Restaurant Marketing
Promoting Your Restaurant to Maximize Profits
Restaurant marketing is both a science and an art. It requires creativity, intensive research and a lot of effort.
In order to succeed in a cutthroat sales environment, owners and managers need to know everything they can about marketing a restaurant so they can gain an edge over the competition.
Top Ten Lists
Successful Marketing Strategies at Work
27% of adults say that they are paying more attention to coupons and value specials than they were two years ago, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Restaurant Marketing Basics
Restaurant Marketing Glossary
Worried that viral marketing might give you some kind of disease? Learn the meaning of key marketing terms in our easy-to-use
Restaurant Marketing Glossary.
Did You Know?
51% of full-service diners said they would order delivery from a full-service restaurant if it was offered, according to the National Restaurant Association.
Menu Marketing
Your menu is the most influential marketing tool for your restaurant. Make sure that it is optimally designed to market your menu items and support your restaurant's concept.
- Menu Design
Your menu is one of your most important marketing tools. Learn how to develop, write and design a menu that customers will remember for the right reasons.
- Marketing a Healthy Menu
More than 75% of adults look for healthy menu items when they eat out. Learn practical tips for marketing to this segment.
- Creating a Kids' Menu
Developing a menu for children is not as easy as it sounds. Learn how to design a menu that is fun, practical and appeals to a child's picky palette.
Getting Started
If you want your marketing campaigns to succeed, first make sure you have educated yourself on the basics of successful restaurant marketing. Then you will be ready to select, implement and assess the best marketing techniques to promote your restaurant.
- Restaurant Marketing 101
The hardest part about restaurant marketing is knowing where to begin. Start by educating yourself and developing an actionable plan. Learn the proper steps to develop a truly successful marketing strategy.
- Restaurant Branding and Design
A consistent and unique design concept will increase brand awareness and recognition of your restaurant while highlighting your selling points. Learn the best ways to develop branding for your restaurant.
- Analyzing the Local Market
In order to successfully market your restaurant, you should always be looking around. By analyzing the local market in which you do business, you can determine the best ways to attract customers and beat your direct competition.
- Making the Most of Demographic Data
The people who live and work around your restaurant likely share certain characteristics. By analyzing their age, income level, size of household and other factors that influence purchasing decisions, you can best decide how to market yourself to them.
- Gauging Your Restaurant’s Competition
A successful restaurant must always know what the competition is doing in order to survive in the market. Learn how to analyze your competitors and gain an edge over them.
- Creating Repeat Customers at Your Restaurant
Repeat customers are your restaurant’s best resource. If you spend the majority of your marketing budget trying to attract new patrons, learn why you should switch tactics to attract the regulars.
- Assessing Your Marketing Promotions
Do not waste your time or money on marketing that does not work. Learn how to assess the success or failure of your promotions and marketing strategies.
Restaurant Marketing Tactics
Quick Tips
Use discounting in moderation. When you discount, customers perceive your product as a lower value. If you offer too many discounts, they will no longer be willing to pay full price.
Contribute to the community. If your restaurant gives, it will receive customer loyalty in return. In fact, 52% of adults say they are more likely to patronize a restaurant that supports charities and helps the local community, according to the National Restaurant Association.
The Art of Upselling
Upselling encourages existing customers to purchase more items from your restaurant. Training your staff to upsell is the quickest way to increase your profits without spending a cent on advertising.
- Top 10 Tips for Successful Up-Selling
Increasing the average customer check size through upselling can always help profits. Find out how you can implement a successful upselling strategy in your restaurant.
- Restaurant Up-Selling
Upselling is one of the quickest and easiest ways to improve profits without making a single investment. Learn the best suggestive selling techniques, so you can train servers and cashiers to help increase your sales.
- Up-Selling Wine
Upselling wine is more than just a quick way to improve profits. It is an essential aspect of quality customer service in an up-scale restaurant. Learn how to successfully sell wine to customers.
Internet Marketing
Technology is advancing every day. Use strategic internet marketing to ensure that your restaurant’s sales will keep up with the times.
Key Strategies
There are many tactics you can incorporate into your restaurant marketing plan. Implement a range of both traditional and modern techniques to create a well-rounded marketing strategy.
- Direct Marketing Campaigns for Restaurants
To circumvent the newspaper, billboards and other marketing mediums, you can implement a direct marketing campaign and get your promotions straight to the customers.
- Target Marketing for Restaurants
Different consumers have different tastes, and you cannot market to everyone. Learn how to best develop your marketing strategies to target a specific segment of the population.
- Marketing Your Restaurant as Eco-Friendly
Going green can get you a lot of business if you know how to promote your eco-friendly qualities. Learn the best way to market yourself as a green leader in your community.
- Merchandising, POP Displays and Advertising
Learn how to increase your sales and strengthen your restaurant’s brand awareness with merchandising, POP displays and advertising inside the doors of your restaurant.
- Take-Out and Delivery Marketing
Customers appreciate the convenience of takeout and delivery services at a restaurant. Learn how to market these operations to ensure that your takeout and delivery business thrives.
- Restaurant Merchandise
Selling non-food items is a great way to improve your restaurant’s profits. Find out why you should start selling merchandise, and learn how to begin.
- Local Store Marketing for Restaurants
Most of your good customers live within a five mile radius. Implement some personal marketing and PR strategies to become an integral member of the community, and they will thank you with their patronage.
- Paid Restaurant Advertising
Restaurants who want to attract tourists or new customers may have a good reason to buy an ad. Learn whether advertising is right for you, as well as how and when to advertise.
- Bringing Families to Your Restaurant
Restaurants that hope to attract families should gear their marketing to both parents and children. Learn how to promote family-friendly concepts while keeping everyone happy.
- Attracting Tourists to a Restaurant
The travel and food service industries are closely related. If you are near a tourism hub or hope to attract out-of-towners to your restaurant, discover the best ways to market yourself to tourists.
Restaurant Promotions
Offering customers an incentive to come to your restaurant is an essential aspect of any good marketing plan. Whether you run a bar, quick-service or fine-dining establishment, you should put on the right promotions to influence your customers’ purchasing.
- Restaurant Contests and Giveaways
Giving your customers the chance to participate in a contest or giveaway is a great way to keep them coming to your restaurant. Find out how your establishment can host one.
- Restaurant Loyalty Programs
Loyal customers will bring their friends and spread the word about your restaurant. Learn how to encourage customer loyalty by rewarding repeat patronage.
- Bounceback Promotions
Getting people through the door a second time is one of the most difficult steps in creating a loyal customer base. Find out how bouncebacks can turn new customers into repeat customers.
- Happy Hour Marketing Promotions
Whether or not your restaurant has a bar, you can use a happy hour promotion to increase customer satisfaction and improve sales during slow hours.
- Viral Marketing Promotions
By making use of pre-existing social and professional networks, you can market your restaurant without spending a penny. Learn how to create marketing messages that will spread on their own.