Seven Tips for Marketing Your Restaurant in 2020

Your restaurant marketing determines your restaurant’s success, especially during the pandemic. Life is difficult for so many industries but with the right steps, you can increase your sales, especially if you think outside of the box.

Here are seven tips for marketing your restaurant in 2020.

Create a Website

Everyone uses the internet to make decisions today, including restaurant decisions. If customers can’t view your menu and read about your restaurant online, chances are they will pass you up.

Your website can be as simple or as elaborate as you want. Think of it as your chance to show off what you do well. What do customers love the most about your restaurant? Try to capture that in photographs and videos. This is your time to shine.

In addition to photographs and videos, make sure your website includes a menu, online ordering capabilities, and a room for customer reviews.

Be Active on Social Media

Get your restaurant on every social media site including Facebook, Instagram, and even Tik Tok. Not only is this a chance to show off your food and drink, but there’s no better way to spread the word (for free) than when people share your social media posts.

Make your posts engaging, exciting (hot offers), and informative. Create a good balance between behind-the-scenes posts, hot deals, and pictures/videos of your favorite food and drink.

Don’t make your social media too salesly, make it the perfect balance between infuriate and sales.

Set up a Customer Loyalty Program

Nothing encourages customers to become loyal customers than a loyalty program. When they can get free items, they’ll be more likely to frequent your restaurant.

Set up your loyalty program and advertise it by offering something free or a small discount on their first purchase. For example, offering a free drink or free cookie with sign up probably doesn’t cost you much, but gets many more people interested in your program.

Set up Daily Specials

Now is a great time to entice customers with daily specials. Make it fun! Taco Tuesday and Margarita Monday are just a couple of ideas. Get creative with the food you offer and make daily specials.

If you want to switch them up, play with the weather, the day (look at the National Days schedule) and make your specials around those items. It brings awareness to your restaurant and gets more people to come in when they know they are getting a great deal.

Promote your Gift Cards

If your customers aren’t comfortable ordering food out right now, encourage the purchase of gift cards.

Now’s a great time to offer deals, such as Buy $100 in gift cards, get $10 free or Buy $100 in gift cards and get a free soup. Customers love anything free and it may entice them to buy your gift cards. When customers buy gift cards it’s almost a guarantee they’ll be back and they may even spend more than the value of the gift card when they are there.

Create Meal Kits and Family Meal Deals

Today everyone’s looking for a deal. If you want to make the most of your restaurant marketing efforts, create deals for large families.

Everyone is trying to save money today, but at the same time, you want them spending money at your establishment. Make it affordable for them to grab carryout or even meal kits and create special memories with their families.

Most restaurants today have family meal deals that give families everything they need in one meal for a great price. Think of soups, salads, and a meal or the main meal, drinks, and dessert.

If you want to do meal kits, create fun themes that families can do together. Fajita kits, pizza kits, and taco kits are all favorites, but of course, figure out what fits within what you offer.

Give to the Needy in your Area

Show your restaurant’s ability to care for your community by giving to the needy in your area. You can do this in several ways:

• Give away a certain number of meals. Maybe give X meals for every X number of meals purchased by customers.
• Donate unsold food at the end of the night to the local homeless shelter.
• Offer some of your products to the local food banks.

Showcase your support on social media and get your customers to join in on your efforts. You’ll show your compassion for the community and increase your sales at the same time.

Organize Events (if you can)

If your area allows events, organize one for your restaurant. Even if it’s a socially-distanced event or an in-car only event, bring the customers out.

Some restaurants rented a large movie screen and created their version of the ‘drive-in movie.’ You charge for the movie and sell specific food and drink items and you can increase your sales significantly.

Movies aren’t the only option – there are many other events you can organize even socially-distanced events if you think outside the box.

Think about what your community loves and find a way to make it happen.

Restaurant Marketing is the Key to Success

Restaurant marketing is the only way to stay competitive today. With so many people home and thousands of other restaurants vying for the same attention, you need to step up your game.

Find ways to market your restaurant so your reach goes farther and wider than ever before. Let customers know what you offer, what sales you’re having, and how you think outside to box to help the community during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Frequently Asked Questions