Marketing for Hospitality

At TPC we work a lot with clients in the food and beverage industry. We love working with restaurants and cafes, some from their inceptions, and helping them to put their business on the map. 

The experience I have gained in this industry over the years has taught me a lot about what works for restaurants in the space of marketing and PR, and how to make a location a desirable and iconic place to dine in WA. 

There are many reasons why marketing is important for a business, but some of the specific benefits to marketing your restaurant include:

Customer Loyalty

Not only will marketing attract new customers, it will allow you to nurture your relationship with these customers and deepen their loyalty to you and your business. Once you have loyal customers you can customise and enhance their experience with loyalty programs, email marketing and VIP reservations. Having an insight to the operations and workings of your business through your marketing content will allow your loyal customers to become invested in your success. 

Brand Reputation 

Getting your business in front of customers daily and showcasing your product in a way that best reflects your desired brand and values is a powerful tool. Social media makes this possible, though only if used correctly. Showcasing imagery, reviews and customer experiences allow you to show others what they are missing out on and control to some degree how your business is perceived. 

Increased Revenue 

Of course, at the end of the day our goal is always to create businesses that are more successful and therefore turning over a higher profit. Marketing will get more customers through the door and this ultimately means more revenue!

So, what are some of the realistic and actionable tactics that you can implement right now?

Accessibility 

If you want new customers to come to your restaurant, it is important that they are able to find it. I know personally when I am in an area I don’t know well and am not sure where to go to dinner, I will search for restaurants near me on maps. Ensure that your business is visible on maps and so will come into these searches, and then ensure that you have listed the business with google, and have a good website and social media page that people can go to. Consumers want to legitimise the brand for themselves, and so it is extremely important that you have these resources and that they are reliable. These days people want to be able to view a menu and see an image of what they plan on ordering before they ever leave home, so make it accessible to them!

Second to this is establishing your ordering systems. Many people prefer to order online rather than over the phone for takeaway, some don’t want to pick up themselves and prefer to use UberEats, make sure you can cater to every customer so that you don’t lose out on a sale for this purpose. 

This is all extremely foundational marketing and branding, but without these systems in place, you cannot market your restaurant further. It is no use doing incredible campaigns or gaining a high number of followers on social media if you’re sending the customers you have gained towards a business that is not accessible and doesn’t have a good business flow. You will lose these customers for live and gain negative reviews in the process.

Engagement 

It is so important to engage with your customers online to show that they are valued in your establishment. The most important element of this is ensuring you respond to customer reviews, both the good and the bad. Show your appreciation for the positive reviews and show that you are apologetic and willing to provide solutions for negative ones. 

Socials 

Ensure you are present and active on your socials so customers can keep up with what you are doing. There is nothing worse than going onto a cafes instagram and seeing they only post once a month. Are there any specials, has the menu changed, are you running any promotions? Make sure this information is all obvious and current on your social media.

Promotion 

With the end of year approaching, its important to start thinking about your holiday promotions. A few ideas that you could customise:

•  Offer perks with a purchase of a gift card such as a free entree or purchase a card for $200+ and receive an extra 10% value ($200 becomes $220)
•  Add some holiday specials to your menu, or even offer a Christmas style takeaway dinner to pre-order for Christmas Day
•  Partner with other small businesses in your area to offer more perks for your customers such as offering a discount on their products with every meal purchase etc

One final note is to please get a professional food photographer to come in and take photos of your menu. You want the food to look as tempting as possible across your socials, not grainy and captured in bad lighting. 

Nikki X