Tasty Tips to Attract Loyal Customers to Your Restaurant

Marketing for Restaurants

With hundreds of restaurant options to choose from, what makes your restaurant stand out? Effective marketing is the answer! Your location, menu options, and staff are all factors that make your restaurant unique, but your marketing efforts are what sets your restaurant apart from the competition. Restaurant marketing is the process of taking action to increase your visibility in the market to attract new and loyal customers and ultimately generate more revenue.

Consistent and well-thought-out marketing strategies are fundamental to any restaurant business plan. Competition in the restaurant industry is fierce, so you need a successful marketing strategy to attract new foot traffic and ensure your regulars keep coming back again and again.

Here are a few direct marketing strategies you can use at your local restaurant.

Grow Your Revenue by Drawing in New Customers

The most significant benefit of restaurant marketing is the potential to increase your revenue. As with any business, without customers, a restaurant cannot survive. Marketing is about making customers aware of your products and services and connecting with your customers to develop strong and ongoing relationships.

Increase Your Visibility

You want to maximize the visibility of your establishment to anyone who happens to pass by. Increasing signage in strategic locations around your restaurant can have a significant impact on your overall presence in the community. Place as much signage as possible with your logo in the area.  

A helpful tip that is particularly beneficial for restaurants located off-street in areas with high foot traffic is to place a well-designed menu on a menu board outside your establishment or even in the window for people to look over as they walk by. It provides an opportunity to lure the customer to your footsteps and show them everything you have to offer.

Provide an Enticing Offer

Typically, the first people to notice your restaurant are the locals, but how can you get them to walk through your doors? A great way to accomplish this is by devising a “neighborhood special” that you can mail on a postcard to businesses and residents within a couple of miles of your establishment and include an offer or coupon they can redeem. Ideally, you want these people to get in the habit of coming to your establishment on a regular basis. So keep offering incentives periodically, like a free appetizer or dessert; soon, you will be on their dining circuit. 81% of customers look forward to receiving frequent dining deals, and 77% of customers use restaurant coupons. Sending coupons through direct mail can change the way people think about your restaurant, giving the impression that you are a customer-friendly business. Still direct mail can benefit your business in many other ways. 

Customer Retention

If you want customers to dine with you often, create a loyalty program that incentivizes their return by earning points for each visit or by referring friends and family to your restaurant that they can redeem for discounts or free items. Use direct mail to enhance your loyalty program by:

• Attaching a loyalty card to your mailers
• Send thank you cards to show your appreciation
• Provide updates and reminders to use their reward points 
• Send birthday specials to invite them to celebrate with you

Welcome new movers to the neighborhood by sending them a personalized welcome letter with your menu. These customers might be unfamiliar with what the area offers for restaurants. Direct mail is an excellent way to capture their business before your competitors. 

Kessler Has You Covered

As a premier provider of direct marketing and printing services, Kessler Creative performs a wide variety of services to help you reach new clients. We provide direct marketing solutions to clients nationwide. So whether you are looking to elevate your restaurant with signs and menus or increase your visibility with direct mail, postcards, and digital marketing solutions like; design, graphics, or internet-based marketing services, we have an array of machines, software, and experts to tackle any print job you feel that you might need to increase your business. Reach out to us today and let us help you with all your direct mail marketing needs: http://www.kesslercreative.com/