When running a restaurant, you will have goals and margins you need to hit over the coming weeks, months, and years. When all is said and done, most of this comes down to money and increasing your revenue. When you increase revenue, you increase your profit (depending on costs) and this allows you more funds for marketing or just improving your business as a whole. On a more basic level, more revenue allows you to keep trading for a longer period of time.
Nowadays, we are aware that some marketing techniques are just too expensive. If you are a small business, you might not be able to afford TV ads and huge billboards but these aren’t necessary as long as you are clever. Below, we have compiled a list of the 12 best tips we have seen through the years. If you want to be successful in 2017, follow this advice and you won’t go far wrong!
Snapchat Geofilters – Driven primarily by millennials, these filters are like overlays that show location or even branding. With this, pictures will be sent between friends and they show where they are located. For example, your customers could snap a picture of their meal before sending it to friends with the overlay. Not only does the meal look appetizing, all who receive the meal will know where to buy it from.
Direct Mail – Whilst technology brings huge benefits, you should never forget the roots of marketing because there is still something to be said for direct mail. Considering it can be extremely affordable, it is superb for restaurants because it is the locals you want to convert into regular customers. If you add coupons to the mail, you will have the attention of the community and this can only be a good thing.
Influencer Marketing – On every social media platform, we have what we call ‘influencers’ and these are people will a huge following. Since they have so much support, their followers trust what is being said and they have a certain influence over the market (hence the name). As a restaurant, you will be in a great position if you can have the influencer talking about your brand. Because the followers trust the word of the influencer, you will gain credibility if they enter your restaurant.
Sometimes, people say that this is hard to do but it can all begin with a simple message. When contacting them, say that you love their blog and that you think they will enjoy your food. From here, you can make arrangements if they show an interest; of course, the influencer needs to be in the food niche.
Delivery – Sure, you might not have the manpower to deliver yourself but there are now superb services that act as the middleman. If your locals enjoy your food, there are services that will deliver to homes and businesses on your behalf. Although they will receive a cut, these are customers you wouldn’t have otherwise had. If you can afford it, having someone visiting local homes and businesses can be a good move because you are actively marketing your brand.
Social Media – Every day, we spend millions of hours on social media but you cannot just expect people to visit your restaurant after one little post. Instead, you need to be creative by starting competitions or providing genuinely interesting content. If you move away from the pure advertising posts, you will capture the imagination of your followers. Furthermore, the funny or clever posts will also see more shares and then people will be interested in your brand. When you just post about your business, everyone gets bored (even you!) so be creative.
Coupon Drops – For landlords, they are always looking to add more value to their tenants because this allows them to justify the price. Therefore, get in contact and offer them a coupon drop program. As long as they live locally, you can regularly drop coupons and special offers and all those inside the building can benefit.
Text Marketing – Nowadays, we have our mobile phones permanently attached to our bodies in some way or another. If you utilize text messaging, you can persuade your existing customers to come back. As long as you don’t spam their mobile phones, you can be helpful with great offers and rewards.
Email Marketing – Despite now being considered an ‘old’ piece of technology, people still check their emails nearly every day so this is a great location to drop some advertising. Once again, you can send special offers or email-only deals for all the customers who have provided their email address.
Radio – Although you can benefit from paying for a radio spot, you will benefit even more from a long-term relationship with a station. Therefore, why not get in touch and see what you can do together? As well as sponsoring their events, you could create a combined Facebook contest, live on-air promotions, live broadcasting, ad vans, and more. In recent times, radio has received a lot of negativity but it is something we still listen to in cars and offices regularly.
Special Events – With some restaurants, the regulars stop coming because every night is exactly the same and you can’t blame them for this. If you want to recapture the attention of your locals, hold special events where certain demographics receive a cheaper dinner. For example, we recently saw one restaurant doing a ‘Daddy/Daughter night’ where all dads and daughters received a discount from their meals. Additionally, you could do ‘End of Week Friday’, ‘Wine Wednesday’, or whatever you fancy!
Give Back – If you operate within a community, the locals will love it when you give something back. As an example, you could run an event for a local charity or even for a local school. Online, you can advertise this event and you suddenly become a leader in the community.
Watch the Competition – Finally, we never advise copying the competition in your niche but you can certainly watch what they are doing. As well as their menu, you can also assess their marketing techniques and special offers; they could be advertising on a local website and seeing success!
There we have it, some simple steps for increasing your revenue. If you combine a few of these tips, you could start seeing more customers very soon and, with any hope, they will become long-term visitors to boost revenue!