Tips for restaurateurs: how to attract new customers to a restaurant and improve sales
Opening a restaurant is not easy, especially nowadays. It is even more difficult to manage it effectively. The foundation of the restaurant business is satisfied customers who become regulars. Such clients will not exchange the restaurant even for new, tempting and cheaper places. It is vital for restaurants to gain loyal customers—loyal and faithful. Those who tell their friends about the restaurant will have a birthday banquet here and send their relatives here.
We tell you how to increase customer loyalty in the restaurant business. By the way, ideas and methods work in all areas of business.
Research your target audience
This is what you did at the stage of designing and opening a business. Now that the restaurant is already open, refine your guest persona once again. What age is he, what are his interests, problems, needs? What does he watch, listen to, read and how does he prefer to relax? How can a cafe or restaurant help him solve problems?
If you are targeting married couples, consider a children's play area and check whether it is within sight and whether parents can constantly monitor their children.
And if the restaurant operates in a child-free zone, that is, in the business center of the city, create all the conditions so that office workers can relax peacefully in your establishment after work.
To determine the target audience, the 5W principle is often used: ask yourself 5 questions about potential guests:
- Why - why will guests come to you? Just to eat, or to have an eventful relaxation?
- What - what will you offer them? Cuisine, atmosphere, live music, artist concerts?
- Who - who are your guests? Students, white collar workers, people with status?
- When - when do they visit you? After work, during lunch break, on weekends?
- Where (Where?) - where will they find you? On the ground floor of a business center, in a residential area, or a shopping center?
The method is simple, and at the same time working. Now you know exactly the profile of your client, all that remains is to hit the target with advertising - see tip No. 2.
Keywords
Often people look for where to sit in search engines. The search includes queries such as “pizzeria Gagarina Avenue”, “restaurant Odessa”, “cafe in Orel menu and prices”. That is, a person is mainly interested in the place, menu and price category. Highlight these points in the text on the restaurant’s website, and free customers from search engines will come to you. The selection of keywords using clothing as an example can be read in this article. Let me just say that for this purpose I personally use Wordstat and the Bukvariks keyword database installed on my computer.
Direct your advertising to your target audience
You can promote a restaurant in different ways: from the banal throwing of leaflets in boxes to large PR campaigns involving journalists and stars. To use your advertising budget rationally, it is important to target your advertising precisely to your target audience.
Let's say your restaurant is located in a residential area. Guests are expected to visit after hours, with family and children. It is important to declare the presence of a restaurant in a given area: Booklets and leaflets, advertising in local publications, simple methods, even leaflets under car windshield wipers in courtyards will cope with this task - they will be immediately thrown away, but information about the restaurant “around the corner” will be postponed.
If you are opening an establishment on a street with heavy traffic, you need roadside billboards that promise tasty and quick food. Finally, restaurants in city business centers are usually advertised near business centers, in trade publications and business directories. In the latter case, it is appropriate to organize a business breakfast, a presentation of a product or a seminar in a restaurant, and then convey this information to the target audience. Contextual advertising and SMM have a good effect.
Promotion of cafe services online
Using a personal website for online promotion is ineffective if you do not constantly maintain a thematic blog. Therefore, it is worth using resources that reach a wider audience.
Foursquare
Through the Foursquare app, people can tag places they've visited. Of course, it’s worth adding your establishment to the map of this application. It is necessary to indicate all important information about the cafe (menu, opening hours, address and telephone number) to make it easier for potential visitors to navigate.
The main content in the application is created by the visitors themselves - they add photos and write reviews. This can only be achieved by impeccable service and quality of food. However, establishment owners can add special offers through Foursquare - visitors can receive a free dish or drink for check-in (one visit). This attracts many clients.
Food photos are incredibly popular on this app. An impressive presentation of dishes will help quickly promote a new place: photos not only provoke appetite, but also heated discussions. A lot of people will want to try a new beautiful dessert after seeing it on their feed.
Facebook and VKontakte
These social networks are most suitable for informing visitors about the establishment . It is necessary to place a link to a convenient menu, opening hours, etc. This will be a big plus, because a person will not have to waste time searching for the necessary information on the Internet. In addition, the client will be able to avoid visiting during non-working hours. It is unlikely that anyone will come a second time if the establishment was closed the first time. It’s also worth posting photos of your dishes; it will be easiest to import them from Instagram.
All social networks are equally convenient means of communicating with clients. You can immediately respond to a negative review and invite the visitor to correct the situation, to “make amends.” Reposting positive reviews will serve as additional advertising and show that the owners of the establishment listen to the opinions of their visitors.
Social media pages are a convenient tool for informing visitors about upcoming promotions or events. In addition, you can conduct promotions simply online. For example, you could offer the first 10 users who “Like” a free drink or dish of the day.
