Marketing it Right: How does the new age restaurant marketing look like

Gone are the days when we used to know about a new restaurant opening through newspaper ads or a pamphlet. With changing times, and people getting more digital-friendly, restaurant marketing has taken many shapes. Restaurants are not just enhancing their existing branding strategy, but also layering it up by providing various experiences keeping their customer base intact in a highly competitive market. 

Globally, the failure rate of a restaurant is estimated at 90 percent within the first year and only 50 percent survive until the second year. While there are many factors to consider for survival, the right marketing may own a major chunk. 

Also Read: 8 Marketing Tips for Restaurants to overcome coronavirus loss

There is a strong high-end foodie culture growing online, fueled by social media. Individuals are now seeking new and innovative dining experiences. It thus becomes imperative for restaurants to establish a foundational digital marketing strategy as early as possible. 

Social media says it all

Phased soft launch events involving targeted groups of digital influencers are effective at building online reviews and awareness before opening day. Online channels become a primary source for potential customers to learn about and engage with restaurants.

“Now the market demands us to be more modern and experimental with our promotions, so that is what we’ve been aggressively promoting. We’ve had A-listed celebrities and influencers come over and promote our hospitality and services. The major shift that we’ve seen, especially in the food and beverage and hospitality industry is from print to social media,” Owner of Ardor 2.1, Suveett Kalra commented.  

Today, every piece of content can be digitised as it has a massy reach.  “These massive enterprises like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have completely changed the way people looked at marketing and advertising. The time people spend on social media platforms is so huge that it allows us to use them to push our products in the right way with the right content and emotions to hit the potential customers,” Kalra further added. 

Taking cost-effective approach

Apart from attracting a huge number of eyeballs, one of the biggest benefits of new-age marketing is the cost. While one may still have to pay, online ads can be ‘pay per click’ which is like handing out a flyer and only then paying for it once someone is actually interested.

Brilliant Instagram campaigns or effective SEO plans can be successfully deployed for little to no cost at all. Commenting on the same, Jaideep Singh Anand, Owner of Tamasha Restaurant Connaught Place said, “Features like Instagram stories and Facebook boosting have really helped us reach our target audience by promoting our products the right way. Good content has taken over traditional marketing and so our team works meticulously to make things happen for us.”

Similarly, video marketing has helped many outlets to promote their menu and services. According to a recent survey, 56 percent of millennials name video as the most engaging content type available on the web today while 50 percent of the adults surveyed find videos more engaging than other content forms.

Traditional routes not to be missed

Undoubtedly, digital marketing is the way forward for many considering that they provide vast reach, actionable data, are easy to measure, and simple to adapt, but that doesn't mean that traditional modes of marketing are outdated. 

The Co-Founder of Burger Singh, Rahul Seth feels that traditional marketing is a daily part of people's lives, whether it is radio ads while driving, flyers or billboards on the road, or TV ads; people have come to associate these ad spaces with brands.

“In my view, the best marketing strategy is the one that utilises both mediums in a targeted manner. For example, investing in traditional marketing mediums for brand reputation management is an excellent investment, and social media is the best tool at your disposal for roping in new customers and maintaining relationships with your existing ones,” Singh added. 

May Interest: Dealing with New Trends of Social Media Marketing

For Burger Singh, the direct TG is Millennials and Gen Z; hence, the brand follows a quirky approach to attract them on social mediums when it comes to branding and marketing. However, traditional marketing channels help the company to expand to new cities. 

Maximised ROI is always the goal for any campaign, after all. And selecting the right channel to find the right audience is most important. The need of the hour when it comes to marketing one’s product is to strike the right balance between conventional and unconventional ways.