What if your restaurant was already doomed to failure?
Your restaurant success all comes down to how well you market your business. Unfortunately, there are many different reasons why restaurant marketing is harder than it sounds!
We’ve got the full scoop on what makes restaurant marketing so hard and how you can do better. Keep reading to learn how you can take your own marketing to the next level!
Don’t Be Cheap
Most of our tips for marketing and restaurant success are in no particular order. But the main cause of marketing failure is quite clear: restaurant owners who refuse to spend enough money on marketing.
Most restaurants spend about 3% of their monthly budget on marketing according to research from Restaurant Marketing Labs. However, many successful businesses spend up to 10% of their monthly income simply marketing their business.
Does this mean you should be spending 10% of your budget on marketing every month? Not necessarily. But you may want to aim for closer to 6% most months and devote additional funding to digital ads during busy seasons.
There are many forms of marketing that are cheap or even free, including social media marketing. But a simple fact remains: you must spend money to make money.
And if you’re not willing to really invest in your marketing, you’ll never be able to successfully grow your customer base.
A Bad (or Non-Existent) Website
In the past, many restaurants relied on foot traffic. Customers would discover a new restaurant simply by walking or driving by. But in this digital age, most customers discover new restaurants due to their online presence.
While there are different ways to establish an online presence, the most important one is a professional website. Unfortunately, many restaurants rely on poorly-designed websites which ultimately turn customers away. Worse yet, other restaurants have no website at all!
What does a good restaurant website need? First of all, it needs to have a responsive design. That allows the site to look good whether someone visits it through desktop or mobile devices.
Second of all, your site needs to be up to date at all times. New and old customers alike rely on the site to learn about your menu and prepare their plans for lunch or dinner.
Third of all, your site must employ good SEO throughout. Otherwise, prospective online customers will be unable to find your site.
Finally, it is imperative that your website features some form of online ordering. This helps you bring more customers in and you can cut out the “middle man” of working with a third party like Grubhub or DoorDash.
Social Media Snafus
Plenty of restaurant owners discover that social media is a double-edged sword. On one hand, social media is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to market your restaurant. On the other hand, there are plenty of opportunities for social media marketing to blow up in your face!
Make sure that you assign social media responsibilities to a savvy individual or team. The last thing you want is someone simply trying to figure out how different social media platforms work when they should be concentrating on interfacing with your customers.
And experienced individuals or teams will know how to make the most out of things like paid social media ads. Between their knowledge and any of your customer demographic data, they should be able to laser-focus their paid social media ads.
That person or team also needs to devise a social media planner and stick to it. The idea is that once your restaurant has a real social media presence, you have become a content creator. And the best way to grow your online following is to post regular content on a regular schedule according to your planner.
Finally, it’s important for your social media team to regularly interact with customers online. This ranges from posting open questions and polls for your audience to replying to different customer concerns and comments.
Ultimately, a willingness to engage people online will result in more people walking through your front doors.
Technology: Make the Most of It
New advances in technology can often be a bit confusing. But in order for your restaurant to succeed, it’s important that you embrace some of the technological opportunities that await you.
One example of technology that we already covered was online ordering. Whether you offer home delivery or not, the ability to order online without going to the restaurant or picking up a phone will attract more customers.
Online table reservation is another popular feature. It allows customers to save a bit of time and even reserve their favorite seats well before they walk into your restaurant.
Those who dine in may prefer to order ahead of time through tablets at the tables. And you can also put games on these tablets as an additional money-making opportunity.
And whether it’s through a tablet or simply through their phones, it’s good to ask customers for instant feedback. This can boost their engagement while giving you valuable data about what customers do (and do not) want.
None of these technological features are an absolute “must-have” for your business. But the more features you have, the more your restaurant will appeal to a greater variety of customers.
The Need for Google
Some of our marketing tips are straightforward, but this makes them no less crucial to your success. For example, you need to fill out your Google My Business information as soon as possible!
When customers search for your restaurant, Google will automatically provide information via your Google My Business info. Customers will be able to scope out your hours, phone number, menu, address, and link to your website.
And all of this information makes it easier for customers on the go to find your restaurant. They can simply click your phone number on their smartphones to initiate a call or click on your address and Google Maps will bring them right to your door.
However, none of that can happen if you don’t fill out your Google My Business info!
Bad Crisis Management
Every week (and sometimes every day), there is a major scandal for a major business. And these businesses are forced to work on their public relations until they have earned the public trust.
But ask yourself: are you ready in the event you have your own PR disaster?
Even if it’s a very small group, it’s important for you to have a crisis management team. This team should be ready at all times to proactively deal with any potential damage to the public image of your restaurant.
Ultimately, an unexpected crisis can either make or break a restaurant. But with the right crisis management team in place, you can rest assured that you and your restaurant marketing will still come out on top.
Letting Trends Go By
When you run a restaurant, trends are another kind of double-edged sword. On one hand, you don’t want to hop on every new trend that comes by because customers might think your restaurant is having an identity crisis. On the other hand, ignoring popular trends entirely is a great way to eventually put yourself out of business.
What trends do you need to stay on top of, then? Basically, anything that is seriously popular with your target demographic.
For example, millennials generally favor an amazing experience over an amazing product. If millennials are your target demographic, you should focus on adding more live events to your restaurant. This can institute a fear of missing out (FOMO) in millennials and ultimately boost their engagement with your business.
Email Marketing Mistakes
Believe it or not, email is still one of the most effective ways you can market your restaurant. But the trick is to avoid making some of these very common email marketing mistakes!
Here’s an example: if you simply buy up the data and spam customers with unwanted marketing emails, those emails will be largely ignored. Instead, you should have loyal customers willingly sign up for an email list where they can obtain deals and other special info.
The other big issue is frequency. Even if a customer willingly signed up, that doesn’t mean they want promotional emails every week. If you limit yourself to about one promotional email per month and make sure it includes valuable deals, then you can boost your customer engagement.
If possible, you should break your customers up into different segments and then target those different segments with different emails. It takes more work, but customers will enjoy emails that seem more personalized to themselves and their concerns.
Restaurant Success Through Marketing: What Comes Next?
Now you know how to improve your marketing and enjoy some serious restaurant success. But do you know who can help you take your restaurant to the next level?
We specialize in marketing for restaurants and helping small businesses achieve their full potential. To see what we can do for you and your own restaurant, contact us today!