In a rapidly-changing world, where emerging trends in technology and culture can affect even rudimentary aspects of our lives, it is crucial that you regularly revise the marketing strategy for your restaurant. Here are some tactics that you can follow to help avoid your restaurant falling behind in its promotional efforts in 2016.
Consider the ideal customers for your restaurant
For every business, there are particular demographics that it should be especially eager to market to. After all, every business wants a good return on their investment, and achieving this means strongly focusing its marketing campaigns on people most likely to want to turn to the company.
Even if you are already marketing your restaurant to particular demographics, you should consider whether it is worth reaching out to others. For example, if young students make up most of your customer base, it probably wouldn’t be too big or risky a stretch to also advertise to twenty-somethings or young parents.
Think about how you could reach out to those customers
Once you have decided on your target customers, you should discern how best to reach them. Seeking the custom of a relatively old generation? You could find that print advertising, such as in newspapers or leaflets, remains worthwhile. However, if you want to instead chase the young, let’s just say, “YouTube generation”, online advertising could prove a better bet.
Even if your restaurant has yet to open, you could still drum up excitement with an active social media campaign. The Colchester-based Boadicea Bar & Restaurant, for example, won’t be opening until early 2016, but still regularly makes new posts on its dedicated Facebook page.
Consider location, location, location
No, we don’t mean the TV show. What we basically mean is that, if your restaurant is currently struggling to pull in enough numbers, in terms of both customers and revenue, then moving into a different location – even just on a nearby street – could surprisingly pay dividends.
Consider the example of another Colchester eatery, The Garden Café at The Munnings Art Museum. Being located at a museum helps the cafe to attract people who visit the museum and see that, rather than have to spend time looking elsewhere, they can enjoy getting something to eat and drink without having to walk far. By relocating to near a major attraction, you can come to your target customers to make it easier for them to come to you.
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