If you own a restaurant, work in the industry, or simply enjoy a night out at your favorite eatery now and then you’re bound to notice the basic marketing gears grinding away. A large sign or two posted out front, a handful of media ads, and an engaging Facebook page are pretty standard stuff when it comes to restaurant promotion. Many restaurants stop once they’ve covered the basics, and in doing so bypass a whole world of marketing opportunities that can build relationships as well as revenue. It’s not missing out if you don’t know it exists, so we’ve uncovered a handful of non-food related marketing opportunities for you that often go untapped.
Play it loud and in person. Hosting live music draws in a crowd, no doubt about it, especially if the music being played is familiar and fun. A good way to involve your customers in more than just your restaurant’s bottom line is to give them the chance of weighing in on what kind of music gets played. Open up social media channels to take suggestions and spread the word. Friends from out of town invited by fans from in town are great potential customers!
Go green. Going green applies to food practices as well as energy efficiency and operating your restaurant equipment responsibly. While it may cost a little to have your restaurant outfitted with environmentally conscious appliances and fixtures, going green has an overall perceived value that most customers fully embrace. Making an effort to impact your establishment, not to mention your community, is a good way to gain media coverage and attract like-minded customers.
Claim your places page on Google. If you’ve got an address attached to your business you’ve got a Google Places page. Claim this page as your own. Adding pictures and including good information about your restaurant, and making sure this information is correct and that your pictures promote the atmosphere you cultivate, is crucial if you want to get noticed when people are searching for local eateries. A great way to get people talking about your restaurant is to offer a discount or a freebie for comments and reviews left on your Places page.
Partner up. Let’s get personal and whittle down the economic waves to those of your city and community. Everyone’s struggling and riding those waves as best they can, so why not ride them together and all benefit from pooled resources? Joining forces and hosting a special event or fundraiser, splitting costs on expensive billboards or ads, and referring customers back and forth can be extremely beneficial to all parties involved, especially if your partner is not in direct competition with you.
Value through VIP. Let’s face it, people love getting recognized in a positive light. Take advantage of this by creating a VIP club for your most loyal customers. Feeling like they’ve been given access to aspects of your restaurant that aren’t available to everyone, VIP members tend to stay longer and come back more frequently. But a stellar VIP club doesn’t just offer a 5% discount on every purchase. Instead implement some outside-the-box ideas that are meant to impress. VIP should be more than coupon clipping and hole punching. Treat your best customers well and they’ll treat you well in return.
Offer free wi-fi. Easy to set up and fairly inexpensive, wi-fi is an excellent way to draw customers in and give them that home-away-from-home vibe that’s become so valuable. Don’t look at free wi-fi as a game changer though, expecting droves of new technologically-inclined customers to flood your eatery. View it more as a casual perk that isn’t offered everywhere. Being able to check e-mail while munching some lunch, or finish a project while enjoying a 2 hour dinner, can be priceless to some customers.
E-mail market like a pro. In today’s digital age it’s very simple to create and maintain a customer e-mail list. Done right, and with a little bit of personalized flair, e-mail marketing and promotion can help drive customers through your door regularly. Give them something to look forward to (determine how frequently you should send e-mails without getting the “this is SPAM, delete” impulse) and offer some real value in each e-mail and you’ll be happy with the results. Just make sure people sign up for your list and that you’re not sending random promotions to someone living 4 states away who has never heard of you.
This is only skimming the surface when it comes to innovative ways you can market your restaurant. There is an ocean of information out there that deals with fun technology, trendy design ideas, and think-outside-the-box success stories. Be sure to read part 1 of this 2-part post to discover food-related marketing opportunities!
Andrew Call provides blog insights regarding restaurant management and marketing at The Back Burner, which is written by the employees of Tundra Specialties, a company specializing in restaurant supply, parts, and a wide variety of food service equipment and sundries.
