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 must have no conditions and really should be redeemable within the next 6 months. Tell the customer to bring in the restaurant coupon and make sure to ask for information that you can add to your database. Gauge the results, modify the offer if needed, and when it brings you more business, get this to part 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 would be to cut costs. When did you last renegotiate your credit card charges? Are you getting the best deal from your wine merchant? Review your menu and check your income - which are the dishes that provide you the best margins? Create a special menu with one of 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 have 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 quickest ways to increase your restaurant profits would be to raise prices. Just a couple of dollars on several well-selling items offers you exponential growth immediately. Which could appear to be a frightening idea, but have a closer consider the psychology of pricing and purchasing behavior and you may realize why 80% of restaurant businesses undercharge for his or her services and products.
Except in some particular cases, a lot of people usually do not make purchasing decisions on price alone. Don't think me? Just take a shop around at the sunglasses people have on around you. I bet you see lots of Ray Bans and Dolce Gabbana sunglasses. Fast Food Restaurants Alhambra implies that you can find 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 don't want that to be your competitive advantage because anyone and everyone can undercut you. On the other hand, seriously consider raising your prices. Don't let concern with competition or lack of confidence stop you. When you have true differentiation, you have targeted your audience correctly and they see a perceived value in your product that they are willing to pay for, then you can charge premium prices. Actually, they will expect a premium service and will feel privileged, and you may find yourself selling even 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 thing to do, test different higher price points for various offerings. Tomorrow increase your prices by 10%. You can observe not only how the price rise affects your business (you'll either lose business, gain business or stay the same), but you can then look at your profit margins and adjust accordingly.
Lots of the restaurant owners that we work with have experienced the following pleasing phenomena: they raised prices and discovered that not only did they will have more customers (the restaurant is regarded as higher quality), but they had a far more reliable and less difficult clientele that also spent more money and had higher overall tickets.
Quick Win 4: Celebrate Birthdays at your Restaurant
Birthdays, by their very personal nature, are an ideal time to distribute a very personalized offer. Of all occasions, this is the most effective so far as restaurant marketing campaigns go. Be sure to gather birthday and contact information in your exit surveys and begin a birthday campaign. Send an email or snail mail with a restaurant coupon for a complimentary dessert, drink or meal at the end of the month preceding the individual's birthday month. Permit them to utilize the restaurant coupon for the entire month of their birthday.
You can also propose additional birthday services. Think of techniques would make your visitors life easier - supplying the cake at a particular price, giving a particular group rate, or including party favors.
A special surprise such as 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 kid within any customer. You would be amazed at the invaluable positive word of mouth a simple gesture like that 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 in an effort to introduce your restaurant.
Birthdays are very personal, and as we shall learn, business is personal. Don't pass up this fantastic opportunity to reach out to your customers and make them happy.
Quick Win 5: Referral Restaurant Gift Certificates
Try out this activity now for an immediate increase in your restaurant customer numbers. By the end of meals, give happy customers 3 different gift certificates with a certain amount off because of their next meal at the restaurant (or any other offer that you feel is compelling). Then provide them with 2 more of the dining certificates and ask them to talk about the certificates making use of their friends. The offer ought to be compelling and also have no conditions other than a time limit. Supply the recipient enough time to redeem the certificate. Perhaps make the certificate best for six months, or for specific down times that you will be trying to fill.