4 Simple But Effective Strategies For Marketing Your New Restaurant Business

Industry stats indicate that the restaurant business is a tough nut to crack. It has been shown that many new ventures in the restaurant industry won’t make it much past a year. Besides this, there is a lot of hard work, money and commitment involved.

The good news however is, you can make a success of it if you can get past the tricky first year period. Once you do get past this tricky period things can explode for you – in the right way, of course!

So, how can you ensure that you will not only get past this tricky period but truly make a success of your new restaurant business?

The solution is in putting in place a marketing strategy that will help you stay the course. So, if you think you have the mental toughness, thick skin and perseverance for it, then read on. I’m going to give you some ideas of how to market your business successfully plus, how you can have a full house for the opening night and beyond.

Are you ready for this? Then let's get on with it!

1. Invite Local Businesses To The Opening Night

Your first night is a big event, and you should give it a lot of planning. Ask local businesses along, and offer them a discount – and free champagne always helps, too. The sort of person that turns up to this kind of event probably has a lot of fingers in different pies. And that means that they will go to a lot more events, meaning if you give them a great night, they will rave about it. It also gives you the chance to get some names down on paper of people you can approach for Christmas parties. Every night is important in the lifetime of a restaurant, but opening night has a host of opportunities to explore.

2. Get A Contact At The Local Paper

Find out who to speak to at your local newspaper and ask them to do a piece on you. For this to work well, you have to have a unique selling point. Perhaps your signature dish is a first for the country, or maybe you use local ingredients exclusively and nothing else. Whatever it is, make sure you say it loudly and forcefully so that it is very clear when the article goes out. You could even include a coupon with the article to give diners a discount.

3. Use Social Media

Social media isn’t a perfect fit for many businesses, but for restaurants, it can be an amazing tool. However, choose wisely. Instagram and Pinterest are probably good choices because they can give a pictorial representation of your food. Make sure they look good though – dimly lit meals can often look depressing! However, Facebook and Twitter can cause a lot of problems, particularly when you have a bad night – which you will at some point. People love to complain, and it can have a negative impact on your trade. Look into social media management for restaurants if you are struggling with how to play it. An expert will be able to give you key advice, and even run the accounts for you to keep things looking good and draw interest from your audience.

4. Find A Society Magazine

Your local society magazine is stuffed to the brim with pictures of people attending opening nights of just about anything. And in a lot of cases, it’s the same people in those pictures month after month. These are the socialites of the world, and love going out. If you can encourage them to visit you and deliver the goods, expect a lot of repeat trade.

The above marketing strategies may look real simple but these have been proven to work any day any time. Put them to use today and you’re sure of making success of your new venture. Wishing you the best!