Restaurant Marketing 101

Updated September 22nd 2013

Restaurant marketing is not only beneficial but also a necessity if you intend to survive the stiff competition from other establishments. For effective marketing you need to develop a successful strategy by learning all you can about your competition.

Effective Marketing is very important especially for independent restaurants competing with chains that are mushrooming everywhere. This is mainly because consumers prefer well established chains that offer standard services in all their locations. Consumers don’t like surprises and are usually more comfortable in familiar environments or where they know what to expect.  This explains why chains have grown and taken a large share of the consumer market. However, if you own an independent restaurant don’t despair as you can always beat your competition by marketing your high quality products and services.

Remember that marketing is the only sure way of remaining relevant in this competitive industry with your limited resources. Restaurant marketing is aimed at attracting new business which means increased sales and profits.  It is always important to develop a strategy that will enable you to fill your restaurant, sell more, and sell the most profitable items in the restaurant.

Every restaurant owner wishes to develop a very effective marketing strategy; however they don’t know where or how to begin. Here are a few steps that may come in handy:

1. First you need to analyze the market and gauge your competition – Carry out an environmental analysis of your trading area and adopt any new marketing trends. Evaluate direct and indirect competition and use it to market yourself.
2. Focus on your target market and identify you unique selling point – It is very difficult to serve all types of customers and if you try this you may end up losing to your competition. Identify your unique selling point and focus on your strengths by offering the best services you can. Develop a brand and be true to it by meeting customer expectations.
3. Develop a plan and implement it – After identifying your competition, your target market, and your unique selling point, come up with a reasonable marketing strategy. Always remember to keep your marketing costs within the allocated budget. Don’t spend so much on marketing that it ends up eating up your profits.
4. Assess the success of your marketing strategy – Conduct a marketing assessment to determine which techniques are more effective. You can always modify or avoid those marketing techniques that are costly and ineffective.
5. Finally, adapt and re-evaluate your strategies occasionally – It is always important to adapt to any new emerging trends in the marketing world. This will keep you ahead of your competition and also relevant to the current consumer tastes.

All marketing strategies should focus on the four P’s; Product, Price, Place, and Promotion.  They are explained in more detail below:

1. Product – This basically encompasses all the products you are selling including; menu items, merchandise, the service, atmosphere, and customer experience.
2. Price – This basically refers to the cost of your products, merchandise and other services. It goes along with product quality and influences the perceived value of the products you offer.
3. Place – This encompasses the physical location of your restaurant as well as the characteristics and demographics of your trading area.
4. Promotion – These are all the marketing techniques you use to attract or retain clients to your establishment including; merchandising, coupons, specials, word-of-mouth, advertising, and more.

Another area you need to focus on is service marketing. It basically focuses on three other P’s; people, process and physical evidence.

1. People – Restaurants compared to most fast food chains are about the interaction between people. Good cooking can be the result of a good recipe. If everyone had the same recipe other factors make the difference and people make the biggest difference. Every customer wants to be taken care of with a smile, friendliness and professionalism. Some exceed by even entertaining the guests. But at the end mainly the personal qualities can make the big difference. Up to you to decide if you want a professional fine dining atmosphere or a place where people have fun. For sure is that today’s concepts tend to mix all to create something unique and in a unique way you also need to find your staff.
2. Process – Restaurant chains often enjoy the advantage of having very clear operational processes setup, which knows them to grow so steadily. Processes are developed to eliminate the potential for human error and not leave the success of an establishment entirely in the hands of its staff. It allows an action to be repeated in the most similar possible way to achieve a desired result.
3. Physical Evidence – Is the material part of the service. A restaurant wraps its culinary specialties with adequate exterior and interior design, the staff wears uniforms, the cutlery and dishes are prepared or served by the service staff, which all makes the service look better or worse.

However it is advisable to consider service as part of the product as explained in detail above.

You always need to vary your prices and products occasionally if you intend to come ahead of your competition. This involves taking risks such as introducing new products and lowering your prices. If you focus your marketing strategies on the four P’s above you will be assured of long term success.

Written by Daniel Grossmann