with a description of their interests and needs.
2. Boost your website or ecommerce: The website is the face of your restaurant. In addition to good design and flawless operation on mobile devices, it must meet other requirements.
Before starting active promotion on the Internet, it is important that you review your positioning, usability and customer experience.
3. Choose the right channels and segment your message: If you have a defined target audience, it's easier to determine which channel they use the most to communicate with you. Segment your message according to the audience you want to reach and get more traffic to your site, which translates into a greater number of orders.
4. Analyze the competition and be innovative: When you know and analyze what your competition is doing, you can offer unique things that differentiate you from the rest. Create promotions and special dishes for your customers, this attracts them and if you satisfy them you will loyalty them more quickly.
5. Test, measure and optimize: Digital tools allow you to know what your customers want and if your services and products meet their expectations. Once you use these tools, it's easier to optimize your site, your services and have a greater number of satisfied customers.
3 restaurant marketing campaigns you should implement
Implement these marketing campaigns in your restaurant and increase revenues in your restaurant:
1. Take advantage of holidays (discounts, coupons, unique products)
Coupons and discounts are always an option to attract new diners to the establishment. In addition, you can organize events that encourage all your customers to visit your restaurant.
From ladies nights to karaoke nights, as well as discounts for bringing a companion, it helps you get more people to visit your restaurant.
2. Limited-time events or seasons with prizes or special products
Limited-time discounts and events always work well in restaurants. A temporary reduction in the prices of drinks and food, the so-called “happy hour”, attracts many customers after a long working day.
This strategy can also increase traffic to your site.
3. Make alliances with other brands and influencers in the gastronomic sector
If you have an alliance with a micro-influencer, who have between 5,000 and 25,000 followers, you can set trends and convince their friends based on their authenticity and proximity.
People who follow micro-influencers are assured that these sites are perfect because they have the support of referents and even people similar to them.
Complete Guide to Marketing for Restaurants
Why is Picker the ally you need in your restaurant?
Running a restaurant isn't easy. If we look at the businesses in this field that have really worked, achieving their ideal and growing day by day, we will see that those who invest in marketing for restaurants today obtain the best results.
But to achieve these results, it is also necessary to partner with the right companies. And Picker is one of them. At Picker, we help you to push your restaurant to the maximum and that your customers have a great experience.
With us you can provide your customers with a real tracking experience, improving the shopping experience and increasing their trust in your brand.
Integrate easily with Picker and every order you receive will be sent with special tracking for each customer.
