So you have an incredible menu, stylish interior, and world-class customer service. That should be enough to get people through the door of your restaurant, right?
Wrong. The failure rate in the restaurant business is 60% in the first year of opening. One of the main reasons new restaurants fail? A poor marketing strategy.
If you are opening a new restaurant, you need a solid plan to get those leads to become regular customers. Keep reading to find out about the most significant marketing mistake of restaurants.
1. Not Following Brand Standards
To make your restaurant stand out from all the others in your neighborhood, you want to have a strong brand.
A slick logo and well-designed website will work wonders at getting people to believe you are the real deal. If your online presence is professional, your potential customers will see you know what you are talking about.
Maintain a consistent brand voice across your channels to ace your restaurant marketing strategy.
2. Lack of Structured Budget Plan for Social Media
To be successful with social media, you need a strong strategy. Hire someone with the right expertise to take care of your social media advertising.
You won't waste money on advertising to people who would never visit your restaurant if the person running your advertising knows what they're doing.
Being creative with social media is another way to build some hype around your restaurant opening. Run some giveaways, invite some content creators to come and eat at the restaurant. This will produce some expertly created content you can use in future marketing campaigns.
3. Not Targeting the Right Segments
Say you are opening a vegan health food restaurant; you don't want to waste time and money advertising to meat lovers.
Use your targeting wisely to promote yourself to the right demographic. Is your restaurant in the US? Then why are you showing ads to people in Australia?
4. Not Building a Customer Database
Building a list of loyal customers is an important marketing strategy you should utilize. You can then give these customers VIP access to special events or discounts.
If you have the email address of your clients, you have a direct line of communication and can send them updates. This will encourage them to come back and visit again!
5. Underutilizing Social Media
Don't underestimate how powerful social media is for promoting a restaurant. There are so many different social channels and ways to find your audience online.
Advertise your social channels in the restaurant, encourage people to post about you while they are there. This will spread the word organically and mean less work for you!
The growing trend for instagrammable restaurants should perhaps be considered when designing your interior.
Avoid the Main Marketing Mistakes of Restaurants
If you avoid the above pitfalls and marketing mistakes of restaurants, you will have a much higher chance of success.
Just because you run a physical business doesn't mean digital marketing for restaurants should be forgotten. There are numerous powerful tools online that will enable you to achieve the success you have always dreamed of.
Want to learn more about nailing your restaurant marketing strategy? Join our academy of online marketing for restaurants. We can't wait to help you realize your dream.
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