The small business restaurant is one of the more challenging businesses to own. Chain restaurants have the advantage of national or global ad campaigns that benefit franchise owners, but small business restaurants must use creative strategies to get enough business to succeed. These strategies must also be low to no cost to help the business while not eating away profits. Here are marketing strategies to get people ordering, eating, sharing, and returning that won’t break the bank.
Promotions and Coupons
While the taste and quality of the food served will be the biggest draw for a restaurant, customers will be equally concerned with cost. Offering coupons on the next meal or running specials and promotions will keep them returning as much as the excellent food. You can be creative with these promotions or coupons or even use them to help boost traffic on days your business is slow. This kind of promotion is only limited by your creativity because you can do anything you want to boost your business.
Website
Having a business website featuring your menu and information is a must for a restaurant. The website should be inviting and include pictures of mouth-watering food and the warm atmosphere customers can expect when they visit. An added attraction that could bring your restaurant more business through the website is to have an online ordering feature. This feature will allow take-out customers to peruse your menu longer, often resulting in added items they may not add if ordering over the phone.
Social Media
The most effective social media platforms for small business restaurants are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. These platforms allow the restaurant to interact directly with regular and potential customers. Posts on social media should focus on the restaurant, the food, information, and engagement. The goal is to increase your online presence to help potential customers find your restaurant.
Reviews
Don’t be afraid to ask customers to review your restaurant. Many potential customers use search engines to find new restaurants in their area. When deciding to try something new, online reviews significantly drive traffic to your restaurant. Try giving special offers, discounts, or free food or drinks in exchange for a review. It is a low-cost way to drive significant traffic to your restaurant.
Blogging
Adding a blog to your already engaging website can bring more traffic to discovering your restaurant. The content needs to be keyword-heavy, simple, and engaging. Use your website analytics to find out what search words bring traffic to your site, and make sure every blog includes those words. Using humor and including community interests, in addition to featuring food and restaurant staff, will have people wanting to come to try you out.
Interaction
It would help employ other tried and true marketing approaches outside digital marketing strategies. Run ads in local publications as can be afforded, attend community events, hand out free samples, and use flyers and signage. Interacting with potential customers will get them in, and your food and atmosphere will keep them returning. When you are a personally owned restaurant, you must interact with those in your community; that alone can increase traffic. People love to frequent businesses in their community when they have more of a personal connection.
Conclusion
Marketing is the most crucial element in your business’s success when running a small restaurant outside of the food quality. Everyone knows most restaurants fail within the first three years, but your restaurant doesn’t have to be part of that statistic. Implementing these simple marketing strategies will make your small business restaurant the hottest game in town in no time!
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