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Many restaurants take marketing dollars and consider it just an expense.
They spend money and time on "doing" marketing because everyone tells them they need to.
There is no strategy, no measurement of a return on your investment.
This is how marketing gets a bad name. There is no connection with how marketing relates to sales.
At the very least, you need to measure how many NEW GUESTS are dining-in or taking-out with your restaurant due to your marketing.
You need to know the cost of guest acquisition, home much money you need to spend to get one new guest.
Then you work from that base to increase your ROI by
Got 60 seconds? Check out this video.
Long has there been an argument with which is more important, the cost of a menu item relative to its sale price or the dollar value that's leftover after the item cost.
Well, they are both important but both very different.
You need to watch your costs, and you need to make sure that your menu is producing enough money from sales to cover all of the other variable expenses.
If you sell a prime rib sandwich for $20 @ 25% cost, you have $15 leftover.
However, if you sell a prime rib dinner for $30 @ 35% cost, you have $19.5 leftover.
Just because the prime rib dinner has a higher food cost still makes it a profitable menu item.
So how much should you invest in your marketing?
Well, it's not the cost of the marketing; it's the contribution.
Spending $100 on marketing that brings in 5 new guests is a lower cost than $1000 on marketing that brings in 100 new guests, but your marketing dollar contribution has doubled.
A marketing system is an investment into your restaurant's future, do it well, and it will pay dividends for years to come.
Whether you have 500 contacts or 5000 contacts on your email list, it is irrelevant.
The focus isn't on building the list; it is about creating engagement.
What's the best way to see if you have an engaged list?
Send them an email with a link for more information.
Contacts that are engaged will click the link.
Don't think that having an above-average open rate means your emails are working.
You need to measure your engagement by click through rates.
The short answer is yes.
You should be posting to Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Google My Business daily.
Repeating pictures and content is better than not posting as these platforms reward businesses who consistently add content.
Will posting to these platforms bring in sales?
The short answer is yes.
Any time you are showcasing your brand in the digital world, it has a chance to be seen by a potential guest that will dine with you.
However, social media should not be your only marketing strategy; it needs to be a part of a more effective plan.
Right message! To the
Right people! At the
Right time!
In the book Superfans by Pat Flynn, he writes,
Followers may "like" an Instagram post. Customers may buy a product. But "Superfans" will be your biggest supporters. They will promote you and your products because they know you have made a difference in their lives. They will tell their friends. They will send you encouraging emails. They will connect with you and your other fans.
A tribe of superfans will help get your restaurant on the minds of people that no amount of advertising will ever reach.
But don't just take our word for it; read the book.
Pat Flynn, Superfans: The Easy Way to Stand Out, Grow Your Tribe, and Build a Successful Business
How well would it work to walk up to a stranger and ask them to marry you?
You will get rejected 99.9% of the time; however, if you introduce yourself, start a conversation and then ask them for a phone number, it may lead to something more.
Maybe they give you a fake number, perhaps they never answer when you call, or maybe you connect and build a fantastic relationship. See, getting the phone number is a small commitment, and it's easier to say yes to a small commitment and build on that than it is to commit to a marriage proposal from a stranger.
When your marketing strategy is all about creating a direct call to action to visit the restaurant, you are doing the same thing. You need to add a softer sell with a smaller commitment, like getting an email address before asking for a purchase.
Now that you have a direct way of communicating with a potential new guest, you can build trust and commitment through engaging personalized connections.
Got 60 seconds? Check out the video
Weekdays suck; what can we do to make them busier?
I need to increase my lunch sales?
These are common questions, and there is no magical answer. There are many factors in the peaks and valleys of your restaurant.
The more important thing to ask yourself first is, are your peak times full? If you can answer yes, we are on a waitlist all the time, or we continually turn away reservations, then start thinking about those non-peak days and hours.
However, if the answer is no, think about what you can do to maximize the peak hours.
Here are the facts about marketing peak times vs marketing non-peak times.
Peak times, you have a full staff on so extra guests won't increase labour.
Non-peak times, if you get too busy, you might not be prepared and give a bad experience, or you may be over-prepared in anticipation your marketing is going to work and blow your labour budget.
