Restaurant Marketing Ideas and Trends in 2019

So you have a new restaurant, or perhaps a restaurant that has been around for a while, but want to boost up sales, what do you do? To begin, you must understand restaurant marketing ideas and trends in 2019.

The fact is unless you are located in a very busy intersection, are the only restaurant around, are offering amazing food and at unbelievable prices, you have to fight competition. So here are a few things ideas and trends in restaurant marketing that can help bring the customers in.

Restaurant Advertising

I know, it is expensive and there is virtually no way of tracking the cost effectiveness of your advertising expense - unless you offer a low price special to bring them in, which no one wants to do. But, the restaurant advertisement, that is targeted to the group of customers you best serve, can be very effective. With careful planning, timing and execution, advertising can help increase your restaurant’s reputation and reach consumers who otherwise might never hear of you. Some ideas may include: the announcement of new menu items, special events and more.

Proper Targeting of Consumers

Of course, nothing is better than when customers recommend your establishment to friends and colleagues, but it’s not something you can rely on to bring in customers. That is why so many successful restaurant owners feel advertising is more effective. IN doing so, make sure to target your advertising to the people you seek.  For example, if you were a local pizzeria, your target might be young families, while if you owned a high-end restaurant, you might want to  might on attracting well-off business people.

Staying Competitive

How close are your competitors? What do they serve? How do their prices compare? Staying competitive is another reason restaurants must market themselves effectively. Regardless of what you specifically choose to do in order to bring in customers, your competitors - other restaurants, supermarkets and fast-food establishments will probably be advertising to your customers. If you don’t establish some kind of presence in your market, local consumers might assume your lack of advertising means that you are not doing as well, or are less successful than your competitors, meaning your restaurant has less to offer. While reality is important, so is the perception of potential patrons.

Increase Revenues

Yes, marketing your business can be expensive. Whether your using marketing online or offline, there are costs in time, materials and of course to pay for the eyeballs you want viewing your marketing. Effective marketing can increase your restaurants revenue, but ineffective marketing can take you down the wrong path even faster. For example, if you desire to create a series of radio advertisements in order to reach a particular demographic, it must be well thought out. What should the message say, how long should it play for and of course, what time of the day and on what program should it be featured. The cost of radio ads varies by region and type of restaurant. On the other hand, if you are looking to increase revenue via online efforts (i.e. website, social networks, foodie followers, etc., be sure to find a way to specifically measure your results.  

The Key - Develop a Good Reputation

Above all, when considering restaurant marketing ideas and trends, your long range goal needs to be to develop a good reputation. That is what will bring you the highest number of referrals, which are the highest quality (and cheapest) leads you can get. You want people to know your restaurant as a place with great atmosphere, good food, fair prices and most of all consistency of a good experience.