Marketing

8 restaurant marketing strategies for 2024

Consider these eight tips for restaurant marketing strategies.

Photo: Adobe Stock

February 27, 2024 by Mandy Wolf Detwiler — Editor, Networld Media Group

In today's day and age, if you're not playing the marketing game, your restaurant is likely out of touch. From local online ads to geofencing and social media, there are a myriad of restaurant marketing strategies you could be using in your restaurant, and it should be part of your restaurant's business plan.

You can no longer rely on word-of-mouth or corporate advertising alone to get your brand's name out there. Restaurant marketing strategies are important tools to use in any restaurant.

Consider these eight restaurant marketing strategies for your restaurant in 2024:

1. Send effective email marketing

An email a month has little impact on your restaurant marketing strategy, but there's a fine line between one and too many. Dave Charest, director of success for Constant Contact, said in an email interview that email is still ranked one of the most effective digital marketing tools.

"Email marketing can be a powerful way to connect directly with your diners and influence where they decide to go when they head out," he said. "Customers who sign up for an email list are indicating a vested interest in your restaurant. Using an email marketing tool can help you capitalize on this interest by engaging with your valued patrons. Email marketing tools often feature extensive automation. That means you can connect with customers while saving valuable time. Creating a stream of simple, welcoming emails can establish positive engagement with your customers without having to manually hit send every time."

2. Engage in SMS marketing

SMS marketing tends to have a high open rate, but a low click-through rate. Getting the SMS message right is critical to your restaurant marketing strategy. People want quick, snappy messages with an easy click through. Begin with a discount offer to get people excited about your restaurant. Consider typing an SMS message to an event — such as a concert, play or sporting event — to encourage guests to dine at your restaurant after they've attended the event.

3. Claim and update your restaurant's listings

When looking for information, modern diners use a collection of apps and websites, and your restaurant's listing may be automatically generated or created by your patrons on sites like Yelp. Claiming these listings provides you with a formidable instrument for controlling your online presence and driving new diners to your location.

"If this sounds complicated, don't worry!" Charest said. "Claiming your listing is often as simple as submitting the necessary information to prove your ownership. Here are a few crucial listings you'll want to snag ASAP: Facebook business page; Google Business Profile; Yelp page and TripAdvisor profile."

4. Use influencers to post on social media

Influencers which have social media accounts in the tens of thousands of followers or more can be a boon to your restaurant marketing strategy. Do some research and look for locals with great social media followings. Local athletes are also a good place to start, and NIL contracts (Name, Image, Likeness) allow student athletes to make money from their personal branding. It's a great way to promote your own branding, and student athletes often have big followings. The NIL laws vary by state, however, so check with your attorney before signing any agreement.

5. Give back to the community

One restaurant marketing strategy is to become ingrained in your local community. Find and partner with local charities to give back. Ways to do this include: allowing customers to round up their orders; creating a menu item for which sales go to a local charity; offering specialty merchandise with proceeds going to a charity or collecting donations directly from customers.

This could be part of a limited or yearly campaign that is in line with an awareness month or day such as Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October or Fire Prevention Week, also held in October.

6. Bring back physical menus

While QR codes were a great option to your menu during the height of the pandemic, there's no better advertising mechanism than your physical menu, whether that's paper or a digital signage.

"Don't force all diners to have to use their phones when you have menus readily available," Charest said. "For those that do prefer to use their phone, make sure you're providing a menu that's easily read on their device, not just a PDF version of the menu that forces them to pinch and zoom to have to read it. The menu is a simple way to start their dining experience off on the right foot."

7. Show off your staff

Let customers get to know your staff by highlighting them on social media and in marketing materials. This could be someone manning the grill, a front-of-the house employee or a drive-thru team member. This put a face to your employees.

8. Word of mouth

The best restaurant marketing strategies won't work if your restaurant doesn't have good word of mouth. Try taking samples of your food to local hotels, chambers of commerce and Better Business Bureaus.

About Mandy Wolf Detwiler

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Mandy Wolf Detwiler is the managing editor at Networld Media Group and the site editor for PizzaMarketplace.com and QSRweb.com. She has more than 20 years’ experience covering food, people and places.
 
An award-winning print journalist, Mandy brings more than 20 years’ experience to Networld Media Group. She has spent nearly two decades covering the pizza industry, from independent pizzerias to multi-unit chains and every size business in between. Mandy has been featured on the Food Network and has won numerous awards for her coverage of the restaurant industry. She has an insatiable appetite for learning, and can tell you where to find the best slices in the country after spending 15 years traveling and eating pizza for a living. 

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