People say that the restaurant industry is one of the toughest ones to crack because everyone’s tastes and cravings change from one day to the next. Your eatery might be a big success today but a loss tomorrow. So, what can set your restaurant apart from the rest? What can help your eatery succeed? The answer to these is restaurant marketing. Digital marketing, that is.
Nowadays, no one is too far away from their mobile devices and people very seldom reach for their landlines when they’re hungry. They reach for their mobile phones or laptops to look for a place to eat at or get food from and this is where effective restaurant marketing comes in for you. Here are the 8 digital marketing tips for restaurants that you might want to use.
1. Craft your website to perfection
First impressions can make or break you so you need to make sure you make it count. If you already have a website for your restaurant, tweak it to make it just right. If you don’t have a website yet, make sure it’s built to drive customers your way. Your website should include the following:
1. Your menu
2. Address
3. Hours of operation (days, weekends and holidays included)
4. Area of coverage for deliveries
5. High-quality images of your menu
6. Blogs
7. Social media links
8. Special announcements and features
If you don’t know the first thing about building your own website, don’t fret. Bitrix24 can help you every step of the process until you have the website that’s perfect for your business. They also have a landing page builder and SEO tools so you can showcase your restaurant’s specials when you want to and improve your page’s online visibility.
2. Put it in a letter
Or an email. Email marketing, to be specific. Use email blasts to announce news, specials, menu changes and more as part of digital marketing for restaurants! Take it one step further by sending personalized emails to customers on their birthdays with a discount code enclosed. Now, that’s one digital marketing plan for restaurants worth trying.
Start your email marketing initiative by building a customer list. You can collate your customers’ data from your POS system, among other sources. Bitrix24 can help you create and maintain your restaurant business CRM with just one click. The rest is up to you!
3. Build a community within your community
It can sometimes be tough getting customers so the competition can get fierce but this does not mean you can’t be friends with the restaurant owners around you. Remember that your restaurant and customers along with your competitors all come from the same community so it would be in your best interest to network with them.
It’s also worth considering lending your support to your local government. If there’s a community program or outreach initiative, find a space for your business and get your name out there. Your pitching in might also inspire community leaders to encourage customers to visit your place. Set up a community board on your website for this part of your digital marketing strategy.
4. Be flexible
Some people love dining al fresco while others prefer the cool blast of an air conditioner. You might also have customers that cannot leave their homes or office desks but require nourishment. Because of this, you should consider offering not only dine-in but takeout or pick-up and delivery options as well. You can enable web forms or online chat and even phone ordering services to customers who want to enjoy your food somewhere other than your establishment. Being able to offer takeout or pick-up and delivery services through their websites is another digital marketing strategy for restaurants because it makes their food available to customers anytime and anywhere they’re needed.
How do you go about it? Bitrix24 can help you create web forms so you can receive orders online for either pick-up or delivery. You can also accept payments online and organize your deliveries so no customer of yours will miss a meal.
5. Celebrate milestones whether big or small
Very few things can make people feel appreciated, valued, and cared for than by being celebrated even though it’s part of digital marketing for restaurants. They do not even have to be big spenders or very loyal customers who come in on a regular basis. Once they’ve patronized your restaurant, they’re part of your growing family so take the time to get to know them. When the occasion comes – be it a birthday or anniversary – celebrate it with them. Send them an email greeting or feature them on your social media or website.
Also, regardless of your ethnicity or religious beliefs, nothing makes a community feel more united than commemorating holidays together. Create a special post on social media or tweak your menu a little bit for that special day to set it apart from the rest. This amount of effort, care, and thought that you put into your restaurant marketing will help you succeed.
6. Get social
Social media is everywhere and if you’re on it, you can get anywhere. Want to see your restaurant business thrive? Get it all over social media as an inclusion in your digital marketing for restaurants. It’s simply an essential part of running a business and restaurant marketing. What can you do on social media? Here are some of those things:
- Post photos of your menu, staff, and even patrons
- Gain more followers
- Use hashtags and popular keywords to get in on trends
- Get tagged by diners or feature their tagged posts
- Offer exclusive deals
- Share fun trivia related to food and your restaurant
There are a lot of things you can do on social media. You can even dial it up a notch by posting videos of your chef cooking or quick Q&As with your staff or diners. The amount of fun you can have on social media is unlimited and your activities can catapult your diner to the top of the popularity list! If you’re unsure of how to go about it, let Bitrix24 help you out and make it your social media center of sorts. From Whatsapp, Instagram to Facebook and beyond, Bitrix24 is all you need. You can even enable live chat for your website if you like!
7. Have fun with your audience
Aside from celebrating birthdays as well as giving away discounts to celebrants and marking holidays, you can also dial up the fun factor as part of your digital marketing strategy for your restaurant by doing the following online:
- Run contests on a regular basis
- Host virtual events
- Post videos (staff and customer interviews, cooking segments)
- Feature guest blogs and reviews
- Highlight people and places in the community
- Introduce a rewards program
Including and, sometimes featuring your customers and community, is a great way to spread the word about your business, attract new diners, and encourage loyal ones too!
8. Use your tools
As much as we would like to, we can’t do everything ourselves. Running a restaurant business is challenging enough without needing to also strategize and plan digital marketing for restaurants. Thanks to technology, you won’t have to break a sweat.
Bitrix24 can do it all for you. From building your website, hosting your CRM, enabling online orders for pick-up or delivery, and managing your social media, Bitrix24’s suite of digital marketing tools for your restaurant business is all you’ll really need to drive it to success. The best thing about Bitrix24 for your business is it’s absolutely free! Sign up today and make your restaurant the toast of the town!
