Many establishments fail due to insufficient or poor advertising. In this post we want to leave some tips so that establishments can advertise within their community and on the web.
One of the most important things is determining who you want as a customer. Who do you want to bring to your restaurant. Are you sports fans who want to see the ‘big game’ in your establishment? Or are they working adults who are more interested in specialty drinks? Maybe your restaurant is more family-oriented? Although you’ll want to serve everyone, it’s important to narrow down your target audience to get started.
Create a website
Consumers overwhelmingly search for stores on their phones or computers for information on business hours, directions, and availability. Make sure your restaurant has an online presence and can answer basic questions like location, hours, and even reservation management. Fortunately, having a personal website doesn’t have to cost you a lot, if at all.
WordPress and other developers allow a business owner to customize their website from scratch.
Customers typically want to see menus, prices, hours, photos, and learn about the atmosphere in your restaurant before making the decision to sit down and eat there. Include all of this on your website and make it easily accessible in your online listings.
Include a map of your location. It is also important to mention where customers can park once they arrive. Try implementing the Google Maps widget on your website so that customers can instantly click and be directed to your restaurant using the Google Maps driving directions.
In the reservations section include a phone number that people can call to make reservations or a link to applications to reserve their table online.
Don’t forget to include your social networks, so visitors can continue to interact with you.
Claim your business profiles online
Google, Yelp, and TripAdvisor have created free platforms for businesses to list their information in order to create the best possible user experience. Register your restaurant on these search engines.
Join the local chamber of commerce
The communities have a local chamber of commerce. Ask for your restaurant to appear on your website. They often provide some free resources for local businesses, such as promotional materials and marketing tips, to help you get your restaurant off the ground.
Also, being linked to an organization, such as a chamber of commerce, creates credibility for your business.
Build partnerships
A great way to network and advertise your business is to build relationships with other businesses in the community.
You can offer your venue to different organizations or local groups. Everyone wants an attractive place to hold meetings. They will order food and tell others where they hold their meetings, leaving more people wanting to do the same.
In addition, other synergies may occur within the neighborhood. Other businesses may offer discounts to promote their establishment within their reach.
Organize cooking classes
Show off your skills by organizing cooking classes at your restaurant. Share it on social media, post brochures and spread the word. This is a very good way to build loyalty.
Satisfaction survey
A great form of free advertising is to create customer comment cards as a way to evaluate your restaurant’s service, while also helping you collect names, email addresses, and dates of birth that you can later use to produce bells. You can send discounts to customers when their birthday approaches or send messages with announcements and special offers.
Your restaurant must be active on social media. This is an incredibly beneficial way to promote brand awareness and harness the power of “shares” and “likes” on the Internet. Set up a Facebook page, an Instagram account, a YouTube account, etc. and share. Make sure to keep these accounts active with at least one post weekly.
Some ideas to share on social networks: Your food, New menu items, Offers, Customer favorites (tag them!)
You can organize photo contests among your followers that they can easily participate in just by tagging your restaurant on their Instagram posts for example. Your customers can win a prize that you set at the same time as you get promoted!
Print brochures and distribute them
Brochures still have great power in attracting audiences from your community. Design a brochure for your restaurant that promotes your menu, an offer or event so that it can be made known to the community.
Write a blog
Blogs are great tools for boosting SEO, as well as providing useful content that you want to promote about your restaurant. It’s about providing valuable content to customers. You could share practical cooking content and recipe video tutorials.