Easy and Effective Restaurant Marketing Ideas
Quick Win 1: Bring 'Em Back Restaurant Coupons
Give all first time restaurant customers a coupon with a straightforward offer redeemable on their next visit (perhaps a free of charge aperitif, dessert or after dinner drink). The offer should have no conditions and really should be redeemable next 6 months. Tell the customer to create in the restaurant coupon and be sure to ask for information that you can add to your database. Measure the results, modify the offer if needed, and if it brings you more business, get this to section of your marketing system.
Quick Win 2: Cut Restaurant Costs
Even though you are busy, it literally pays to take the time to review your restaurant costs every six months. An easy way to improve your bottom line is to spend less. When did you last renegotiate your credit card charges? Are you obtaining the best deal from your own wine merchant? Review your menu and check your profit margins - which will be the dishes that provide you the very best margins? Develop a special menu with these dishes to sell more. Eliminate your 3 worst-selling dishes and the ones with the worst margins. You will be surprised at how this regular housekeeping can affect your bottom line.
Quick Win 3: Increasing Restaurant Prices
"If your prices are 10% too low you need to do 3x the work to make the same profit. If your prices are 10% too much you can lose 43% of your business and still keep up with the same profit." - Larry Steinmatz
One of the fastest ways to increase your restaurant profits would be to raise prices. Just a few dollars on several well-selling items gives you exponential growth immediately. That may sound like a frightening idea, but take a closer consider the psychology of pricing and purchasing behavior and you will understand why 80% of restaurant businesses undercharge for their services and products.
Except in some particular cases, most people do not make purchasing decisions on price alone. Don't think me? Simply take a look around at the sunglasses people have on around you. I bet you see a great deal of Ray Bans and Dolce Gabbana sunglasses. This just implies that there are other criteria for purchasing behavior than price.
So whatever you do, don't ever reduce prices, and certainly don't take up a price war. You do not want that to be your competitive advantage because anyone and everyone can undercut you. On the contrary, seriously consider raising your prices. https://anotepad.com/notes/7iwfj3m7 allow concern with competition or lack of confidence stop you. If you have true differentiation, you have targeted your audience correctly plus they visit a perceived value in your product that they are willing to purchase, then you can certainly charge premium prices. Actually, they'll expect a premium service and can feel privileged, and you may find yourself selling a lot more.
In most cases you will discover that dropping prices to market more actually loses you money, while raising prices, although you may sell less, raises your margin.
Even if it seems like a difficult move to make, test different higher price points for various offerings. Tomorrow raise your prices by 10%. You can observe not only the way the price rise affects your organization (you'll either lose business, gain business or stay exactly the same), but you can then look at your profit margins and adjust accordingly.
Most of the restaurant owners that we work with have experienced the following pleasing phenomena: they raised prices and found that not only did they will have more customers (the restaurant is regarded as higher quality), but they had a more reliable and less complicated clientele that also spent additional money and had higher overall tickets.
Quick Win 4: Celebrate Birthdays at your Restaurant
Birthdays, by their very personal nature, are a perfect time to send out an extremely personalized offer. Of all occasions, it is the most effective as far as restaurant marketing campaigns go. Make sure to gather birthday and contact information in your exit surveys and start a birthday campaign. Send a contact or snail mail with a restaurant coupon for a free of charge dessert, drink or meal by the end of the month preceding the individual's birthday month. Allow them to use the restaurant coupon for the whole month of these birthday.
You can even propose additional birthday services. Think of ways that would make your customers life easier - supplying the cake at a special price, giving a particular group rate, or including party favors.
A special surprise like a complimentary piece of cake with a candle and the customer's name and birthday wishes written on it is sure to appeal to the child within any customer. You'd be amazed at the invaluable positive word of mouth a simple gesture like this can create.
You can even use a birthday campaign as a way to recruit new customers by buying lists with birthdays and postal codes and sending out your personal birthday offer as a way to introduce your restaurant.
Birthdays have become personal, and as we will learn, business is personal. Don't pass up this fantastic possibility to reach out to your visitors and make them happy.
Quick Win 5: Referral Restaurant Gift Certificates
Try out this activity now for an instantaneous increase in your restaurant customer numbers. At the end of meals, give happy customers 3 different gift certificates with a quantity off for their next meal at the restaurant (or any offer that you feel is compelling). Then give them 2 more of the dining certificates and have them to share the certificates with their friends. The offer should be compelling and also have no conditions apart from a time limit. Supply the recipient enough time to redeem the certificate. Perhaps make the certificate good for 6 months, or for specific down times that you are trying to fill.