Restaurants are big business. They are our source of entertainment, fulfillment, and nourishment. We learned just how unique and valuable restaurants truly during the COVID-19 stay at home campaign. Restaurants were not only essential but a source of sanity in the insane disruption. We might not have been able to sit in our favorite restaurant but we sure could get our favorite comfort food when those times were rough. That meant everything to the consumer.
Prior to COVID-19, there were over 1 million restaurants in the United States alone. The competition is fierce. Marketing is the one way to set your restaurant apart. Everyone is Marketing but there are right ways and wrong ways to go about it. Most restaurants simply promote their specials. Great strategy ten years ago when the other restaurants were just promoting their names but today the consumer wants more.
Restaurant Marketing: How does that work?
Take a look at the way a great restaurant operates. The restaurant provides food that is unique and
different from other restaurants serving the same style. A great restaurant entertains by providing music or beautiful experience. Beyond that, the greatest restaurants engage the customer with one on one attention.
Your marketing should mimic this. You need to provide a campaign that is unique and different. Something the consumer has not seen from your competitors. Your marketing should entertain by giving some type of experience to the consumer. And lastly your campaign needs to feel personal and gratuitous. If you are a great restaurant, then your consumer expects nothing less than a great marketing experience!
Achieve the Greatness
The Ad:
You could build an ad within Facebook/Instagram, Email, Direct Mail or any of our other channels. For the purpose of this blog, we will focus on Facebook and Instagram. The ad should encompass
all the components of our campaign in a snapshot. You will want a beautiful graphic featuring your logo and your prized food options. The tone of the ad should be warm and friendly followed by an invitation to not only join you for a meal but you want to share some favor with them at this meal such as a free appetizer or dessert. This invitation will generate intrigue.
Assign Source Tracking Links:
Your Facebook ad will run algorithms to determine who to show these ads to. But you can also market directly for yourself. You can assign source tacking links to all your employees and ask them to share your ad you will inject your own share marketing leads in the Facebook universe. You could hire or find a social media influencer to promote your ad with their own source tracking link. These source tracking links are huge additions to get the word out there and knowing where your interest on social media is coming from. Facebook ads algorithms can possibly fall flat in comparison to a local celebrity posting about your top-notch restaurant and to overzealous employees motivated to win some type of prize.
Landing Page:
Direct your Facebook/Instagram ad to a landing page. Here you will reiterate your gift and beautiful imagery as well as share more information about your restaurant. We are layering the information. Creating an experience along the way which is solidifying a connection between you and the consumer. This landing page will request some details such as name and phone number followed by a survey if you so chose to obtain even more information.
Confirmation and Social Sharing:
Thank your consumer by name for participating. Be gratuitous with a gift and ask for a small favor in return. Request the consumer share the post themselves, spreading the word about your campaign. You can offer things such as a percentage off a bill or being placed in a drawing for free appetizers for year. This step is where you are confirming a relationship was built with your consumer as well as getting some additional marketing in.
There are a million ways to make a successful marketing campaign in DMio but this is just one example. It is easy to fit to any restaurant and flow very nicely. Try to build one today and let us know how it turn out!!