Current Events Coverage and Activism
A positive image of an establishment is formed not only by advertising events, but also by active interaction with customers. It is worth studying your target audience in detail and covering events that may be of interest to them. It is a good idea to involve employees in communication on social networks, taking photos of them while working and responding to comments. This will help create an image of a “human” brand.
Find your character
There are hundreds of restaurants, cafes, brasserie, taverns, gastropubs, grill bars and so on around the client. To be successful, yours must be different.
Find your highlight: interior details, emphasis on individual products, tasting sets from the chef, or especially good combo lunches if this is a student cafe.
Maybe in your restaurant the chef comes out to the customers and personally asks how they liked the dish? Once upon a time, at the Il Grappolo restaurant, the well-known Aram Mnatsakanov often took away cell phones from guests, because these were the rules of the game. And guests of any status put up with this. This was the character of the place, and it is most evident in the communication of the staff with the guests.
The character must be bright - this is the only way to count on the client being so pleased with the restaurant that he will tell friends and colleagues about it, post a photo on Instagram with your hashtag, and invite visiting business partners. Strive to create your own character and don't be afraid to be different - that is the ultimate goal.
Printable advertisement
Business cards
Business cards are one of the most budget-friendly channels for advertising your establishment. If you can come to an agreement with the owners of other nearby establishments (for example, barbershops, beauty salons), then it is better to place business cards near the cash register. In this case, the visitor will have time to get acquainted with your offer and hear a positive recommendation to visit the cafe.
Booklets
It is better to print booklets on glossy paper. The font should not be small and the pictures should not be blurry. There is no need to “torture” your visitors with longreads; it is better to formulate a clear and concise sentence. You can place booklets on stands located at the door to your establishment, or simply on tables. While the visitor is waiting for his order, he will have time to familiarize himself in detail with the history of your establishment and its best offers.
Create a system of genuine hospitality
No methods will help if the work of waiters and other personnel is not adjusted. A dissatisfied cloakroom attendant or a grumpy security guard will ruin all your efforts to create a cozy atmosphere and quality cuisine. Moreover, the emotional component affects guests more than the functional one: they can forgive some hiccups in preparation, but will not forgive a waiter who is lethargic, indifferent, or with a stone face.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to simply make employees smile and be joyfully upbeat: sincere emotions are only possible in a generally comfortable atmosphere in the team.
The staff, of course, should know the standards of service: how to approach, take the order, set the table, serve the main courses, take out the bill, clear the table, and so on, but they should not look like a well-trained and soulless cog in the restaurant machine.
Try to hire waiters who love people and are ready to take care of them, without quickly throwing out “Did you like everything?”, but are really interested in the guest’s impressions. Perhaps it is not as important from which side the waiter serves the plate as how he smiles at the guest and communicates with him.
How to promote an already operating cafe?
If you are thinking about promotion late and you urgently need to promote an already operating cafe, then here is a ready-made script for you. To implement it, a budget of 30-50 thousand rubles will be required. Start acting on it right now and get the first results:
- Identify ONE main competitive advantage of your cafe. What really useful and necessary things can you offer people right now? It should be something specific, not a cozy atmosphere, excellent cuisine or polite staff. And people should need this . Express this benefit in 5 words. In general, it’s better in 3 words, but if that doesn’t work, then in no more than 5. Write it down on paper.
- Contact advertisers with a clear task to develop for you a slogan, text and visual image to promote this ONE benefit. Don't skimp and turn to professionals. And trust them even if you don’t like the options offered. Advertising must work, not you like it . If you don't know who to contact, here is the link.
- Determine promotion channels. It is better to use all available ones at once. Here are the main options:
- banners and streamers
- window posters
- pillars
- leaflets (flyers, postcards or even balloons)
- articles and advertising on VKontakte and Facebook
- video for youtube
- SMS and mailings
- direct advertising on local Internet portals (very effective)
- Contact the designers with a clear task create ready-made layouts for each distribution channel from a slogan, text and pictures. Paper posters and Internet banners may require different specialists. You can find them in abundance in freelancing. When working with freelancers, follow three rules:
- Draw up a clear technical specification (TOR)
- Conduct all correspondence with a freelancer only through the website freelance.ru
- Use safe transactions.
- Share information across all channels. Hang the posters on the windows and inside the cafe yourself. Hire students to hand out flyers. Distribution on the Internet should be done by professionals. They can also be found as freelancers. It is important to clearly formulate the task so that the information is delivered in a targeted manner.
Make a list of all the ways you can spread the word. Think and consult with advertisers. Maybe you will find another channel that will be effective in your particular case (for example, announcements in entrances). Please note that television and radio will be unreasonably expensive and completely ineffective. Be sure to use social networks! With their help, you can distribute information targeted (after all, you are interested in those who live or work near your cafe, and not in another city).
