A huge number of restaurants across the world have shut down permanently due to the losses caused by Covid-19. As per the report by Forbes, a majority of the permanently closed restaurants were well-established operations for at least 16 years.
The more shocking fact is that 16% of them had been open for at least 30 years. Thus, it has become an imperative to choose the best marketing strategies for increasing customer footfalls at your restaurant. Listing 9 best marketing strategies for restaurants.
Social media marketing
Create a business profile of your restaurant on social media platforms such as Instagram and Facebook. Most of the millennial customers choose a restaurant based on its Instagram presence. As per the report by social media today, 30% of millennial diners actively avoid restaurants with a weak Instagram presence. Post high quality images and videos of the signature dishes and engage more with your diners. In the bio, include details such as hours of operation, location, menu and the link to your website.
Rope in food bloggers and influencers
Reach out to local food bloggers and influencers and invite them to your restaurants. Offer them your signature dishes for free of cost. A rave review by an eminent food blogger can change your fortunes overnight. Just imagine your restaurant getting featured in the list of top 3 pizzas in town.
Customise loyalty programs
An attractive loyalty program attracts your existing customers to make repeated visits at your restaurant. Digital restaurant platforms such as inresto loyalty help you customise the loyalty programs based on the number of visits or amount spent. Instant reward redemption is another attractive feature. The diners can redeem rewards for freebies or discounts.
Leverage online ordering
With the outbreak of Cooovid-19, customers have become hesitant to visit restaurants. As per Forbes.com, prior to the pandemic 69% of the consumers ordered delivery, but that number has grown to a staggering 88% during the pandemic. Build your own website and online ordering platform so that you can cash in on the online ordering boom. Also have tie-ups with third party food ordering platforms such as Swiggy, Zomato etc.
Host events
Play host to various events such as artistic performances, product launches, or karaoke nights. Ensure that the news about the event reaches to as many people as possible. Publicise and market the events so well that it will compel your customers to attend the event. In addition to your regular customers, hosting an event will also attract many potential customers.
Listing on Google My Business
It’s quite common nowadays for customers to search for the restaurant details on Google. Thus have a Google My Business listing with all the details such as the exact location, the contact phone numbers and the hours of operation. Encourage customers to post reviews about your restaurant. Positive reviews can attract a lot of new customers.
Right pricing
Before pricing the dishes on your menu, conduct a thorough research on the location, food cost and prices charged by competitors. Another important consideration is your target segment of customers. If you are targeting college students, then it’s better to go for a low priced menu. On the contrary, if your restaurant is situated in a posh locality housing affluent people, then the prices charged can be on the higher side.
E-mail marketing
For promotional messages that are lengthy in nature, e-mail marketing would be the best option. Also send periodical newsletters updating your customers about the latest happenings at your restaurant.
SMS marketing
Since you have the phone numbers of all your customers readily available in the POS, sent SMS to all them about the latest offers. Include weblinks for online ordering in the message so that it will lead to more traffic to your website.
Parting Words
In these times of cutthroat competition, conventional marketing methods will no longer help in attracting new customers. In this digital era, customers have become choosier while visiting a restaurant. They rely more on reviews posted by other diners in social media before making a final choice. The 9 marketing techniques discussed above will no doubt help boost customer footfalls at your restaurant.
