Andrea AbbondanzaMarketing a restaurant can be challenging, especially in a competitive market like Australia. The food market in Australia is diverse and competitive, with a range of cuisines and dining options available to consumers.
However, with the right strategy and tactics, you can effectively promote your restaurant and attract new customers. In this article, we will provide you with practical tips on how to market a restaurant in Australia.
From creating a strong online presence to utilizing local marketing techniques, we will cover a range of strategies that you can use to get the word out about your restaurant and drive business. So, if you’re looking to boost your restaurant’s visibility and bring in more customers, keep reading to learn more about how to market a restaurant in Australia effectively.
What is restaurant marketing?
Restaurant marketing is the act of promoting a restaurant so it will get known by the public. It involves presenting your restaurant’s or food service ideas and services to the general public to gain patronage. Doing it with the right marketing strategy can contribute significantly to a restaurant brand’s development.
Simply said, marketing is the plan that guides how you interact with your clients. Of course, there isn’t just one way to do this; instead, you must take a series of steps using a variety of channels to reach your target audience. As a result, you’ll get some loyal customers in the end.
Why should I market my restaurant?
In general, marketing is one of the cores of doing a business. As stated before, marketing is done so a company can get known by a wide range of people. With how competitive the restaurant industry is, marketing a restaurant is something every restaurant owner must do.
There are several reasons why it is crucial to market your restaurant. First and foremost, marketing helps increase your restaurant’s visibility and awareness, which can lead to increased customer traffic and sales.
Marketing can also help you stand out from the competition and differentiate your restaurant from other dining options. Moreover, if you do the marketing effectively, it can help you to attract customers and reach a wider audience, which can be especially important for small or newly established restaurants.
Marketing can also help build and strengthen your restaurant’s brand and reputation, leading to long-term success and profitability. People will know where your restaurant is or what your brand is. If people already know your restaurant, there’s a chance that new customers will go to yours and write a review, which can become a tool for your other restaurant marketing strategies.
15 Tips for market a restaurant
Now, let’s start the real deal.
Here are some tips you need to know regarding how to market a restaurant in Australia. Check this out!
Kick-start word of mouth
Word-of-mouth is a conventional method. However, it’s still one of the most effective restaurant marketing strategies. Peer-to-peer recommendations can snowball into free clients when done correctly.
According to Kimberly Whitler (Forbes), giving your consumers a reason to talk about you is one of the most crucial elements for a successful word-of-mouth strategy. This can be achieved by offering exceptional customer service, unique and memorable experiences, and consistently high-quality cuisines or services.
By providing your customers with something worth talking about, you can create a positive buzz and generate organic marketing through word-of-mouth referrals. This can be very powerful in the restaurant industry, as people often look for recommendations from friends and family when choosing where to dine.
No matter how much money you spend, if the food or service at your restaurant is subpar, it won’t matter how much you spend. The higher the quality of your restaurant, the more effective word-of-mouth advertising and restaurant marketing will be.
Spend initially on your restaurant, then focus on service improvement. You will constantly see excellent benefits over the long term, and it is financially sustainable.
Offer amazing customer service
Offering amazing customer service is essential to any restaurant’s marketing strategy. First, excellent customer service can create a positive and memorable experience for your customers, encouraging them to return to your restaurant and recommend it to others. It will bring more loyal customers to your restaurant.
In addition, providing excellent customer service can help to build and strengthen your restaurant’s brand and reputation. Customers are likelier to remember and talk about a restaurant that provides them with an exceptional experience, which can lead to word-of-mouth referrals or positive online reviews. This can be especially valuable in the digital age, as positive online reviews and ratings can significantly impact a restaurant’s reputation and success.
On the other side, if you give a bad experience to your customers, it will keep away your potential customers. They will give you negative reviews, which makes other people who read them avoid your restaurants.
Overall, offering fantastic customer service is an important aspect of any restaurant marketing strategy because it helps create positive customer experiences, making them think it’s worth going to your restaurant.
Develop your restaurant’s brand identity
Developing a solid brand identity for your restaurant is important for building customer recognition and loyalty. Your brand identity is the personality and character of your restaurant, and it should be reflected in every aspect of your business, from the logo and branding materials to the menu and customer service.
When developing your restaurant’s brand identity, it is important to consider what makes it different from other restaurants and what you want it to be known for. By understanding the direction of your business brand, you’ll know who’s your target market so you can be more focused on them, as they can be your loyal customers.
Building a brand’s identity could include the type of cuisine you serve, your restaurant’s atmosphere and decor, or your business’s values and mission. Once you have defined your brand identity, it is essential to consistently communicate and embody it in your marketing and customer interactions.
A strong brand identity can help to differentiate your restaurant from the competition and create a loyal customer base.
