Marketing

Restaurant marketing: guide + 15 tips

29 de May de 2023 por Marianne Ternes

Need to get your restaurant or bar busy again?

You surely know that investing in marketing is essential to stand out from the competition and attract more customers. But how do you define a truly effective marketing plan?

If you want to learn digital marketing strategies that work and how to apply them in your business, check out our complete guide below with 33 marketing tips for restaurants and bars. Enjoy!

The importance of marketing strategies for restaurants and bars

Often, marketing is left a bit aside when running a business.

It may be from a lack of know-how to carry out the actions, or because business is good and everything is flowing well — until it isn't anymore and you need an emergency plan to get out of a crisis.

If you don't invest in marketing, your business is left to its own luck. You're counting only on word-of-mouth referrals, little competition, a busy location… External factors that are out of your control and can change at any moment.

Marketing is strategic and essential to:

Build a strong brand – Having a unique position in the market that sets your establishment apart from the competition and wins consumers' trust. This is essential for the business's longevity.

Attract and retain customers – Increasing visibility and reach, getting to a larger audience “outside the bubble” to grow the business. Encouraging loyalty and getting customers to come back more often.

Increase profitability – Boosting sales and maximizing revenue through promotions, events, and loyalty programs. Working on value perception and increasing the average ticket.

The first step to getting all these benefits — and many others — is good planning. Want to start right now? Then check out our complete step-by-step below for creating a restaurant marketing plan.

Step by step: how to create a marketing plan for restaurants and bars

A marketing plan for restaurants and bars serves to guide and direct marketing actions and helps keep the focus on reaching the goals you've set. Learn how to do it with our quick guide below!

Step 1 – Define the goals

One of the most common mistakes in restaurant and bar marketing is simply promoting the establishment without being clear about the business's goals. Identifying these goals is the first step toward a more effective strategy.

Assess what makes the most sense for your current business moment. For example:

If you're just starting the business now, focus on attracting new customers and gaining visibility.
If you want to build customer loyalty, dedicate yourself to creating loyalty programs and strengthening the relationship.
If you need to increase your average ticket, concentrate on strengthening the brand and raising value perception.

Step 2 – Know your target audience

The better you know your target audience, the more effective your marketing strategy will be. So try to understand who your ideal customers are — which profile spends the most, comes back often, and makes the most of the experience.

Also, identify demographic characteristics, food preferences, interests, and consumption habits. This information will be valuable to direct your actions, craft the right message, and attract the ideal audience to your establishment.

Step 3 – Analyze the competition

You're not alone in the market. On the contrary: competition is high and, even indirectly, you have other establishments competing for consumers' attention. That's why you should study your competitors to understand how you can stand out.

First, list the strengths and weaknesses. Then analyze which marketing strategies they're running. Finally, think about how you can differentiate yourself by creating a unique value proposition.

Step 4 – Determine the budget

At this point, it's important to be very realistic. We know there isn't always money left over to carry out the perfect marketing plan. So make sure the budget fits the resources you have available and the goals you've set.

Include in the budget the investments in the strategies you want to implement. For example: advertising, digital marketing, promotional materials, and events. See our tips further on for ideas!

Step 5 – Choose the marketing strategies

Based on everything you've mapped out so far, choose which marketing strategies you'll adopt. The list of options is huge:

Social media
Inbound marketing
Email marketing
Remarketing
Geomarketing
Local SEO
Influencer Marketing
Offline marketing
And much more…

To avoid losing focus and ending up with disappointing results, it's crucial to proceed carefully and select the strategies that are most suitable for reaching the goal you've set. Be sure to check out our tips below; they will certainly help with your planning.

Step 6 – Define the success metrics

It's essential to have a benchmark to know whether you're heading in the right direction and whether you've reached your goals. Metrics and key performance indicators (KPIs) are the best way to evaluate the success of your marketing plan.

You can include, for example: number of new customers, increase in sales, customer retention rate, growth in social media engagement, positive reviews, among others.

That's it! By following these 6 steps you'll have a marketing plan ready to start implementing.

Besides carrying out the planned actions, remember to track the metrics regularly to assess progress and make the necessary adjustments. Be open to experimenting, learning from mistakes, and making changes, but don't lose focus on your goals!

15 marketing tips for restaurants and bars

1. Have a good website

Having your own address on the web is essential to strengthen your brand's digital presence. Have a well-built website that's optimized for mobile devices.

Invest in professional photography to show the atmosphere of your restaurant or bar, as well as the dishes and drinks you serve. Include all the essential information about your business, such as menu, opening hours, address, and contacts.

