Restaurant Marketing: The Ultimate Guide

2 Restaurant marketing tools

One of the biggest mistakes any restaurant can make is to view marketing as an expense. Marketing costs money, but it should be considered an investment in revenue generation.

You need outstanding marketing tools make your restaurant stand out and attract customers.

From the fanciest sit-down restaurant to the smallest carryout, every restaurant needs to print menus. Printing restaurant menus is about more than simply listing what you offer; they’re marketing tools that can help influence purchases, boost your ROI, and increase your average ticket.

Business cards might not be the first marketing tools you think of for restaurant marketing, until you consider the strong impression your managers can make by introducing themselves to customers and leaving them with a business card if they have questions or concerns. Business card can also be used as customer loyalty/rewards cards, coupons, and countertop advertisements. Consider printing restaurant business cards on triple-thick ultra card stock – which features an attractive band of edge color – to leave a memorable impression.

It’s super-easy with our free restaurant business card templates and online design tool!

View our templates

Magnets are likewise excellent marketing tools, especially if you offer food carryout and delivery. Print menu magnets that customers can place on their refrigerators so they’re reminded of your restaurant whenever they’re hungry. You can also print car door magnets to promote your restaurant everywhere you go.

Print beverage coasters to brand your restaurant and promote specials, desserts, and especially your signature drinks. Read how to turn beverage coasters into sales.

Print restaurant table tents to promote specials, drinks, desserts, entrees, and events. Table tents can also be used to motivate customers to visit your website, sign up for your email newsletter, or follow your social media page.

Promote specials and your best menu items with large banners strategically placed along the path to your restaurant. Wall graphics are likewise excellent large-format restaurant marketing tools.

Like posters, flyers can be placed on bulletin boards and anywhere else your target patron frequents.

Printing restaurant postcards is a great way to reach a well-targeted local audience. Consider sending postcard coupons and menus via Every Door Direct Mail (EDDM) to blanket local neighborhoods with news of your restaurant.

View Templates Now

A rather unique yet extremely effective approach to restaurant marketing is to print booklets to send in the mail as menus your customers can keep on-hand for takeout orders or to get them to your establishment. Infuse your booklet with sales information about your fresh food sources, staff training, preparation, and other features and their benefits to your customers. If your restaurant serves as an event venue, consider printing a guide to planning a local event.

Some well-branded restaurants sell T-shirts, shot glasses, beer mugs, and other merchandise to customers. One example is Cracker Barrel, which has a shop in every restaurant. If you sell merchandise, consider sending catalogs to your best customers.

Your brochure should include images, features, benefits of your restaurant and your best dishes along with your features and benefits. Don't forget to include a great coupon and call to action!

Everyone loves (and uses) free calendars. Try a different dessert, drink, or entrée listing each month. Other materials you should consider producing include a website, social media pages, door hangers, and a corporate identity package (complete with letterhead, envelopes, brochure, flyer, business card and pocket folder).

3 Restaurant copywriting tips

The 40/40/20 rule of direct marketing states that 40 percent of your success is based on the quality of your mailing list, another 40 percent is contingent on the perceived value of your offer, and the remaining 20 percent is everything else. But if you can't properly articulate your offer or speak to your customers, they might not even understand what makes your restaurant so special. That’s why harnessing the power of copywriting is so important to your restaurant marketing success.

When potential patrons are considering your restaurant, they want to know three things: That you have delicious meals, an inviting atmosphere, and fair prices. Your headline should reflect all three benefits.

Many amateur writers list features but forget to include benefits in their marketing copy. Make sure you list both, since benefits sell. Features are facts about your restaurant; benefits are how those facts will make for an enjoyable dining experience. If your restaurant is staffed by world-class chefs (feature), then you can guarantee that your patrons will enjoy their meals (benefit).

Discount coupons, free appetizers, buy-one-get-one offers all work; but you should also keep in mind that customers do not eat at restaurants based on price alone. Apart from great-tasting food, most customers are seeking an experience and are willing to pay more for it. Thus, your incredible offer can be the experience you provide rather than the price paid for it.

Your call to action should tell your patrons exactly what they need to do next to take you up on your offer. It could be simply showing up or making reservations. If your offer is event attendance, you can run a limited-time offer and get a full house fast.

5 Restaurant direct-mail marketing campaign tips

The ultimate success of your restaurant often depends in part on the response you get from your direct-mail marketing campaigns. You need to focus on having the best direct-mail promotions as possible, making sure your potential customers are aware of you and know why you’re special.

As you will see, when it comes to direct mail, everything matters. From graphic design, to the call to action, to audience targeting, everything must work together to be effective. The following direct mailing tips for restaurants will get you started on the right foot.

Before you even begin to plan your direct-mail piece, you need to decide what your message is going to be. You need to have a clear and distinct message that you’re trying to get across. Are you introducing a new dish? Do you have a offer? Are you trying to bring in more lunch customers? Do you want to increase your delivery business? Get a grip on the message and let everything else revolve around that, including the design.

A great design will do a lot to draw attention to your message. Whether you’re designing a takeout menu or brochure for delivery options, be sure to follow basic design rules when you are laying out your direct-mail piece.

On the front, incorporate exciting and inviting photos of your food and let them draw the viewer in. Limit your text as much as possible to focus attention on the most important points of your message.

Save most of your body copy for the back, especially if you have a lot of text. Also, be sure to limit the number of fonts that are used in your text. Preferably, you should use no more than two font styles throughout the entire piece.

Postcards are a great way to reach your customers with direct mail. There are no envelopes to open and your message is in full view as soon as the customer takes it out of their mailbox. You can use one side as your hook and the other side to provide details and coupons.

When you use a postcard to promote your restaurant, you know that at the very least your message will be seen, something you can’t depend on if you send something hidden in an envelope. Your brand will inevitably get attention.

Consider printing ultra postcards on triple-thick paper stock. They feature an attention-getting band of edge color that will help your brand be memorable right out of the mailbox.

When you are trying to get the attention of your customers, it’s best to go high quality with your direct mail whenever possible. Premium printing from a G7 Master Certified printer will command attention and impress your audience. The better your mailing looks, the more likely you will get the response you desire.

Your direct-mail campaign will fall flat if you don’t give your customers an incentive to buy. One way to do this is to include a cut-out coupon or discount on your marketing materials. Also, make sure they know what to do next with a clear and authoritative call to action.

6 Restaurant marketing creative ideas and resources

Creative marketing generates buzz, delivers value to your patrons, and increases profits for you. Try these creative restaurant marketing ideas and resources to boost your business this year:

Live performances such as musical acts and stand-up comics are good ways to bring customers in droves.

Partner with hotels, spas, local attractions and other complementary but non-competing businesses to spread the message about your restaurant. You can place flyers, rack cards, brochures and business cards on counter tops; or you can go in together on a romance and beauty package or family fun package.

Launch a loyalty/rewards program that gives customers incentives for repeat business.

Print car door magnets to place on your delivery vehicles and your personal vehicles. See if you can recruit friends, family members, and employees to sport your magnets to reach thousands of potential customers on the go.

One popular strategy is the “business card fishbowl,” in which you give a prize (free lunch?) to the owner of a randomly-drawn business card each month. It’s a great way to collect contact information for future prospects.