A Recipe for Success and Customer Loyalty for Restaurants

When it comes to managing restaurants, there is no shortage of things to keep you busy. Perhaps this is why marketing can often feel like an afterthought or becomes an underutilized tool for restaurant owners. Here are a few tips restaurant owners and marketers can keep in mind to ensure that they have a fresh, up-to-date, effective outward face:

1. Be authentic. Whether you’re creating a social media post, a print ad, or a newsletter campaign, staying true to the brand and honest about what is happening in your kitchen is the best way to earn customers’ loyalty. The more consistent you are in your content creation, the more you can build momentum. Humor, branding, and personality can set you apart from other restaurants.

2. Give your brand’s look and feel some attention. The colors, fonts, and layouts you use will influence how people perceive your brand. Food marketing succeeds when it is highly visual. How does your visual brand bring your product to life? Are you using appetizing designs to complement your food and beverage photography?

3. Blog about the food you serve. Blogs may feel like an outdated idea in the age of social media. While blogging should not replace your social channels, it is a great idea to develop informative, rich content on a blog both for eager customers who want to engage meaningfully with your brand and for the SEO benefits. Plus, blogging is not common practice in the restaurant industry and presents an opportunity to set yourself apart.

4. Unlock the secret to customer loyalty. Gaining returning diners is a different challenge for different types of restaurants. A loyalty program might work for causal or quick-service restaurants looking to reward frequent customers. More upscale restaurants can experiment with adding weekly or monthly specials to keep people coming back and up the ante on their mainstays. If you are famous for your burger or club sandwich, you will attract loyal customers simply by reputation.

At ASTRALCOM, we are experts at connecting restaurants with the best tools and marketing techniques possible. Learn more about how we partner with restaurants to provide comprehensive marketing and digital strategy services.