Merosys Blog

There are a number of marketing tactics that restaurateurs employ to lift sales at their restaurants. But great marketing is about solid operational execution, effective positioning and the cumulative results of marketing inside the four walls of your restaurant and in the immediate trading area .

Branding: It’s what customers, employees , vendors, the media and all other key constituents come to expect in dealing with your restaurant. Brand-building is closing the gap between what you promise and what you deliver. A strong brand is one that has alignment between the promise and execution. It’s not something that happens when you advertise, and it’s not that people recognize your logo or recall your advertising.

Positioning: Positioning is an under-leveraged restaurant marketing component. Positioning is the place you hold in the customers or prospects mind relative to the competition. Effective positioning involves incorporation of your Unique Selling Proposition (USP). The USP is the one thing that only you can claim. It’s a point of differentiation that the competition either cannot or does not claim.

Due Diligence: Restaurant marketing doesn’t happen in a vacuum. Effective restaurant marketing must be built on a foundation of fact and knowledge about the market, your competition, your customers, your Internal Customers, financial history, marketing history, the industry, and outside forces that will impact your business. It’s a lot to worry about, but restaurant marketing has to factor these considerations into the overall strategy.

Menu Mix: Every six to twelve months, you’ll want to conduct an analysis of your menu. This will include profitability analysis and competitive menu analysis. To keep your menu fresh, relevant, and profitable, you’ll need to know specifically how each item on your menu is performing and also how it stacks up next to your top competition.

Training: Training is a vital component of restaurant marketing. Training needs to go beyond just employee orientation. You’ll need an ongoing program that constantly improves and evolves your staff competencies. It’s also a good idea to include a restaurant marketing component in your training program so that you have a staff of ambassadors to help your sales-building efforts.

Tags: restaurant, restaurant marketig, restaurant marketing tips, restaurant tips