2. Set up Google Business Profile

O Google Business Profile is a free tool that lets you include essential information about your business and stand out in search results and on Google Maps. It's an excellent way to give your establishment visibility.

3. Make the menu available online

A good customer experience starts long before they arrive at the establishment. Include the menu on your website and social media so people can easily check the items and prices. This shows professionalism and conveys trust.

Also, promote your menu by creating posts and highlights on social media. This way, you spark your followers' interest and increase engagement.

4. Target your ads to your audience

Invest in paid online advertising, both on Google and on social networks like Facebook and Instagram. This is an excellent strategy to expand your audience and win new customers.

Ad platforms let you segment the target audience and direct the ads to reach exactly your ideal customer profile. Location targeting, for example, shows the ads to people who are near your establishment.

5. Form partnerships

Form partnerships with companies in your area and offer special discounts to employees who visit your bar or restaurant.

Another good idea is to partner with tourism and lodging agencies, either by including the restaurant in travel package itineraries or by offering discounts to customers.

6. Strengthen your presence on social media

If you want a brand that's recognized in the market and loyal customers, being present on the main social networks is essential. Create your profile, post attractive photos and videos, and above all, interact with your followers.

7. Be “Instagrammable”

One of the ways to encourage interaction and stand out on social media is creating “Instagrammable” spaces — that pretty little corner that looks great in photos.

It also works to go all out on the presentation of dishes and drinks. The logic is simple: if it's beautiful enough to make your customers' eyes light up, they'll want to share it. That way, you earn a spontaneous recommendation that reaches many people.

8. Partner with digital influencers

Influencer marketing is a great way to make your brand better known and expand your reach on social media. Partner with local influencers or micro-influencers.

Look for people who produce food-related content, who have a good number of followers, and who are willing to promote your restaurant or bar.

9. Encourage reviews and comments

If you have the rapport for it, ask your customers to leave positive reviews and comments on Google, on social media, and, where applicable, on delivery apps. This kind of social proof is very important to gain credibility and win new customers.

You can even encourage customers by offering giveaways or discounts in return. That will certainly help your establishment.

10. Share the positive reviews

Once you get positive reviews and comments, reply with a thank-you and share them! By doing this, you increase the reach of those messages and reinforce your brand's credibility.

11. Create a loyalty program

Have a loyalty program to encourage your customers to come back often. There are several models: loyalty cards, point accumulation to redeem rewards, and discounts on future visits.

If you want to know more about this topic, check out our content: How to create a loyalty program for restaurants

12. Use email marketing

Take advantage of the information in your customer base to run email marketing campaigns. Send emails with promotions and news about your business.

This type of communication helps strengthen the relationship with your customers and increase sales.

13. Create a referral program

Another good strategy to attract new customers is creating a referral plan. Offer a reward to customers who bring other people. It can be a special promotion, discounts, or giveaways.

14. Take advantage of delivery platforms

If you work with delivery, take advantage of the platform's visibility to increase your business's reach and strengthen your brand.

Have a well-crafted, eye-catching menu with attractive photos of your products. Include all the information about your establishment and provide good service.

Do a good job with the engineering of menu to attract more customers. A good tip is to use keywords in your menu descriptions to make searches easier.

15. Do Local SEO

With Local SEO techniques, your restaurant or bar can reach the top results on Google or other search engines without having to pay for ads.

When someone in your area searches for a term related to restaurants, your website will stand out.

To do that, you need to optimize the website — including information about your location and using locally relevant keywords — and keep an up-to-date listing on Google Business Profile and other review platforms.

Start creating your marketing plan right now!

In this article you saw a step-by-step for creating a marketing plan and many strategy tips that will help attract more customers, sell more, and improve your bar or restaurant's results.

How about starting your marketing plan right now? Download for free Calendário Definitivo de Datas Importantes Para Bares e Restaurantes to help you plan your content and special promotions.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you do restaurant marketing?

There are several marketing strategies that can be used in restaurants: social media, inbound marketing, email marketing, remarketing, geomarketing, Local SEO, Influencer Marketing, offline marketing.

How important are marketing strategies for restaurants?

Marketing is strategic and essential to build a strong brand, attract and retain customers, and increase the restaurant's sales and profitability.

How do you create a marketing plan for restaurants?

A marketing plan for restaurants and bars serves to guide and direct marketing actions and helps keep the focus on reaching the goals you've set. To create a marketing plan, you need to:

Step 1 – Define the goals
Step 2 – Know your target audience
Step 3 – Analyze the competition
Step 4 – Determine the budget
Step 5 – Choose the marketing strategies
Step 6 – Define the success metrics