Kulture Konnect Blog

The GM, COO and CEO are all down your throat asking you to prove with tangible numbers how your marketing initiatives are helping the bottom line. So much of the budget gets thrown to the marketing team and they are never satisfied with the restaurant marketing. 

Restaurant marketing isn’t the same as it has always been. Traditional methods continue to be the preferred way to approach a restaurant marketing plan, but since the birth of the internet, and especially social media, it has become critical that restaurants embrace Internet marketing and cultivate a presence online. But how much online and how much offline should you do? What can you cut from your online and offline strategies? 

1. Decide what to cut from your restaurant marketing.

Three things you can cut from your restaurant marketing

1. Stop your SEO fixation: SEO is important but it is not ONLY about SEO, nowadays it's more about how relevant your content is to your patrons. 
2. Beware of your Go-To marketing offer: Make sure your patrons go to your restaurant because they love it, not because they were waiting for the next offer that just got in the mail. 
3. Do you really need that mobile app? With responsive design, mobile apps and m.sites are no longer necessary. If your site is optimized for any device, you will incur only one expense and save money that can be used to implement other efforts. 

>>Download 6 Restaurant ROI Metrics Your Boss Actually Cares About E-Book and get more ideas to prove the value of your marketing strategy.

2. Review your branding and marketing strategy and make suggestions for improvement.

As you re-consider your branding and marketing strategy, make sure you:

1. Stay current with your market and target: Keep yourself up to date on what is going on in the industry and what your patrons want. Just following this tip will allow you to make more informed decisions about your marketing plan and whether or not you need to reposition your brand. 
2. Stay current with your website: It's not anymore a matter of patrons finding your restaurant website online or about following SEO best practices, but to keep up with the times in terms of technology (responsive design) and social media.
3. Stay current with your SEO: SEO might be one of the most tedious and boring things to do in marketing, but since 72% of all searches are related to a search for local content, you should make 100% sure that your website will show up for those searches relevant to your restaurant.
4. Provide enough incentive so your patrons have a reason to engage: Give your patrons a reason to engage online and offline with your restaurant. For example, if you're only way to get foot traffic is with specials and offers, then your patrons will simply wait for the next one. This means that their loyalty is to the coupon, not to your restaurant or brand. 
5. Freshen up the look of your menu: If you have to visited your menu design for the past two or three years, it might be time now to start thinking about updating it. Your menu is the prelude of the final dish presentation.
   

3. Determine measurable milestones in your marketing efforts.

What is the purpose of marketing if we cannot somehow measure the results?

1. Set up reachable goals: Be realistic when setting up goals to be able to manage client and boss expectations. Be sure to set up multiple goals for each facet of your business.
2. Review marketing metrics: Don't rely on your gut with marketing. Know how much it costs for each customer acquisition. Know how many customers originated from your marketing efforts.

Check out our "6 Marketing Metrics" e-book below to prove your marketing initiatives with cold hard numbers!