Take action. This is a proven and effective way. The costs of its implementation will be recouped by the revenue of your cafe in a few days.
If you have any questions, you can contact us by clicking on the big blue button at the bottom of the page.
Work on the atmosphere
A person can live without food for a week, but without air - only 5 minutes. Therefore, even in a restaurant, air, or rather the atmosphere, is vital.
What attracts a guest to a good establishment? It’s definitely not the kitchen; they cook well everywhere today. Service standards are also almost perfect. What remains is the atmosphere - a subtle matter that makes you return to this place again and again. It consists of details: interior, music, lighting, ventilation, parking spaces and much more. Moreover, the higher the level of the establishment, the greater the role played by intangible factors; cuisine and service fade into the background.
It all depends on the positioning: the atmosphere can be romantic, like in a French restaurant, or brutal, like in an American pub. Support it with interior details and themed events. Maybe you can host a cooking class for clients. Or an evening of national cuisine with performances by artists. Or maybe in your restaurant the waiters sing in the evenings, and guests love to sing along with them, like at the St. Petersburg Ribeye?
The Ultimate Guide to Restaurant Marketing
When to start promoting a cafe?
It is advisable to start promotion long before the opening of the cafe at the stage of choosing a premises. It is necessary to conduct a full-fledged marketing research and study human flows. You need to understand how exactly in a specific situation you will attract customers to your establishment. Build a promotion plan. There are no templates here. Everything is individual. For example, in one place a bright sign will work, but in another it will not be visible and will be of no use (which means you can save 100,000 rubles on a sign). Complete instruction on market research and promotion planning is included in the restaurateur MBA program.
Delight your guests with WOW effects
The WOW effect is when guests get more than they expect. Think about what you can offer them without spending a lot of money:
- greet the guest by name if he came for the second, third time, etc.;
- put note paper and branded pens if the guest has booked a table for a business meeting;
- Treat your winter guests to a warming drink while they choose what to order;
- give the client’s children a branded chocolate bar that is not listed in the menu or promotional materials;
- Set a special table for those who are celebrating an event with you.
Such little things cost nothing to you, but they will tell friends and colleagues about them, triggering the “word of mouth” mechanism.
Involving guests in the game
A very successful marketing move that came from foreign restaurateurs - visitors are involved in the game and receive rewards and various incentives at various stages. As a result, they will perceive a visit to a cafe not only as a way to eat, but also as part of a kind of “quest”. It works as follows - for example, a person who has tried a dozen types of beer in a month receives a “Beer Master” diploma, a T-shirt, a cap or a mug as a gift. Receiving gratitude for actions taken encourages a person to come back again.
Another variation of the game is competition and the desire to become the best representative of your country, however, this option is more suitable for international bars or cafes located in resort towns. The idea is that you can have a battle to see who can drink the most. The results are recorded on a pre-prepared board or table drawn on the wall, and at the end a rating of the most cheerful and united states is compiled. Keep in mind that the longer the action continues, the more people will want to participate and lead their people.
Consider a discount system
Most restaurant business experts agree on one thing: there must be a map of the establishment. And it is not at all necessary to provide a discount: clients of high social status may not understand if they are offered a 10% discount on all other visits. “Thank you, there are no problems with money,” is what they can answer. Therefore, for this category it is possible to issue certain “club cards” that give access to special events - wine tastings, dinners, master classes. For the audience of family restaurants, it is beneficial when part of the amount spent in the restaurant is returned to the card. This keeps them coming back.
Banquet bonuses work well: for example, a gift in the form of a certificate for a certain amount when celebrating a banquet. The guest can give the certificate to another person, thereby expanding the audience. As they say, if you got married yourself, “help” someone else.
A guest card does not always have to give a discount - it is also a way to feel certain privileges and join the club of the elite. As you already understand, when developing a discount system, it is extremely important to take into account the target audience. Indeed, in student cafes and bars, on the contrary, a card with a 5% discount will already be more effective than all other options.
Other
Discount and savings cards
Loyalty cards are another effective mechanism for attracting visitors to your establishment. A progressive discount system can be not only a smart way to thank loyal visitors, but also ensure that your cafe is regularly filled. It is better to make discount cards numbered. Please note that to receive a card you need not only to make a purchase for a certain amount, but also to fill out a short form. This will be useful for further work with your guest database.
Get people to take pictures with you
The reality is that today a restaurant must first and foremost be photogenic. People take pictures of food, take selfies, and immediately post them to you-know-where. Amateur photos of food become recommendations from visitors and a powerful advertising tool that can encourage others to come and try. We all trust reviews with real photos more than just text. So, the chefs and the entire team must work to ensure that the dishes are photogenic. But this is only the first step.
