Easy to put in place, effective marketing ideas for restaurants courtesy of Modern Restaurant Management (MRM) magazine

1. The 19 Best Restaurant
Marketing Ideas

2. Program Summary
• BRANDING
• NEW GUEST ACQUISITION
• GUEST RETENTION
• REVENUE OPTIMIZATION

4. • What is Your Story?
• The Power of Authenticity

5. Google My Business
Even Before You Open — Claim Your Business and
Own Important Real Estate on the Internet

6. • Restaurants are the most searched industry by consumers through both mobile
applications and browsers
• “Restaurants Near Me” is the most searched “Near Me” in the United States
• Each month, there are over 5 billion searches for restaurants
Source: SOCi
• It’s (currently) a free tool you can use to your advantage

7. Website Wonders
• More than 70% of users
prefer to check the
restaurant menu on the
restaurant’s website to
make their dining decisions
Source: Google
• When placing an online
order, a patron is more
likely to use a restaurant's
website than a third-party
site
Source: Toast

8. Social Media
• Restaurants are most
likely to use Facebook
(91% of restaurants) and
Instagram (78%)
• Instagram has
skyrocketed in
popularity for restaurant
promotion since last
year, when only 24%
reported using it
• Twitter, the third-most-
popular option, saw
similar rapid growth in
its use, increasing from
4% in 2017 and 2% in
2018 to a whopping 39%
in 2019
Source: Toast

9. NEW GUEST ACQUISITION

10. Spreading the Word
• Advertising : Facebook
Targeting and Google Ads
• Don’t Discount Traditional
Media
• SMS, Text and Chatbot
marketing
• Every $1 spent on email
marketing generates $38 in
revenue
Source: CampaignMonitor.com

11. Get on the Gram
Program!
• Hire a photographer to take
photos of popular food
items
• Encourage guests to post
photos
• One restaurant in Buffalo
achieved a 13% increase in
bookings just by posting
great food pictures and
telling commenters that
they were excited for them
to come by. That turned out
to be a $93,436 increase in
revenue for the year.
Source: Bread and Butter PR

12. Community
Connections
Ways to Be Part of Your
Community:
• Host Community Day once
a week with discounts for
locals
• Sponsor a Sport
• Host Fundraisers for Non-
Profits and School Groups
• Use Social Media for Good
• Follow Local Events
• Have a Block Party with
other local businesses
• Join the Chamber of

13. GUEST RETENTION

14. Create Loyalty
Punch Cards Are So
Yesterday
• Use Contests to Engage
Guests
• Business Card Giveaways
• Create Email Newsletter
• Make Staff Brand
Evangelists

15. Dealing with
Reviews
When dealing with
negative online reviews
or in-person feedback:
• 23% of restaurateurs reach
out directly to the person
who gave the feedback
• 15% put the feedback to
use when giving
performance reviews to
front-of-house or back-of-
house staff
• Some restaurant
professionals — 2% —
admitted to never taking
action when receiving
negative guest feedback
Source: Toast

16. Dealing with
Reviews
• Set up a Google Alert for
your business name so
you’ll be notified
immediately when someone
mentions you on the
internet
• Thank people for good
reviews
• Attract a complainer back in
with a small offer
• Get Yelp Help for your
profile

17. Pursue Partnerships
• Build a restaurant
community IRL and online
• Try to coordinate a
Restaurant Week or other
activities in your town
• Go to the professionals by
teaming with public
relations and marketing
teams
• Cultivate relationships with
local purveyors

18. Give Back
• Find pockets of
opportunities
• Use your expertise
• Be your own word of mouth

19. Stay Trendy
How do you find trends?
• Read
• Talk to Your Guests
• Eat Out

20. The Power of Plants
• U.S. sales of plant-based
proteins were $553 million
in 2012
Souce: Mintel
• The global plant-based
protein market is projected
to reach $5 billion by 2020
Source: Markets and Markets
• Burger King added the
Impossible Whooper® at
select locations in April and
saw an 18.5% lift in foot
traffic
Source: Market Insights
• 95% of plant-based buyers
have made a beef burger
purchase within the past
year
Source: NPD

21. Listen to Guests
Guests listed:
• Wi-Fi Availability
• Online Reservations
• Consumer Ordering
Programs
as restaurant technologies
most important to their guest
experience.
Source: Toast

22. REVENUE OPTMIZATION

23. Delivery Dilemma
Is it a money maker?
• Restaurants have seen an
annual growth rate of 23%
in digital orders since 2013.
• That is expected to triple by
the end of 2020
Source: NPD Group

24. The Off-Premise
Promise
• Sales from off-premise
orders will grow 5.6 percent
by 2019
• Catering is high growth –
The $60B plus market is
growing 50% faster than the
overall restaurant industry
• Th average catering check
is $283 with one order
requiring less work than the
same amount of individual
orders
Source: ezCater

25. The Magic of
Coffee Beans
• Cold brew coffee
consumption is up 36%
year over year
• Younger consumers (18-34)
are boosting cold brew and
iced coffee numbers and
treat it as a snack
• Try unique flavors to boost
interest and sales
• Fresh-brewed hot coffee is
still leading in consumption
Source: Technomic

26. Receipt Marketing
Restaurants are also finding
that receipt marketing can:
• Grow Loyalty
• Social Media Followers
• Online Ordering Programs
• Positive Reviews
Source: Toast

27. Your Secret
Weapon
Your Point of Sales (POS)
system can help:
• Remove lower volume menu
items and replace them with
more appealing ones
• This can boost revenue and
make for a better experience
for guests
• Data, Data, Data
Source: Rouxbe

28. Focus on the Basics
• Have consistently great
food
• Seat window areas first
• Don’t give water or bread
unless asked
• Have an easy-to-read menu
• Box popular menu items

29. What is #1 trending topic of all time
on social media?

30. National Day Calendar

31. National Days and #Holidays
Hashtag holidays now have important marketing and social media
implications
nationaldaycalendar.com
Holiday hashtags help:
• Classify content
• Make the subject much more searchable
• Considerably expand posts’ reach
• Increase current and potential customer
engagement
• Help restaurants latch on to trending topics
Source: Durée & Company, Inc.