Peak times create anticipation; if you are booked on a Friday night weeks in advance, you will naturally have spillover to non-peak times.
Peak times mean more diners are going out.
Let's do some math. If there are 10,000 potential diners on a Friday night and your marketing brings in 1% of them, that's 100 people.
Non-peak times, like Monday at 3pm, there may only be 50 potential diners. The same marketing effort and cost brings in 1% of them, that's only 5 diners.
Which has the better ROI?
No matter which way you look at it, work on increasing your peak times, your bank account will thank you!
It's hard to imagine turning away business or leaving money on the table but sometimes trying to be something you do not cost you in the end.
Many restaurants are redefining who they are and becoming something that they are not just to get business.
Yes, you need to do whatever it takes to survive, but where does it stop?
As more districts start to open up and we head into spring, you need to take a look at what you have been doing and if it makes sense to do going forward.
Can you be a busy dine-in restaurant while still offering your Sunday meal boxes?
Does offering delivery make sense when you are always on a waitlist Friday and Saturday night?
There is no clear answer, and maybe you and your restaurant have superpowers;
however, trying to be everything to everyone doesn't work, you will have more success being something to someone!
When do you start marketing for Valentine's day?
Why not right now.
Maybe you don't have your menu finalized, or perhaps you don't even know f your restaurant will be open then, but you can start a conversation today.
Send your email list a poll.
Hi [Firstname]
Valentine's day is a great way to show your partner how much you care. Everyone does it differently, and I was wondering how do you celebrate Valentine's day?
1. Go out on the day
2. Go out within the week
3. Do something at home
4. I Don't celebrate
The first goal was to see how many people are engaged, and the other purpose is to plan your next email to send targeted follow-ups to each group.
1. Hurry up reservations are going fast for Valentine's Day
2. Our special Valentine's menu is available all weekend
3. We deliver, perfect to stay at home and cuddle on the couch
4. We will not bother these people
Now we are creating a message that will resonate, and we aren't bothering people who don't celebrate.
If you need help getting this set up, just schedules some time with us.
A coupon is offering a discount like a 2 for 1 or 25% off.
When you offer an incentive, it's like a sample at the grocery store,
they are trying to get you to purchase an item based on a connection with the product.
Now, if you could run around and offer everyone a sample from your restaurant, you would get more guests. However, the return on that investment is probably not beneficial.
So what's the next best thing. Offer a sample on your website. Give away your best appetizer or dessert. The one that you know will make the guest come back for seconds. The only stipulation is that they get contact information in return.
Now you could win twice.
1. You have contact information, and you can market directly to someone who expressed interest in visiting your restaurant.
2. If they take you up on your sample, that means they visited the restaurant. Chances are they purchase a meal and will come back again.
The benefits of developing an incentive based email program are better than any other marketing strategy.
Your why is the core belief of the restaurant. It's why the restaurant exists.
Great restaurants are built on passions, your why. Identify your why and write it down. Reference it when you are developing your menu, creating service standards, and building a marketing strategy.
This will create consistency in the way you run your business.
But don't just take our word for it; read the book, or at least watch the Ted Talk.
Simon Sinek
Book - Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action
Ted Talk - How Great Leaders Inspire Action
Would you ever give out your email address, thinking the company wasn't going to send you an email?
It is amazing how many restaurants have gone through setting up an email capture system but then never sending out emails.
Every email system can send a personalized welcome email once people subscribe.
Need help setting up yours?
Schedule a free call with us, and we will walk you through it.
You send out an email about promotion, and someone has a question, so they reply to your email message and get an autoresponder that says this mailbox is not monitored?
Would you disable your social media inboxes? How about disconnecting your phone?
Then why would you send your email marketing from a no-reply email address?
This defeats the whole purpose of an email marketing system.
This is called a roadblock to a sale. Yes, some people may try a different channel, but some people won't; why risk losing a potential guest?
You want people to respond to your emails; that's called engagement.
The more people engage with your digital marketing the more likely they are to connect with your brand. That is how you build a superfan.
Top restaurants send emails that encourage a reply to create an opportunity to build a relationship through a conversation.
What are you scared of?
