So you’ve just opened up your brand new restaurant. The Menu Covers are printed, the chefs are ready to prepare their signature dishes and your smiling servers are ready to greet your patrons. However, if no one knows about your restaurant you will have quite a few empty tables.
In order to get customers in your restaurant it is important to spread the word and let everyone know about what you have to offer. Your restaurant might offer the best food in town, but if no one knows about it you will not get any customers. So how can you let everyone know? Here are some strategies:
Host an Opening Event for your Restaurant
Celebrate your new restaurant with an opening event party! You could hire a local band to perform, offer 2 for 1 drink specials and perhaps even a special discount. The party will introduce your restaurant to many new people and since they had such a great time on their first visit, they will be more likely to recommend your restaurant and come back again. You can advertise the event on social media and on the radio, as well as inviting all of your friends and local contacts.
Share Photos of Your Restaurants Food
When it comes to promoting your restaurant online, one of the most effective ways is by sharing beautiful drool-inducing Food Photography. This trend of “food porn” is very popular at the moment and people are likely to share your food photos with their social media following, especially if the dishes look beautiful, unique and delicious.
If you want, you can even create your own Pinterest or Instagram account and start posting photos of your food and encouraging your customers to share their photos too.
Generate a Word of Mouth Buzz
Word of Mouth is one of the most effective forms of advertising, but the one that is the most difficult to control or measure. It refers to the things people say about your restaurant, for example, “Have you been to the new BBQ place in town? Their chicken wings are so good!” This type of advertising can be positive, but it can also work against you if people have a bad experience at your restaurant and complain about it to their friends.
Word of mouth can really spread a message exponentially. If the first person tells five of their friends and then those five friends tell five of their own friends, you can see how quickly the word can get out. Also, some people are more influential than others and will spread the message to more people.
Although word of mouth is difficult to control, you don’t need to simply sit back and let it happen. You can encourage positive word of mouth by using social media, encouraging customers to write reviews and recruit brand ambassadors to engage with your customers. Also, create viral ads that are funny, shocking, emotional, dramatic or exciting and will be more likely to be passed along.
Reach Out to Food Bloggers
Another great way to spread the word about your restaurant is to invite food bloggers to come and try your food. If they are willing to write about your restaurant on their blog, this can be a very influential form of word of mouth advertisement. Of course, you cannot ask for a positive review as that would be dishonest – but you can ask them for an objective opinion and make sure that you impress them with your delicious food and superb service. Some food bloggers have very big followings, so getting their attention can be big news for your restaurant.
Using Google Mobile Ads
Using mobile ads is a great idea for restaurants, as users are usually looking for nearby places to eat on their mobile phones. These ads are cheaper than desktop ads and they have very impressive conversion rates. Another advantage of using mobile ads is that you can customise and target your ads, such as increasing them during mealtimes.
These are just a few of the ways that you can spread the word about your new restaurant so that you can bring many customers to your doors. Impress them with what you have to offer once you have attracted them and you will have built yourself a loyal clientele.