There are thousands of possible tactics you can employ to drive
revenues without any reliance on mass media advertising. Here are 10
of the best restaurant promotion ideas to get your own creative
marketing wheels turning:
Tactic 1: Publicity stunts
- Stunt is a word with negative
connotations for restaurant owners, but I wanted to use a word that
conjured up images that are different than traditional press relations
efforts. Sending a standard press release about a new menu may result
in a small write-up. To cut through the clutter and generate extensive
exposure, you need a newsworthy angle. Something like a celebrity chef
cook-off, really unique contest or other major event. Think beyond
typical events like golf tournaments and simple fundraisers. Challenge
your staff or marketing firm to think what you�d have to do to make it
into the Guinness Book of World Records. Challenge them to think much
bigger and come up with ideas that tie in to what your club stands for
but also have potential for national exposure. If you create events
that have only local appeal, you�ll be limited with your media exposure
potential and may not even make the local paper. If you think much
larger, you� won�t have to worry about getting coverage. A
well-constructed publicity stunt can be worth its weight in gold in
terms of positive exposure for your restaurant. And everybody wants to
be associated with a winner.
Tactic 2: Public relations - Public relations
has been called advertising that you don�t have to pay for. If you
have a successful public and media relations program, you�ll get
increased exposure and prestige without spending a fortune. For this
to work; though, you�ll need to create and publicize newsworthy
stories. Hiring a new chef isn�t always enough to garner the kind of
attention you deserve. Create other angles that are unique and make
your restaurant stand out. Also, review your restaurant�s marketing
and advertising expenses over the last three years. Then determine the
percentage that was spent on traditional advertising compared to public
relations. It�s worthwhile to spend 15-30 percent of your budget on a
solid public relations program. Find a firm that has creativity and
excitement about your restaurant. If that firm doesn�t seem genuinely
curious and interested in your restaurant and what it has to offer,
it�ll have a hard time creating interest with the media.
Some higher-end restaurants are understandably concerned about
publicity stunts and other marketing activities that seem to fly in the
face of the exclusivity of their establishment. My answer to that is
simple � these tactics won�t be appropriate for everyone. That being
said, if you are one of the restaurant owners that cringes at the
thought of creating buzz in the community at large, I urge you to think
about your position.
Everyone wants to be associated with a winner. For some of your
regulars, the whole reason they belong in the first place is because
it�s exclusive and their being a part of that is an extension of their
self-brand and identity. Creating buzz won�t distract from that, it
will reinforce it in many cases. They key is how the publicity comes
across. If done correctly, it supports your position in the market,
exclusivity and prestige.
Tactic 3: Bouncebacks
- This is an underutilized tool that
bounces guests from peak times to off-peak times and can also work to
encourage frequency in your food and beverage operations. While simple
in theory and execution, this tactic can produce far more in revenues
per dollar invested than traditional advertising. All you do is offer
incentives at the point of purchase on popular services to encourage
the guest to try your restaurant another time. For instance, if you�re
busy for lunch and need to drive sales for dinner, offer bounceback
certificates that can only be redeemed during dinner hours. Test
different offers and delivery vehicles and track response rates for
each to hone in on what works best with your clientele.
Tactic 4: Stop discounting - Discounting tells your
customers and prospective customers, �We don�t deserve full price, so
we�ll be happy to lower our rates to make up for the difference.� This
point was driven home to me during my tenure with The Breakers of Palm
Beach, a lavish resort whose guests spend a small fortune to walk the
halls. Discounting the price would be to discount the 105 years spent
building a brand. Instead of discounting, consider no strings offers
that do not rely on percentages. Examples include value-added perks
such as free valet parking, complimentary services, merchandise, etc.
And, in a related topic, never offer coupons, only offer certificates.
There is a big difference in perception.