Many establishments go further and create special photo zones (not only for banquets, but permanent ones). Thus, in the Volgograd cafe Marusya there are tantamares in the form of nesting dolls, decorated with a corporate ornament and the hashtag of the establishment. Not only children, but also adults take pictures here, and immediately post their nesting dolls online, using a hashtag. Cafe marketers say that such photos attract 100–200 subscribers to the cafe’s pages per week, and the establishment does not spend a penny on these.
Repost photos of satisfied guests to your official page and you will create lasting positive associations. Encourage people to take photos with you - come up with a funny tag or a separate character that will reflect the character and specificity of your establishment.
How to retain clients
It is important not only to ensure an influx of new customers, but also to make them want to come again . To do this, it is necessary to follow the path of development and leave behind all the good things that were presented in the first stages of the establishment’s existence.
Important! You shouldn't raise prices for no reason, you shouldn't cut portion sizes, you shouldn't reschedule or shorten work hours, and forget about acting solely in the interests of your own financial gain.
Of course, the establishment exists to bring profit to the owners. But it’s better to have a small and constant profit than a sharp jump, and then a decline, and the closure of the business. Clients do not like when the rules of the game suddenly change, especially not in their favor. Try to think about their interests, based on the opportunity to benefit from this for yourself, and develop your business in this direction.
Don't neglect master classes
Who among us doesn’t want to touch the secrets of haute cuisine? A master class from a chef at your favorite restaurant is a great opportunity that will certainly be in demand by customers. Let’s immediately make a reservation that this is relevant for high-class establishments, where the average check is quite high. Here they will teach you how to cook “like Jamie Oliver,” and this will once again emphasize the status of the establishment and justify the rather high prices.
In establishments aimed at the middle class, children's master classes on making pizza, pastries, desserts and other simple things are going well, which they immediately eat. There are a lot of establishments in Moscow where entire “Cook Schools” operate on weekends, and, as practice shows, there is no shortage of people interested.
The Ginza Project network has gone even further and offers young visitors not only culinary master classes, but also educational, creative, and theatrical events. Animators, actors, bartenders, chefs and other specialists work with them. Of course, for the target audience of “families with children,” such a policy will produce results.
Advertising depending on the type of establishment
How to promote a fast food cafe? Decorate the facade in the appropriate style (usually the walls are painted in neutral colors, the emphasis is on bright signage and details). For indoor advertising, use lightboxes - illuminated menu boards.
Special offers, such as those at Burger King and McDonald's (for example, “burger + fries = free coffee”), bring good profits.
An equally popular question is how to promote a cafe dining room. The emphasis should be on affordable prices, simple and tasty food. The establishment can also host anniversaries, weddings, birthdays, and corporate events.
To get more clients, agree on cooperation with those who organize holidays.
How to promote a small cafe? You need to clearly define your target audience . Students can be attracted by inexpensive food, office workers by business lunches, wealthy young people by fashionable interiors, hookahs, and alcoholic cocktails. A small cafe especially needs competent positioning.
How to Use Marketing Techniques
We've only covered a few touchpoints. At the same time, all marketing communications must be comprehensive: that is, you cannot simply distribute leaflets and expect a huge result. We need to look at the big picture and solve specific problems.
What exactly to use in your establishment depends on each current situation. The main thing: rely not on your inner feeling, but on analytics. Evaluate, strategize, launch, evaluate the result and analyze again. This is the only way marketing will work.
Own chips
What happens if you meet the visitor's expectations? You have good service, good cuisine, good interior. Will the guest enthusiastically tell their friends about you? No. Most likely, he will simply forget, because the person came for borscht and received borscht. Yes, he will visit you if he is in the same area. But will he gather his friends for a purposeful visit? To do this you need to exceed his expectations.
Imagine, you are calmly waiting for your borscht, when suddenly “Jack Sparrow” comes up to the table with a bottle of rum and says: “Hey, buddy. Did you order the borscht? Maybe some rum for your appetite?” But this is a reason to share a funny story with friends.
Serve dishes in such a way that they evoke emotions, then visitors themselves will start telling their friends and posting photos on social networks, thereby advertising you. Come up with tricks. Put on a show. Your food should bring you joy.
Internal advertising of catering facilities
Inside the establishment, you can apply logos to chairs, tables, napkin holders, ashtrays, and menu books. Napkins and tablecloths with embroidered logos look very attractive, which also enhance the status of the enterprise. You can decorate the walls, the lobby, and work on the overall interior of the room. It must correspond to the name, style and purpose of the cafe. For example, in a cafe with Japanese cuisine, you can decorate the walls with paintings of cherry blossoms, hieroglyphs, etc.; You can buy a hookah, put out scented candles, dress the waiters in national costumes, and turn on appropriate music.
