9 IDEAS TO GET NEW CUSTOMERS IN YOUR RESTAURANT || #5 is always overlooked.
- Mahmud Ali
- Apr 8, 2022
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 4, 2023
Marketing restaurants has changed dramatically over the years. What worked 10 years ago, or even last year, doesn’t usually work anymore. It can be a struggle to find new customers for your restaurant with social media, new technology and more competition than ever before.
To help our customers succeed, here is a quick list of ideas that May visuals put together that restaurants, big or small, are doing to attract more customers to their restaurant.
1. TAKE AMAZING PHOTOS
“Know how a professional Photographer like May Visuals will help your business and your customers photos look even better...”
Your food is what brings people into your restaurant right? After all, they’re there to eat. So shouldn’t you have really, really good looking photos of your restaurant’s food? Invest in a decent camera and start practicing your photography skills. If you can, hire a professional food photographer to take the photos for you. Use these images all over your website, social media and in other advertisements to get people craving what you offer. Photos are shared around most often online and will attract new customer to your restaurant.
Blogging gives your site a voice, so let your business’ personality shine through. Choose a great image to feature in your post or add a video for extra engagement. Are you ready to get started? Simply create a new post now.
2. BE ACTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Social media is one of the most powerful marketing tools for restaurant owners as it’s where your customers are hanging out. Your restaurant needs to be on your customers mind when they are thinking about where to eat. Social media allows you to engage with your customers to keep you on their mind and bring them into your restaurant.
3. USE EMAIL MARKETING
You need to start email marketing if you’re serious about getting customers in the door. You can easily start collecting emails on your website with an opt-in form. Offer something like a $5 or $10 off coupon in exchange for their email address. Use these emails for a newsletter promoting your new menu items, upcoming events and specials. Don’t spam people as you’ll begin to annoy them. An email once a week to once a month will benefit your restaurant and your customers.
4. OFFER BIRTHDAY GIFTS VIA EMAIL
With regards to email marketing, capture your customers birthdays when they opt-in to your newsletter and let them know that they will be receiving a special gift on their birthday. When it comes time, email your customers on their birthday with a special coupon for a free appetizer or dessert. Most people celebrate their birthday with a big group at dinner. Giving them an incentive to choose your restaurant on their special day can both increase your sales and introduce new people to your restaurant.
5. GET TO KNOW YOUR REGULARS
It’s not always about finding new customers that haven’t been to your restaurant. It’s much easier to make more with what you have. Getting to know your regulars on a personal level can greatly benefit your business. By getting to know them you’ll be showing them that you truly do care about them and their experience at your restaurant. Keeping a customer loyal can be much more profitable than trying to find new customers.
6. MEET THE CHEF
It can be a fun and exciting experience for a lot of customers to meet the chef behind your great food. Foodies will love the opportunity, and some may even blog about the experience or share it on their social media, so put on a special monthly event to meet the chef of your restaurant. Don’t forget to promote it!
7. USE VIDEO TO TELL YOUR STORY
Sooner than later the majority of the content on the internet will be video. There is simply no better option for you to get people excited about dining at your restaurant than with an enticing video. It doesn’t need to be expensive, but make sure you have someone who knows what they’re doing to film and edit your story.
8. OPTIMIZE YOUR WEBSITE FOR LOCAL SEARCH
Everyone now uses the internet to search for where to eat out or order online from; and there are a lot of options to choose from. You need to optimize your restaurant for local search otherwise your restaurant’s website will be buried in the never ending list of competitors.
9. OFFER ONLINE ORDERING
Who has time to eat out anymore? Unfortunately, not that many people. If your restaurant offers takeout or delivery then you should have an online ordering options on your website or social media. People hate to make phone calls these days, everyone emails and texts or dms. Not to mention answering the phone at your restaurant wastes your staffs valuable time. Make everyone happier by letting your customers order food directly from your website. Make the process even easier by accepting online payments.
WANT TO GAIN MORE CUSTOMERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA?
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