Marketing Strategies for Restaurants Explained - Oct 2024
Navigating Restaurant Marketing Challenges: A Comprehensive Guide
Restaurant marketing can often feel overwhelming, with numerous components to manage and channels to navigate. Even established restaurants find themselves questioning their marketing strategies, seeking ways to attract new guests and retain loyal ones.
Marketing consultant [Name] shares their expertise, having worked with various brands across diverse service models. With extensive experience, they have developed a wealth of best practices and strategies to help restaurants tackle common marketing conundrums.
Solving Common Restaurant Marketing Dilemmas
Here are answers to some pressing questions restaurant owners and marketers frequently ask:
1. How to acquire new guests?
The key lies in local search optimization. Nearly two-thirds of Google searches are for local businesses, with a particular emphasis on restaurants. Maintaining accurate and updated listings across platforms like Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor is essential. A tool like Marqii can aid in organizing these listings for optimal local search performance.
To encourage immediate foot traffic, consider integrating Nift, a background service that drives incremental new visits without charging for impressions or clicks.
2. How often should you share content on social media?
Consistency is vital. Posting at least twice a day, every day, is ideal, but a minimum of once every other day should suffice. The algorithms prioritize consistent posters, so maintaining a steady presence on social media is crucial.
3. How often should you send email newsletters?
As with social media, consistency is key, but testing is essential for each restaurant. For fast-casual or quick-serve restaurants, sending newsletters at least once per seven days is recommended. Full-service or fine-dining establishments might benefit from a less frequent approach, sending newsletters at least every ten days.
4. How to grow your email list?
Besides collecting emails from online orders and reservations, one effective method is to use Wi-Fi sign-ups. VivaSpot, for example, offers an affordable base package of $19 per month per location, with direct integration to Mailchimp. Approximately 34% of the email list at Handcraft Burgers and Brew was built on free Wi-Fi—even for a quick-service restaurant.
5. Should you run promotions on third-party delivery service partners, and if so, which ones?
The decision depends on your readiness for conversions to first-party sales. Be sure to set up your prices, offer popular items only, and implement a guest feedback system before considering promotions. Ovation offers a versatile tool for guest feedback, sentiment analysis, text message marketing, and conversion from third-party platforms.
6. How to increase catering orders?
Promoting catering through various channels is essential. Include catering calls to action in your social media bio, emails, and menus, and use a service like ezCater for extra exposure. Additionally, consider promoting catering inside your restaurant through in-store signage and bathroom marketing.
Ask Your Questions
Find yourself facing other restaurant marketing challenges? Reach out to marketing consultant [Name] at [email] for personalized advice.
Seminar Opportunity
Join [Name] and fellow restaurant industry professionals at the Florida Restaurant Show and Pizza Tomorrow Summit in Orlando on November 6th and 7th for a day of learning, networking, and delicious food. The event includes a general session Q&A on marketing topics, followed by a three-hour private workshop to delve deeper into the Restaurant Marketing Playbook. Limited tickets are available, so upgrade your tickets early to avoid disappointment. Participants will also receive a free copy of [Name]'s book on specialty menu item sales.
For further details and to sign up for the event, visit the provided link. A video preview is available for those interested in learning more.
[Footnotes][1] Source: Google[2] Source: Google[3] Source: Statista[4] Source: Emailmonks[5] Source: Restaurant Marketing Resource Center (RMRC)
Incorporating technology tools like Marqii, Nift, VivaSpot, Ovation, and ezCater can help overcome common marketing challenges faced by restaurant owners, such as acquiring new guests, maintaining social media presence, growing email lists, increasing catering orders, and capitalizing on third-party delivery service partnerships.
Leveraging insights from finance, technology, lifestyle, and business sectors, marketing consultant [Name] offers personalized advice and strategies to tackle marketing conundrums, and will be sharing their expertise at the Florida Restaurant Show and Pizza Tomorrow Summit in Orlando on November 6th and 7th. This event includes a seminar on marketing topics and a private workshop to delve deeper into the Restaurant Marketing Playbook, with limited tickets available.
