As a company that specializes in restaurant marketing, it’s fair to say that we’ve seen our fair share of mistakes. And it’s understandable — after all, people get into the restaurant business to share great food. Marketing often isn’t at the top of their priority list. But with the right help, you can avoid these costly restaurant marketing mistakes.
Let’s take a look at a few of these restaurant marketing mistakes and see what you can do instead.
7 Biggest Restaurant Marketing Mistakes We See
1. Lack of Documented Strategy
Are you a “see what time I have at the end of the day” kind of marketer? Then your marketing is most likely haphazard and inconsistent at best.
Bottom line: As boring as it might sound, you need a documented marketing strategy.
Why?
Research shows that brands with a documented marketing strategy are more likely to feel successful in marketing and achieve their goals.
The good news is that a documented strategy doesn’t have to be anything fancy.
For starters, create a buyer persona, or a general profile of your average customer. How old are they? Where do they live? Where do they work? Do they have a family or are they single? Are they on social media? These details can help you to understand who your audience is and how to best get their attention.
Next, decide where you want to focus your effort. This includes what social media networks you’ll use, whether you’ll include email or SMS marketing in your efforts, and what printed marketing mateirals you’ll invest in.
And then it’s time to create a schedule for when and how you’ll enact your strategy. This could include a regular schedule for when and what you’ll post on social media or how often you’ll send out an email newsletter.
Whatever the case may be, having this kind of plan in place will help you stick to it and ultimately see results.
2. Not Taking Full Advantage of Social Media
If you have a social media profile for your restaurant, that’s great! It’s a wonderful first step in using social media. But keep that momentum going.
Social media is all about engagement. If your last post was months or even years ago, then you need to start doing more. Post regularly — at least once a week, but ideally a few times every week. This will keep your restaurant on the minds of your customers. Include photos of your food and drink, team members, or restaurant decor. If you’re looking for some inspiration, check out this list of social media ideas.
Next, make sure to respond to comments and messages in a reasonable amount of time, ideally within a couple of hours. To help you with this, make sure that you have your social media apps installed on your phone to keep up to date with comments and messages directed toward your restaurant.
3. Ineffective or Non-existant Websites
Every restaurant — and business, for that matter — that wants to be truly successful needs a website. It’s the modern reality of the world that we live in.
To understand why this is so important, consider a few statistics…
- 77% of diners like to check a restaurant’s website before visiting.
- 90% of consumers like to research restaurants online before choosing where to dine.
Bottom line: If you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on a key chunk of your customer base.
Do you already have a website? That’s great!
But let’s make sure that your restaurant’s website is
First of all, make sure that your website has all of the information people need to know before they visit. This includes your location, hours, contact info, and menu.
Pay attention to how your website looks to visitors. It should use appealing colors, easy-to-read fonts, and, of course, images. Include high-quality photos of your most iconic dishes, as well as photos of your restaurant and staff. A tantalizing photo of one of your cheesecake could be what seals the deal.
And lastly, make sure that your restaurant is fully optimized for mobile. With so many people using their smart phones, your website should be clean and easy-to-use on mobile devices.
4. Not Using Modern Tools
The restaurant industry has blossomed in recent years, with new and innovative tools that have excited both restaurant owners and their customers.
Chief among these tools is online ordering. This allows customers to order food directly online, either from a restaurant’s website or from a mobile app. Then the order is sent to your restaurant where you can prepare it for pickup or delivery.
And with many different companies, such as our very own DevourNow, offering such tools, you no longer have to rely on big-tech, third-party solutions that demand heavy fees and commissions in order to line their own pockets.
Whatever route you choose, don’t let online ordering and other modern restaurant tools pass you by.
5. Ignoring Email or SMS Marketing
Email and SMS marketing are great ways to keep your customers engaged.
How do you get started?
It couldn’t be simpler. Just sign up for an email or SMS marketing service such as Mailchimp or SendinBlue. Then, use a simple intake form on your website to collect email addresses and/or phone numbers. Your customers will do the rest. In exchange for updates, exclusive discounts, and deals, many are happy to sign up for such emails and SMS messages.
Once you have people’s information, it’s time to craft helpful messages that both inform your audience and give them value. This value could be in the form of limited-time menu items, discounts, and specials that you’re offering.
And remember, email and SMS marketing should never feel spammy. Always strive to deliver real value in every message you send.
5. Not Promoting Earned Media
What is earned media? This is media attention that you earn rather than what you post to social media or what’s on your website. Earned media includes an article that a journalist writes about your restaurant or being included in a blog post about the top Mexican restaurants in the area.
In a nutshell, earned media allows your customer to read what someone else says about your restaurant — and that is more powerful than you might think.
Now, you might be thinking, “That sounds great — how do I get it?” Short of hiring a PR firm to work with your restaurant, this kind of media really does have to come about organically. If you have big news about your restaurant — a Michelin star rating, perhaps — you can even contact some media agencies directly.
But the real opportunity that many restaurant miss out on is when you see your restaurant featured somewhere. Perhaps you win an award or you see that you’ve been rated among the top restaurant in your area by a local food blog. Whatever the case may be, use that opportunity to promote your news. For example, you might…
- Share it on social media.
- Send out an email newsletter update about it.
- Promote the news on your website
- Include it in the signature line of your outgoing emails.
- Create a sign to hang in your restaurant.
However you choose to do it, don’t pass up the opportunity to promote that earned media — after all, you deserve it!
6. Not Measuring Your Results
No marketing strategy is a guarantee — after all, every restaurant has a unique customer base. That’s why it’s important to measure your results as you go. This will tell you what marketing tactics are working, what needs to be adjusted, and what needs to be abandoned entirely.
Analytics can also help you to see your audience’s demographics, such as age, gender, and location. This will help you better target your efforts in the future.
Every social media network has analytics that will show you how many people have viewed and interacted with your posts. It also gives you vital information about your followers. With some networks, such as Instagram, you’ll just want to make sure that you have a business account to access these metrics.
If you have a website, it’s a good idea to install some form of analytics. Google Analytics is free and a great option that shows you a lot of valuable data. If you’re looking for something more intuitive and user-friendly, you could even pay for a service like Adobe Analytics.
7. Entrusting Someone Inexperienced with Your Marketing
We’ve seen it time and time again — a restaurant owner is overwhelmed and hands off crucial marketing duties to a twenty-year-old on their waitstaff. It might sound good in theory — after all, they’re most likely on social media — but in reality, being on social media and managing a restaurant’s marketing across several channels are two very different things.
Instead, if restaurant marketing is getting too much for you, we recommend that you hire it out to an individual or agency that knows all of the ins and outs of marketing. It might cost you a little more, but it’s an investment that will pay for itself down the road.
Concluding Thoughts
Marketing is a wonderful tool that not only raises your brand profile, but also brings in new customers. That’s why it’s crucial to identify and avoid common restaurant marketing mistakes.
We hope this post has helped you to see ways to improve your own marketing strategy and succeed in your marketing efforts.
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Are you looking for assistance to create and execute a quality marketing strategy for your restaurant? We invite you to check out our digital restaurant services. Not only do we offer powerful online ordering tools, but we help our clients with high-quality websites, social media management, and the creation and deployment of email and SMS marketing campaigns.
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