The food and restaurant industry is highly competitive and today’s customers have no dearth of choices when it comes to selecting an eatery for dining. So, as restaurant owners, it is highly imperative that you adopt novel marketing strategies and tactics if you want to attract more customers, increase overall sales and grow your restaurant business.

The pandemic has further changed the way the industry works and thus significantly increased the competition level. Previously, as a solely brick-and-mortar business, it was challenging to understand customers and their purchase patterns as not much data was available. However, trends have changed in how consumers discover new restaurants and engage with the overall dining experience. New tools are constantly being developed that will enable you to expand your customer base, enhance the dining experience, and consequently help you grow your restaurant business.

In this article, we will be discussing some innovative restaurant marketing strategies that will help you help you attract more customers and increase restaurant sales. Some of these ideas can be implemented virtually or in person, and you can adapt them over time as you move through the different stages of your growth journey. But no matter your approach, these strategies can definitely help you give a boost to your restaurant business. So, without any further delay, let’s begin!

10 Restaurant Marketing Strategies to Increase Sales

Invest in innovative marketing strategies

In today’s digitally connected world, you cannot always expect traditional marketing strategies for your restaurant branding. Try new strategies like Facebook or Instagram ads or build an ecommerce website to start offering online shopping. Once you have tried these different marketing techniques, you can evaluate and find out what works best for your restaurant marketing.

Turn your existing customers into promoters

Your existing customers can be your most faithful promoters. If you treat them well, they will spread the word about how good your establishment is. You can use your customer database to get this information. With this data, you can recommend their favorites, or ask them to try something new. Retention of customers is one of the most effective strategies to grow your restaurant business.

Build a custom audience of website visitors

With the help of Facebook’s pixel on your website, your organization can track who visits a specific page and convert them into a custom audience. This is extremely powerful as you will be directly advertising to an audience that is already interested in your brand and services.

Participate in local events

By getting involved in local activities, you can create strong relationships with the people in your community. You could put up a stand or a kiosk at a local event or conduct different activities where your customers can learn more about your establishment and what you have got to offer. Apart from restaurant branding, this is also an opportunity to meet your client face-to-face. This instills a higher probability of having them as regular customers.

Optimize your menu

This is restaurant marketing 101. If your menu is just a usual combination of apps, mains, and desserts, it might be time for a major revamp. An appetizing and exotic menu generates curiosity and builds a fresher brand image among your customers. It could be a simple step of renaming a classic dish or placing your highest-margin items in places where the customer’s gaze will first meet the menu.

Reward your customers’ loyalty

Leverage a customer loyalty program to find out the existing customers who are returning to your restaurant. This restaurant marketing strategy will ensure that every time your client comes back, you will have an increased chance of having positive reviews about your restaurant. This is one of the most effective strategies to grow your restaurant business. Your customers will most likely prefer your brand when they know that they have a discount to take advantage of.

Build your email list

Email marketing is another relevant and effective strategy to promote your business and market new products and launches. These days, everyone wants to connect their laptops, phone, or tablets whenever possible. So, offering free Wi-Fi in exchange for customers’ email IDs will help you expand your email list. Also, you can include an attractive signup form on your website by highlighting the benefits of becoming a member. If you have an application, you can also encourage them to download that.  

Establish an active social media presence

Chances are that most of your customers are active on social media. And therefore, you should be too. To develop your restaurant business, it is important to be where your customers are. So, ensure you are set up with a Facebook business page, an Instagram account, and a Twitter account. These platforms offer amazing opportunities to promote your daily specials and share enticing food images.

Read more: Here’s a quick guide to crafting the best content for social media marketing in 2022

Offer online ordering options

Online shopping for food has become a very popular practice now as most people now prefer to order food at home. Offering online food delivery will help you reach out to potential customers and thus increase your audience base. It also makes your brand more discoverable online as people will be able to order right from their smartphones or computers.

Using analytics to understand your customer base

There are several online marketing tools available in the market to manage your digital marketing efforts and grow your restaurant business. Of these, the most beneficial options are the ones that offer analytics and reporting features like Google Analytics, YouTube Analytics, Facebook Audience Insights, etc. You can use the data obtained from these tools to discover demographic information on website visitors, find out which keywords and channels are driving the most traffic, and understand where people are interacting with your search ads.

Wrapping Up

With so many restaurants competing for customer attention and constantly working to engage customers in new and unique ways, it is evident that you need to adopt novel ways and strategies to market your brand and grow your restaurant business. By engaging with consumers in new ways using mobile applications, social media marketing, and technology-driven rewards programs, your brand will be able to reach potential customers.

If you are ready to revamp your restaurant marketing strategies and give a boost to your sales, go ahead, pick one approach from this list, and implement it today. If you are looking for professional help to get started, get in touch. We have a skilled team of digital marketers who have experience in dealing with restauranters and helping them craft the perfect digital marketing strategies. Contact us now!