You NEED A Restaurant Marketing Plan

Behind every successful restaurant is an equally successful restaurant marketing plan.

Many owners DON'T take the time to create a detailed marketing plan but creating and writing out your marketing and promotion plan can lead to huge profits. A good marketing plan should cover the four P’s which are often taught in business and marketing classes. Product, price, place and promotion are the four key elements that must be clearly and concisely outlined. Marketing DOESN'T mean just paid advertising. Promotion and marketing includes more than just buying advertising from Yellow Pages or your local newspaper.

(To read how I marketed a restaurant with ZERO paid advertising click here)

Tips For Creating A Good Restaurant Marketing Plan

When detailing your restaurant marketing plan with the four P’s, it’s important to stay aware of all the facts. You need to know what is going on in your chosen market in terms of economy and competition. Staying in the dark and ignoring what competitors are doing is a big mistake. They have a direct impact on your business because you are all battling for the same customers.

Sometimes different business seasons call for different levels of marketing. For example, a restaurant specializing in home cooked meals like turkey dinner with all the fixings will want to increase their marketing efforts over the holidays.

Knowing your target market and busiest time of year will help to allocate necessary marketing funds.

Advertising ideas for your restaurant marketing plan can vary. Ads in the Yellow Pages used to be great way to draw plenty of eyes to your restaurant. Times and technology have changed a lot of ways restaurant owners now market their restaurant business.

Be careful not to fall into the trap of paying for advertising that worked well years ago, but it not effective in today's connected society. TV and radio ads are very costly. You need to figure out where the "buzz" is in your local area. Who is your target market, and how do you promote to them today. As the owner you need to constantly be working on attracting new customers, and retaining the loyal customers you have. That should all be analyzed and written inside your restaurant marketing plan

Whatever restaurant marketing plan methods you choose, no matter how crazy or unconventional they may seem, write them down and try them out. Any restaurant marketing plan will give you an advantage in your business versus no clear plan at all.