Find your exact target audience
An essential first step in developing a restaurant marketing strategy is identifying the precise target market. Your restaurant may attract a variety of clients who all appreciate it, but they should be divided into groups.
Once business owners have these groupings, they may tailor advertising campaigns to each group. They will know what kind of marketing efforts they should make for each group of customers. It’s necessary to do because each group has different characteristics.
For example, the menu in your restaurant includes delicious vegan and meat dishes. However, sales of vegan dishes are smaller than sales of meat dishes, so you want to focus on marketing vegan food. By knowing your target group clearly, you can produce ads that specifically discuss the vegan menu and share it with your target customers.
Get a website
Digital marketing is one of the most effective ways to promote your restaurant. As we’re in the digital era, most people all over the world spend their time surfing the internet. That’s why getting a website can be an excellent way for your restaurant marketing ideas. Who knows if they will stumble on your website?
Besides the fact that it’s to keep up with digitalization and adapt to society’s way of living, having a website will make your potential customers easier to get more information about your restaurant business. These people will know which of the most validated website they can refer to if they’re talking about your restaurant.
If you already have a well-made website, you can boost it using the right Search Optimization Strategy (SEO) technique. It will allow your website to reach a wider audience by appearing in people’s searches.
Establish your mission statement
Establishing a restaurant’s mission statement is a must for restaurant owners and their teams. It sets the tone for the entire business and gives potential customers an idea of what they can expect from your restaurant business.
Your mission statement should be clear, concise and convey the values you hold dear. It should also be memorable and have staying power so that it can be used to attract new customers and keep existing being repeat customers. When creating a mission statement, think about what makes you unique as a restaurant and why people should visit your restaurant in the area.
Ask yourself: What do I want my restaurant to stand for? What are my core values? Once you have these down, craft your statement according to the answers.
Be sure to avoid generic or “too good to be true” sentiments — those will not make any lasting impression on customers and may even turn them off from coming in.
Your mission statement should also act as a directive when making decisions regarding your business. It should be something you refer back to when considering various aspects of running a successful restaurant.
By keeping your mission statement central to all operations, you can ensure that everyone on staff is working towards fulfilling it — resulting in a cohesive customer experience that stands out from the competition.
Set up your socials
Online marketing will be very effective if it’s done in the right way. A social network is one of the most effective instruments for successful restaurant online marketing. Social media supports brand development, customer retention, and sales growth of a restaurant business.
For an early start, some social media that you should set up are a Facebook business page, a Twitter account, and an Instagram account. These three platforms have plenty of users, so that you can reach a wider audience. You can also create a Pinterest or TikTok account for your restaurant marketing plan.
Utilizing these social media platforms to their fullest potential can be a key part of your marketing strategy. Depending on the type of restaurant, you could post content related to food and beverage recipes, customer reviews, promotions, or events. Facebook also allows you to create advertisements for even greater visibility. Additionally, establishing an email list is another excellent way to reach potential customers and keep in touch with existing ones via newsletters or updates about special promotions.
Additionally, if you have access to a competent social media video creator, you can use it to generate movies of your restaurant’s menu and overview. Then you can share it on any social media site where you can access your target market.
Be Insta-Credible
If you use Instagram, you know it takes no more than three seconds to go through your newsfeed and locate another image of food or drink. Well, food porn is still a thing nowadays.
Instagram is among the most effective social media platforms to advertise your business because of its visual-centered. Successful restaurant marketing depends on having mouth-watering photographs that will make people want to eat now. Thus, marketing restaurant on Instagram is all about providing food photos that can make someone see it craving for it.
Besides a platform that can help restaurant marketing with food photos, Instagram can also be a platform to experiment with your brand identity and be used to communicate brand messaging to your target audience.
For instance, a restaurant that promotes itself as being health-focused can post pictures of people exercising, hiking, or doing yoga. Basically, content that you believe will appeal to your repeat customers. It would be best if you also remembered that many millennials, in particular, go to restaurants merely to take pictures of the cuisine and brag about going there.
Use Instagram stories and highlights
Besides using the Post feature on Instagram, you can also use the Stories and Highlights features. These features provide a great opportunity to engage with your audience more intimately.
Through stories, users can post photos and videos that stay up for 24 hours and then disappear. This can be used to share sneak peeks of upcoming recipes or events and behind-the-scenes footage of the restaurant atmosphere. With Highlights, you can save stories into one collection so customers can revisit them anytime they want. It is perfect for sharing customer reviews, the online menu, or highlighting special dishes and drinks.
Another good Instagram feature for marketing is its Reels. Instagram Reels is an excellent tool for creating content that stands out from the rest. Instagram Reels allows you to create short 15-second videos with music, effects, and other creative tools. It’s a great way to showcase your restaurant in an engaging, interactive way and generate more interest in your business.
