6 marketing ideas for your restaurant

"Hospitality industry is growing at a very fast rate as everyday a new restaurant comes up with some unique concept. To sustain in the market, it's necessary to opt for marketing for your restaurant/cafe's/hotels. Marketing plays an extremely important role in making a restaurant a hit or a miss in the market. Now days’, marketing is not only limited to Advertisements in print or radio but way more than that. “At our restaurants, we plan engaging marketing activities every month so that we can offer something new to our customers every month. Marketing helps any brand to promote & communicate about their new offerings, discounts, about the place, events to their target customers. I prefer digital marketing as it plays a vital role these days in promotion and visibility of any brand and is best mode of advertisements." says chef Ashish Massey, Director, Ancient Barbeque (Noida and Gurugram).

Be in the limelight: Facebook, instagram, twitter, this is where all your target audience lies. Make sure to reach them through platforms they are present on. Do not just go through the traditional media channels of advertising in newspapers and giving out pamphlets but take a step further. Create events on special days and put forward your best photography and writing skills. Attract them. Social media advertising is easy, already has an audience and is almost free.

Reward the loyal customers: Customers that have been loyal to you have been so for a reason. Reward their loyalty with discount coupons or to add a more personal touch, track their birthdays and send them a free package or a special discount on that day and they are bound to be by your side. This will not only keep them loyal but also market your brand by word of mouth. Everyone likes to be recognised and cared for. Do that as a brand and you are good to go!

Invite local influencers over: Be it a big chain, or just a start-up. A very good idea is to call over local influencers like famous bloggers, photographers, local press and other media influencers. This is the best way to PR your brand without making it too obvious. With just little amount of money you spent in food and goodies your brand name shall shine in all the media posts of people having massive followers thus enhancing trust in your brand. This will create a sudden buzz of your brand all over the local media making people curious.

Involve your customers: Do not leave your customers alone. Keep reminding them of your brand by organising fun events and asking them for their inputs. Make an app that makes them track their orders even if they are sitting in the restaurant. Get their pictures clicked by professional cameras that they can only find on your website or social media pages and make them visit you. Leave them something with the bill they can take home. Ask for their feedback and learn from it. Give them special coupons for ‘n’ number of visits. This is bound to get the bills flowing.

Build your restaurant website: A restaurant website is a must for every start-up. It will provide detailed information about the idea, people involved, cuisines offered and chefs appointed. Make it interactive. Ask them to choose their favourite ingredients for a meal. This will give it a personal touch, enhancing the customer’s experience.

Get creative: It all boils down to one thing. Be creative with your approach and your advertising. Appeal to people in a manner they cannot ignore. Do it yourself or hire a team and let them do it for you. Keep it on the toes. Keep innovating and experimenting. Keep the customers interested. All this work is sure to be fruitful.