Attracting new customers is what every restaurant is pinning for! But as the competition in the hospitality industry is getting cut-throat, it becomes difficult for restaurants to not only find new customers but retain the existing ones as well. Combine that with an inadequate or non-existent marketing plan; you are definitely heading... NOWHERE!
Well, we would like to know from you, what are some good and exciting restaurant marketing strategies that you have come across? Is there any marketing idea by a restaurant that made you go 'wow' or turned you into its patron?
Please share your opinion as we would like to know from you and learn!
According to me, SMS Marketing is the best strategy for introducing your meals offers, combo packs prices to your customers because it doesn't require any internet connection to receive a text message.
I believe that despite the technical advancement, the most trusted way of marketing is still the conventional one. Creating a buzz in your vicinity first will help you get a stronger hold on your restaurant as there are cases when instant fame becomes difficult to handle. You can easily rely on your local visitors and customers to keep your restaurant going even in the times of trouble. Moreover, if you are able to popularize your restaurant in your locality, you can anyway spread it out to wider areas. Flyers and banners can bring in the fresh air from the past and can be brought back to vogue.
Publicity seems like a fairly good idea. If one spreads a good word about the restaurant, the chances are that the 'word by mouth' stunt actually works in the favor of the outlet. I was compelled to visit a restaurant that was situated in a shady area. However, the only thing that got me to the restaurant was one of their dish which was delicious. Had I not believed my friend's recommendation and visited a restaurant in the outskirts of the city, I would have definitely missed onto some great food. Thus, publicity and the right kind of publicity is really essential for any outlet to rise.
One of the best things that you should consider doing is to become a part of an online food ordering app. Technology is the name of the game and you need to be on top of it if you wish to be recognized outside your locality. I’m sure there might be a lot of such food ordering apps, so make sure that you subscribe and become a part of all of them. Apart from presenting your menu, you can notify the customers of any discount or offer that you’re currently offering and that would drive a lot of people towards your restraint. Now, obviously to have a successful restaurant you need to have great food, but, you can always make use of technology to get that little impetus so that more people know you and come back to your restaurant. Good Luck with your venture!
Patrons frequent those food joints that offer something extra, so in these tech-savvy times, offering Wi-Fi access could draw customers to the eatery. Recently, I came across a quite small food joint which had organized an eating competition, offering free meals to winners. Though the shop was quite close to my home, I hadn't even paid any attention to it before I heard about this event. So, if someone is looking to quickly gather some fans. This could work.
Going social, getting high-end websites developed, bringing about contests for customers, emailing, retaining old & new relations, effective and unusual outdoor adverts are a few basic strategies for restaurant marketing. What essentially made me wow.. I remember people dressed up in burger costumes promoting a restaurant in amusement parks or elsewhere! Apart from that, serving up unique and valuable experiences consistently is the key and no rocket science. But how well does a brand do that is totally their take! Not to forget, embracing the haters is a part of every campaign. Keeping these points in mind, any brand can effectively work upon creating wow-istic plans that bring them profit as well as customers.
Being able to recognize the old customers and giving them special services may be an old trick but is certainly helps in retaining those customers for a long time. A customer that has been coming to a certain restaurant for a long period would like to be treated differently and a few tokens of appreciation thrown in occasionally would not only create a bond with the place but also the employees as well. Instead of trying out new places a customer would love to stick to a familiar place because they know how good the food taste and how well the drinks are prepared. Giving them a discount will only mean more long-term profit for the establishment as word of mouth marketing works way better than any other.
Partnering with online food apps is one of the best marketing strategy used by restaurants these days. It helps the customers to find out about these restaurants online, and the reviews help them make their choices. Some restaurants have been collaborating with apps which offer cash backs on uploading the food bill. Other apps provide discount coupons to promote the restaurants and increase their foot fall.