Get listed on restaurant apps
Listed on restaurant apps is a great way to leverage technology to boost your online presence. These apps allow customers to find restaurants nearby, make reservations, and browse menus, specials, and reviews.
Having your restaurant listed on these platforms will reach more new customers and help them discover you easily. Ensure that the information available about your restaurant is accurate, up-to-date, and consistent across all channels. Additionally, remember to periodically review the app feedback so you can address any customer concerns quickly and efficiently.
Get handy at SEO
SEO, or local SEO in particular, is essential for restaurant marketing strategies. It’s the practice of optimizing your website content and code to improve visibility in search engine rankings. This includes creating keyword-rich content, ensuring all pages are correctly linked, optimizing images for faster loading times, and submitting your website to directories.
A well-executed SEO for restaurants will give you a better chance of appearing higher on search rankings, helping you reach more potential customers. Additionally, ensure your website is optimized for mobile and desktop devices – this will likely result in higher conversion rates from potential customers.
For example, you’re targeting the “best restaurants in Australia” keyword in Google. If you do the SEO in the right way, your website page will show up in the organic search results list if someone searches that keyword.
However, SEO requires time, dedication, and knowledge, but if you’re willing, you can obtain lots of free consumers. Being highly rated by Google carries a lot of reputation, so when potential clients arrive on your website, they will already have faith in you.
Find restaurant & food bloggers
Influencer marketing can be an effective way to get your restaurant known by people. As we know, an influencer usually has plenty of followers, so something posted by them will easily reach many people.
An influencer can be in various forms, including food bloggers. If you invite food bloggers to your restaurant, ensure you provide an incredible experience because they can make or break a business.
You may create an army of food influencers and get amazing results if you can persuade food bloggers to publish an article about your restaurant in their restaurant blog. Of course, by writing it with a positive review.
However, there are some aspects that you need to understand before inviting restaurant & food bloggers to your place. First, you should ensure that you have a clear plan on how you will engage them during the visit. Then, make sure what type of content they usually create and see if it fits your need or not. Lastly, know their demographic fans; ensure it’s the same as your target audience.
Consider online food ordering mediums
Online ordering mediums are great for reaching your target market and increasing sales. Not only does it provide convenience for customers, but it also gives you the ability to track customer behavior and gain valuable insights, which you can use to fine-tune your marketing strategy.
Consider creating promotions on popular food ordering services to attract more customers and make sure they get the best deal possible. Additionally, look into integrating an online ordering system onto your website to give customers another convenient option when deciding where to order from.
Finally, ensure that you are collecting customer data so that you can better understand their buying habits and preferences – this data can be used to tailor future marketing efforts and boost sales even further.
Offer freebies, coupons, and discounts
People enjoy getting things for free. Thus, you can give a free meal or discounts, so people are willing to go to your restaurant even if they don’t know about it. Free samples could you provide if your restaurant is near a busy street with lots of foot traffic to entice customers.
However, make sure that your food is delicious and memorable so that when they taste it and feel delighted by it, they will revisit your restaurant, even when you’re not on a promo period.
Offering freebies or free meals is a good strategy if you’re confident with your restaurant dishes.
Go mobile with a food truck
A food truck is a great tool to get your restaurant’s name out into the community and spread the word. This approach allows you to reach a larger audience by traveling to places where people are looking for something different or unique. From downtown areas to food festivals, food trucks can be found in just about every city across the country.
Not only does the food truck enable an affordable mobile solution that is easy to set up and take down, but it also provides a great platform to show off your best dishes. Additionally, a food truck can serve as a powerful advertising tool; offer discounts to customers as a loyalty program or display your restaurant logo on the side of the truck.
Moreover, if done correctly, joining forces with other local businesses can help you extend your reach even further.
Consider hosting food truck events in collaboration with other vendors so that everyone wins; customers have more options, and you get more exposure from customers who may not have heard of your restaurant.
With this strategy, you will be able to build relationships with other local businesses while strengthening customer loyalty and increasing sales simultaneously.
Most Frequently Ask Questions
What are the 4 P’s of marketing in relation to restaurants?
The 4 P’s form is the basis for a successful restaurant marketing strategy. The 4 P’s of marketing in relation to restaurants are product, price, place, and promotion.
What makes a restaurant popular?
Various factors contribute to a restaurant’s popularity. The most crucial factor is the quality of food and service. Word of mouth plays a significant role too, as word travels quickly about restaurants with good food and friendly staff. In addition, it is essential for restaurants to have an attractive ambiance, as this can make people feel comfortable and more likely to return.
Conclusion
The restaurant industry in Australia is growing rapidly, and there are many opportunities for restaurants to succeed in the market. However, to be successful, restaurants must have a clear marketing strategy and understand the industry’s trends.
By following the tips provided in this article, you can create a marketing plan that will help your restaurant reach its target audience and grow its business. Be it online or conventional strategy, we got you all covered here.
