Restaurant marketing is essential if you want to stand out from the crowd. It can take many forms: loyalty programs, events, boosting Google reviews or flyers... Everything is possible, from ongoing best practices to one-off marketing operations!
The marketing "coups" below are one of the keys to effectively boosting sales and footfall by creating an event. Here are a few examples to illustrate, with the top 7 most profitable marketing operations for your restaurant!
Index :
The most profitable marketing operation was bound to focus on loyalty... After all, it's much cheaper to bring back an existing customer than to go out and find a new one! That's why reward-based points programs are the gold standard in loyalty.
Suitable for all types of kitchens, they work by offering progressive gifts, from a simple coffee to exceptional rewards. They increase the likelihood of capturing a volatile audience, improve satisfaction and adherence, and can even convert your customers into ambassadors. To find out how to set up a loyalty program with a high degree of automation, visit Pongo!
It's one of the most profitable tactics... As a restaurant, your online image is linked to Google Maps, and in particular to your "GoogleMy Business" (GMB) listing.
It's an up-to-date GMB listing that will enable you to appear on the Google map, on the local pack (that little map of the city that appears when you do a local search) and on the results pages.
In addition to an up-to-date GMB listing, you'll need lots of Google reviews to come out on top. This is the key to generating high visibility on Google. Want to boost your reviews? Hey Pongo has the recipe: it's called the Review Booster, and we'll explain it all to you in person!
Switching to sports during the year is complicated: subscriptions to pay-TV channels for bars and restaurants are expensive, and profitability is not guaranteed outside of major events. On the other hand, it's more attractive during summer events broadcast on free-to-air channels - such asEuro 2020, the 2022 Football World Cup or the 2023 Rugby World Cup!
This type of marketing operation is easy to set up. A giant screen, decorations and, if required, special menus to share as a team: there's plenty to get excited about when the halls and terraces reopen. And if the French team does well, you're guaranteed to fill up all the way to the final!
Nearby businesses are an important reservoir of loyal customers. Their employees eat in your area, every day!
If a company distributes luncheon vouchers, you can take the initiative and approach them directly. Rather than waiting for them to come to you, propose a special offer to their employees: 10% discount, free coffee, etc... These limited offers can motivate scouts to come and discover you. They'll be sure to draw a crowd during the next lunch break!
Internet advertising is more multi-faceted than ever. And some media are perfectly suited to restaurants! Such is the case with ads on Instagram, where fooding is king. It's becoming increasingly common to see ads for local restaurants in our timeline and stories. The conversion rate is high, and the investment low (a few euro cents per impression): this makes it one of the most profitable marketing operations for a restaurant.
Flyers (as well as street marketing) are a marketing operation to be explored on a one-off basis. It's a cost-effective way of recruiting new customers, as long as you do it intelligently!
The more targeted the distribution, the better. You can target geographically: in traffic areas more or less close to your venue. But it can also be demographic: you need to "flyer" where your core target is. For example, in shopping areas, office sectors, college exits, etc...
Another option is to drop off your flyers directly at nearby businesses, with a discount for all employees on presentation of the flyer.
There are many ways to diversify your restaurant business. As long as you maintain a strong link with the initial concept, anything is possible! It's not just a question of diversifying sales channels (with home delivery or click & collect), but of offering cooking or mixology courses, bachelor or bachelorette events, by-products, a recipe book, etc...
Marketing operations are even more effective if they are based on customer data. That's the difference between spam and useful, targeted communication! Building up a customer base is no longer the preserve of large brands, franchises or websites: even small retailers can generate it easily with Hey Pongo.
You too can build up your customer base and launch really effective marketing operations for your restaurant! We'll explain it all to you:
