Every business requires a marketing strategy and restaurants are no exception to that. Planning out a marketing strategy which works best for your restaurant is a tedious and long process. But also, it is the most crucial step in the marketing process. Once your marketing plan is in place, it becomes very easy to execute and implement it.
These are the crucial steps that we always keep in mind before drafting a restaurant marketing plan:
Identifying the target market
Identify and learn about your target market. Every restaurant attracts a different group of people and it is important to know what kind of people your restaurant attracts. Developing a good marketing plan requires you to have knowledge of the customer wants and needs. Conducting surveys and researching about the customer needs, can help you establish a better marketing plan.
Knowing your competition
Every business needs to have good knowledge about their competitors to survive in the market. Research your competition. Learn about their strengths and weaknesses and also about the various opportunities and threats that they pose to your restaurant. It is important to know what makes customers loyal to their restaurant and not yours. This can help you to lay out an appropriate marketing plan to attract even those customers who are loyal to other restaurants.
Building your brand Your brand image is the thought and attitude that people have towards your restaurant. It is your reputation and is a mark of what people are expecting from you. Create a favourable brand image in the minds of customers. Good marketing strategies can help you build and establish your brand in the market.
Creating marketing and advertising opportunities
This is where the show begins. Getting creative and doing 'the new' is essential. Many hotels allow restaurants to leave their menus and coupons in rooms and the lobby area. If your restaurant is near a busy area, then you can offer free samples of food to the people, to encourage them to come and visit your restaurant. Sponsor various events, organize contests, provide loyalty rewards. These are some ways in which you can increase your marketing opportunities.
All of these above steps are explained in detail in our upcoming blogs to greatly help you plan and implement your marketing strategy which has a long lasting and powerful impact on the minds of the customers. So stay tuned!
"A goal without a Plan is just a dream." –Dave Ramsey
Get in touch with us for a quick session and we will help you plan out your marketing strategy from scratch.
Bon Appetit!