So, after being encouraged by your family and friends whom you usually cook for, you decided to take a loan and use your savings to set up your restaurant. You found a right spot in the city for your restaurant, but the business hasn’t been picking up that much. Despite having customers who critically praise your food and compare it favorably against dozens of other restaurants in the vicinity, you’re barely breaking even.
To increase your restaurant’s exposure, you try to buy ad space at your local newspaper, it seemed to help, but a drive around your city shows that other restaurants that are even located further away from the city center are a lot busier than your restaurant. So, let’s explore other ways that you can promote your restaurant:
Marketing has evolved, and you have to accept it. It’s not enough to rely on paper or even radio ads. There are two reasons why you should go for online marketing: your potential customers are there, and your competition is, as well.
Build A Website and Showcase Your Restaurant
Your first step into online marketing would be setting up a website. It doesn’t have to be super fancy or technical. Just stick to the basics: let your customers know your restaurants’ name, where it is, its menu or food offerings, and how to contact you. Later on, you can add functions such as online reservations. Your website should have photos of your restaurant, and, more importantly, the food you’re offering. Make sure that you also put your restaurant on google maps and other local maps online to make your restaurant easier to find, not just for locals but for tourists and even food bloggers.
Social Media Presence and Promotions
It’s not enough to stick to your website. Majority of your potential customers have social media and even search for places to eat using social media platforms. So create your own social media page, fill it with your menu, information, and food. You can even spice things up by making promos such as offering discounts or freebies for those who share your restaurant’s page or photos.
Encourage Reviews and Sharing
Word of mouth is still one of the best and effective marketing strategies. You can sign up your restaurant on YELP and other food review websites and encourage your customers to share their feedback about your food, service, and overall dining experience. More positive reviews would rake in more customers in no time.
Take Advantage of Flood Bloggers
Popular food bloggers review and post about the places they eat. Those that follow these bloggers will end to try out these places themselves if they’re positively reviewed. So try and contact food bloggers and invite them to have a meal and review your restaurant.
Conclusion
Business marketing and promotions have migrated towards the internet, and for a good reason: your customers are online, and so are your competition. Although some people still read the newspaper and magazines and get food recommendations through paper ads, there’s no denying that more people opt to search for products and services online. If you’re not tech-savvy, don’t worry, you can always hire a digital marketing services agency to help put your restaurant’s name online, optimize and beautify your website, and make your business more visible in search engines and social media.
