The Ultimate Guide to Digital Marketing Strategies for Restaurants: What’s the Recipe?
2 Jan
The restaurant business is allegedly one of the most demanding industries to break into. and that is absolutely right. With thousands of restaurants present in one city, it is extremely challenging for a restaurant to last even a year.
More than 50% of businesses find it challenging to survive during the first five years, due to intense rivalry and lack of visibility which causes them to lose interest and weakens their
enthusiasm to stay in the game.<
So, how can you push the odds and stay ahead of the curve?
Do not worry, you don't have to stress your brain out and scratch your head like money because we've done the hard work for you.
So, without further ado, let’s beat the odds with some strategies that will increase your visibility:
Have you heard the phrase “Out of sight, out of mind”?
Yes, exactly. That is what happens when your customers find it difficult to see you, and if you are not seen, you are out of the game.
So, how can you take your business online and attract more customers?
With digital marketing. Obviously!
But what’s the role of digital marketing in the restaurant industry, and how can it help my business strive?
This online era has taken over our lives, and digital marketing for restaurants has become the need of the hour. The end goal of digital marketing is to bring in more diners, but a lot of people are going to look at you online before they ever walk into your restaurant, which is why digital marketing helps you set up your online presence so that it will be easy for the people to find you effortlessly.
Remember, If you don’t have an online presence, you might as well close up shop. That’s the power of digital marketing.
Digital marketing strategies for restaurants:
Website: Any digital marketing strategies for restaurants need to rely on using a responsive website that looks amazing on mobile devices since that is going to be your primary channel of conversion. 88% of consumers go online to search for restaurants, and they judge the restaurant’s credibility via their responsiveness and customer reviews.
Local SEO: Local SEO has become immensely important as consumers use their GPS-enabled phones to locate businesses and restaurants near them, browse menus, and read reviews.
97% of people search online to find a local restaurant.
For example, If someone is searching for a “Chinese restaurant near me”, they should be able to see your restaurant on the top.
Social media marketing: The majority of restaurants' target customers are Gen Zers aged 20 and older, and because they live online, their reviews have a significant impact on other people's opinions, which makes it extremely crucial for restaurants to advertise and market on social media channels.
70% of adults are on Facebook, which means 70 percent of the potential customers can be found in one place.
Influencer marketing: Influencer marketing has become one of the most predominant marketing strategies for most businesses in the restaurant industry. Businesses Make$5.20 for Every$1Spent on Influencer Marketing, on Average 50.7% of Brands Working With Influencers.
Restaurants invite influencers and urge them to promote their menu items and deals by providing referral codes for the people.
Now that you know how to differentiate your restaurant from the competition, let’s see some of the classic examples.
Little caesar: Subscription strategy for incentives and offers.
Little Caesar gave out a free small pizza to anyone who signed up and shared his or her address. In one DMA region, this attracted 18,000 subscribers in under 60 days. The value for subscribers to them was greater than the one small pizza size.
Culver’s restaurant: Culver’s offers new subscribers a free value meal upon signing up.
Bonus digital marketing strategies for restaurants:
BOGO strategy: Have a BOGO strategy that is buy-one-get-one-free. This can be a great strategy to drive floor traffic. Studies show that this offer increases sales by 13%.
Dollar-off deal: It’s crazy what people will do to save a dollar. Try giving discounts by pricing meals at $9 and intrigue customers to save $1.
Takeaway: When restaurants are proactive with responses to customers, this builds confidence, which makes people want to come back to the restaurant. In the restaurant, not only how you market it, but the experience that you provide for customers is also important. A restaurant's reputation is built on its food, but a good marketing strategy comes as close as you can get to recreating that whole experience of eating out.