2012 marketing
make new friends 1
Let’s face it: without friends your restaurant is lost. Regulars are the heart and soul of your busi- ness, and without a broad and deep base of them you’re sunk. This is the year for you to get out there and make some new friends, and if that means le- veraging some of the latest technology, wading into the ocean of social media, or changing your bad happy hour habits, then so be it.
The good news is that marketing your restaurant has gotten significantly more sophisticated in the last ten years – technology has forever changed the way you communicate with your customers and the community.
The bad news is that restaurant marketing has got- ten significantly more sophisticated in the last ten years – using all that technology to get the word out about your business takes a lot of time and a pretty steep learning curve.
All in all the advent of technology has been beneficial for restaurants. Gone are the days of mass newspa- per or radio ads with limited methods for tracking
3 Host live music
From a single piano or singer/ songwriter to a full-on rock band, every restaurant can use some type of live entertainment. If you’re just trying to improve the ambience, then run some drink or food specials to coincide with the live act and turn it into a regular event. If you’re booking hot local bands, use their performance in your establishment to access their fan base and turn them into regular customers.
5 6 4 Stop being afraid of yelp
Yes, a bad review by an influential yelper can be disastrous for a restaurant. But instead of trying to limit yelp you need to engage. Respond to bad reviews, reward good ones, and take that bull by the horns.
Hold an exclusive event 2
Regular customers love nothing more than feeling special, and nothing will make them feel more special than an exclusive event at your restaurant. Set up a prix fixe menu, throw together some new dishes, and set aside a slow tuesday night to really impress your biggest fans.
success, and that’s why it’s time to start tuning in to your customer base wherever they happen to be online.
Of course, leveraging all of the new technology out there in order to get new customers is a great resolution for 2012. However, it doesn’t change your restaurant’s need for a compel- ling reason for customers to visit when they hear about you.
It’s vitally important to back up any marketing campaign with some meat. There are plenty of time-tested tricks for getting customers in the door, from happy hours to live enter- tainment, and your restaurant is probably already doing at least one thing attract business.
It’s vitally important to back up any marketing campaign with some meat.
Source locally
Local food was one of the hottest trends of 2011, and there’s no reason to believe it won’t be hot again in 2012. Local food is great for marketing because when you talk about partnering with other local businesses to bring local food to your tables you become a part of the community, and the word-of-mouth this generates is invaluable.
Get your food out of the house
Whether you cater events, start delivering your entrees, hold exclusive off-site events, or participate in summer food festivals, your food needs to leave the house to be seen and recognized. The free press these initiatives usually generate are only the side benefit to reaching your customers no matter where they are.
Tundra Specialties 6 Sponsor a local sports team
Little league, amateur softball or soccer, or even create your own league for your favorite sport – no matter what you sponsor you’re getting your name out there as a part of the community and that word-of-mouth advertising is the best kind.
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