Tactic 5: Business socials
- A no brainer, right? Well, you�d
be surprised how unreceptive or apathetic some restaurant owners are to
hosting business socials with outside organizations at their
establishment. However, if you select the right group to partner with,
you can leverage their resources to promote your restaurant, and you
can also target your core audience. Host socials where the food is
center stage. Arrange photo opportunities that include your displays
in the background and submit to local media. Partnering with a
business or charitable organization works on many levels and can help
you stretch your marketing budget while still delivering higher returns
on investment than can be achieved with traditional advertising.
Tactic 6: Sampling - Tasting is believing and
if you would grade your food a B minus or above, you need to get it in
potential customers� mouths. That�s the best way to build recognition
and it is more effective and less expensive than advertising. Every
public event that draws your core audience is an opportunity to offer
samples of your product. Pick the best 2-3 items on your menu that can
be easily transported and get some solid representatives of your
restaurant out to meet and greet at these off-property functions
Tactic 7: Host food events
- Hosting food events such as the
�Taste of (insert your town)� is a great way to position your
restaurant as a center of the food scene in your market. It allows you
to leverage the reputation, profile and credibility of all of the other
participants, and it can also help you share the expense of holding the
event. Hosting an event also provides your restaurant with the
opportunity to recruit additional manpower and resources for promoting
the event and gives that added edge with garnering local publicity.
Tactic 8: Toss up Tuesdays - Promote this
program through your next newsletter and other internal marketing
vehicles to your existing customer base. Pick Tuesdays (or your
slowest food day) and flip for the food tab. Guests will have a 50
percent chance of getting their food bill paid by the restaurant. This
attracts your guests� attention much more than a� buy one get one free�
restaurant promotion. Guests
are also more likely to have higher check averages than normal because
there is a chance they won�t have to pay. It creates a tremendous
attention among your core guest base.
Tactic 9: Menu Bingo - This is a great tactic for
encouraging frequency and getting members to try different items on the
menu. You simply create bingo cards that have different menu items in
boxes. Have the cards designed with five columns and five rows. You
can also promote other non-food items such as merchandise, cookbooks,
and gift certificates. Guests have an allotted period of time � 60
days for example � to complete a connection just as they would with a
bingo card. Once they try five items in any direction, they receive a
free gift basket or other incentives that are roughly equal to one of
the items purchased.
Tactic 10: Birthday program - Research shows that
50 percent of all Americans eat out on their birthday. This presents
an opportunity for establishments with solid birthday programs. So why
don�t restaurateurs do more to take advantage of this? You�ve got me,
but it does offer a chance for you to swoop in and capture your
increased share of the market. A birthday program can be executed
through new automated tools like those that are available through
e-mail marketing service providers. You simply plug in the birthday
and e-mail address of your members, and a secure and nicely designed
e-mail is sent to them at a time you determine in advance. The system
knows who and when to send the e-mail to and also tracks view rates for
reporting that allows you to know how well your program is working.
You can also have the e-mail include a redemption code that will allow
you to track what percentage of the e-mails are bringing in guests and
calculate a return on investment. Recent research has shown that
retention based e-mail marketing is 300 to 400 percent higher than
traditional vehicles such as direct mail and faxes. It�s a great way
to communicate and manage your club�s birthday program.
The restaurant industry has been conditioned to believe that
only traditional marketing efforts can be applied to grow sales because
it�s what everyone else is doing. Fact is, the restaurant industry is
getting more competitive and will continue to do so. In the face of
increased competition, the most effective strategy is to differentiate
your restaurant from the others and create excitement in a way that
reinforces your positioning strategy. Again, restaurant promotions are
only gimmicky if they are created that way; it is entirely possible to
execute these restaurant promotions in a way that is completely in
alignment with the image of your restaurant no matter how exclusive.
Remember, differentiation and exciting tactics like the ones
described above are particularly potent for your food and beverage
operations.
Smart marketing is best achieved through non-traditional
techniques that are executed inside your restaurant and among your
existing customer base. Opportunities abound if you look at your
situation through the right lens. Use the ideas above to spark your
own thinking of similar underutilized programs in your own operation
and reap the rewards as other successful restaurants are around the
country.
Contact us to find out how Quantified Marketing Group can help your restaurant.
