The restaurant business has an incredibly high failure rate. It is a very difficult business to get right.
To be successful you have to do everything right. The food has to be excellent. Service always friendly and efficient. Costs have to be kept low. These are all secrets to success.
Beyond all that, one of the most important aspects of running a restaurant is having a successful promotion strategy.
You could have everything working great, but if people don’t know you’re there you can’t succeed.
In this article, I will go over some low-cost ways to promote your restaurant business. Just go through all the ideas one by one.
Branded Apparel
You should have a solid brand figured out at the time that you are opening your restaurant. From a good logo to a catchy slogan. This is something you will be building your promotion around.
It isn’t enough to put the word out that you have the best food around. You need to have something people can recognize right away and remember.
Custom business shirts with the logo and slogan are a good way to solidify the branding and advertise at the same time.
Have staff wear branded shirts that they wear to work. And then get those shirts out in the public. When people are out wearing the shirt with your brand and information, it serves as a walking billboard. And it doesn’t cost much to make a bunch of these shirts to give away.
Social Media
This one should be pretty obvious. Without using social media, your restaurant will have a hard time getting noticed. Figure out your market and find out which platform they use the most. Then start posting and maintain a consistent presence on that platform.
The best part is that it is free to use social media. You can buy ads, and those can be cost effective. But, with the right strategy, social media can be done effectively and for free.
Tying in business shirts with social media is a great way to do cross-promotion. Run some giveaways on social media with the prize being a shirt that has your brand on it. You’ll increase your followers and build some goodwill with potential customers when they win something.
Run Loyalty Programs
Keep customers coming back by offering rewards cards. Those are the cards that are punched with each visit. Every 5 or 10 purchases will be rewarded with something free.
It doesn’t have to be a free meal, but offering a free appetizer when the card has been filled is a good way to create a loyal following.
Be Charitable
To really solidify being a valuable member of a community and raising your brand, you should be helping with local charities. This can be in the form of donations of a free meal for a fund raiser, or by holding a charity auction at your restaurant.
It shows that you care and will help people want to give you their business.
