As the world emerges from COVID-19 and goes into a high inflationary environment we look at the best restaurant marketing ideas that are working now to increase customers in your restaurant, grow your restaurant and increase your restaurant profitability.
Restaurants are still closing down – caused by hiring difficulties, wages and cost pressures, and declining dining in, so your marketing needs to be on point.
COVID-19 made 2020 and 2021 some of the most challenging years for restaurant owners. And while we are emerging from all the restrictions, 2022 isn’t getting any better either. We may no longer be dealing with a life-threatening virus, but we are still met with high inflation, supply chain issues, labor shortage, and more.
In this episode, we are looking at restaurant marketing ideas that are working now to help you ensure profitability and increase customers in your restaurant despite the circumstances we are dealing with and grow your restaurant business.
What Challenges are we Facing in the Restaurant Industry Today?
In the last two years, there’s been a whole heap of changes that occurred within the industry that is making it a lot more difficult to run a restaurant. As restaurant owners, we need to make sure we stay ahead of these challenges if we want to remain profitable. The market and the customer base is not going back to the way it used to be and the sooner we understand that the sooner we can make the necessary changes to adapt to the current situation.
Restaurant Marketing Ideas that are Working Today to Help You Overcome Today’s Challenges in the Restaurant Industry
Know Your Customers
Your customers from two years ago may not be the same people you should be catering to today. A lot of things have changed and there’s a myriad of reasons why they wouldn’t be buying from you anymore. So you should start shifting your focus to customers that would be buying from you. And the best way to do that is by looking at your current USP.
Your unique selling proposition is ultimately what determines the kind of customers you will be attracting to your restaurant. If you are struggling with a low turnout, you may need to re-evaluate and reposition your USP for it to resonate with your target audience.
Tell Your Story
Every restaurant has a story behind it. Think about the kind of story you want to tell and the audience you want to reach with it. Once you know the story, start telling it, and never stop. You don’t want to be the best restaurant that no one has ever heard of.
Tell your story with passion and tell it where people will hear it. Have it around your restaurant, post it on social media, and let everyone know what your restaurant is all about.
Costing Your Menu
Not all restaurants have costed their menus and that is one of the biggest reasons their profitability drops, especially with inflation around. You need to be looking at all the factors that may be affecting the quality of the food you’re serving, the experience your customers are getting, and the way your restaurant is making a profit out of it.
Costing your menu also means taking the dogs out of the menu. Every menu has products people don’t like and you need to identify which ones are yours, remove them, and find something else to replace them so you could attract more customers to your restaurant and eventually grow your restaurant business.
We discuss what we see working for Restaurants now, and how you can increase revenue and more importantly, increase restaurant profitability.
Have a listen to the podcast and let us know what you see as working,
Don’t forget to check out our free Restaurant Website Audits. If you think you’re missing out on your fair share of customers, maybe your web developer has made some of the common mistakes, which may not provide an ideal experience for your user. Book a free 15-minute no-obligation chat with one of our team and learn some of the best restaurant marketing ideas that are working now to find more customers and grow your restaurant.
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You don't want to be the best restaurant that no one has ever heard of.
There are 2 types of Restaurant Website visitor – those who know your Restaurant and those who don’t. If your website isn’t set up properly, your regular customers will find your site, but new customers will be going to your competitors down the road.
Our free 7 point audit is designed to help you understand if your website is is bringing in the new customers that your Restaurant deserves.