It’s no exaggeration to say that digital technology has drastically changed the restaurant industry. No longer is word-of-mouth the main marketing tactic that restaurants rely on; now, it seems like every eatery is utilising digital media and mobile devices to advertise. While a handful of restaurants have aced their marketing game, most are still struggling to keep up. Here are 6 Restaurant Marketing Tips to Boost Food Orders
In a world where restaurant businesses have a 60% failure rate, it’s important to have a marketing strategy that will help you stand out against the competition. As someone who loves food, I’ve seen first-hand that great food doesn’t always mean a successful restaurant and vice versa. A successful restaurant business relies heavily on marketing to bring in customers and build up a loyal following. With more and more restaurants opening each day, restaurant marketing is more important than ever. This blog will go through 7 marketing tips that can help increase food orders in a restaurant.
1. Sampling Events
Organising sampling events can help you spread the word about your newest culinary creations or showcase your old favourites. Besides their social benefits, they can also help you promote your restaurant. These events can be held off-premises, such as at farmers’ markets or special events, or in your restaurant. Having a tasting event is an effective marketing strategy when it comes to getting people to try your food.
There are a couple of different ways you can advertise a sampling event. You can print handouts and give them out to the people who come to your restaurant. You can also put-up posters around town. You should always be up to date on the laws for advertising for these events. You don’t want your event to be shut down because you didn’t follow regulations!
2. Uploading food photos to Instagram
If you’re looking to promote your restaurant business on social media, Instagram is a great platform to use. Post images of your food, drinks, restaurant, events, and patrons. But make sure you sell your dishes by taking pictures that look appetizing and making sure the lighting is good. You can also get diners involved by asking them to post their pictures using your hashtag or tagging you in the photo.
3. Build a functional website
Many restaurants don’t have websites, or if they do have one, it’s not done correctly and thus fails to attract customers. An effective restaurant website should be easy to find, look good, and include your contact information. It should also feature your complete food and drink menu. Your menu will often need to be searched for online, so not having that information on your website can dissuade people from coming in.
You can use a web builder to create your restaurant’s website or opt to hire a web designer. A straightforward and user-friendly website doesn’t have to be expensive. Additionally, you can allow customers to place orders online for pick-up if you desire.
4. Advertise on Google with geo-targeting
Advertising on Google is a cost-effective way to find new customers. If you are selling a niche food product, you can target your annual advertising budget to only people who live in the area of your restaurant. Simply enter a set of specific post codes and Google will display your ad only to those people.
You can also increase your food sales by running online and mobile ads. You should only target your specific town and county. Your ads shouldn’t be displayed to mobile users in Texas if your restaurant is in New York. Furthermore, you should use particular times of the day for your ads since you wouldn’t want them to appear at 1 am when you closed at 10 pm. Target your keywords based on the type of food and where your business is located.
5. Catering Services
Concentrating on your catering services will allow you to develop your brand and build your reputation. Having special events at your restaurant or catering them at other sites can help you maintain your sales. Several gatherings require good quality catering food, including weddings, parties, corporate events, and school events. Make sure you have a variety of portions for your menu items, so you can accommodate small and large parties. There is no doubt that offering catering services are an important part of keeping your catering business active and healthy.
6. Family Meal Platters
One way to potentially bring in more business on typically slower days of the week is by offering family-sized take-out meals. For example, an Italian restaurant could do this in one of two ways: either have five staple menu items available for the family platter portion of the menu that can be ordered any day at any time or offer a set single choice on one or two days a week (usually Monday or Tuesday). This could help maintain sales during the slower days of the week.
Restaurant Marketing Tips Summed Up,
There are tons of different ways to increase your food and beverage sales. All it takes is a small bit of effort to put all these things into practice, and your weekly sales will start to skyrocket! One easy way to increase your sales is to increase the amount of advertising you do. Put up some new signage or banners, or consider having your food truck roll around town. Another way to increase your sales is to offer more specials and discounts. By applying all of these different restaurant marketing tips, you will see your food and beverage sales skyrocket.
See how you stack up against your competitors by looking at their marketing and taking a look at their websites. Let 2023 be your best year yet for your restaurant business, and make it a memorable one!