Get Rid Of Restaurant Marketing Campaigns That Don’t Work Once And For All
I had a good talk with a friend the other day about his restaurant business. Like most restaurant owners trying to crawl past the recession, he was having some problems, and he had hired a couple of consultants to help him get to the bottom of things.
This is what he had to say.
“You know something?” he said, putting down his cup of coffee, “These days so many people are trying to get your money, and I had to figure that out the hard way.”
“What made you say that?” I said.
“My consultants want to me give away coupons. They want to me build a website, to invest in a couple magazines, in the Yellow Pages. Heck, I’m not rich!” he said. “I wouldn’t have hired them if I could afford all those things.“
And he was right. These days marketing professionals have tendencies to recommend expensive restaurant advertising campaigns like they’re talking to Bill Gates. Small restaurant owners simply can’t afford all those stuff.
The truth is, all those restaurant marketing campaigns don’t mean anything—unless, that is, you have a vision in place.
Before you spend a single cent on your restaurant marketing campaign, ask yourself these questions:
- Is your restaurant struggling seven days a week and you’re looking to attract more clients?
- Or is it more like there are specific days where business is slow and you’d like fill them up?
- Did you just open your restaurant and you’re looking to generate awareness for it?
- Are you promoting an event?
- Are you targeting a specific market niche or customer profile?
So do you see where this is going?
A restaurant consultant should get these questions out of the way as soon as you sit down with him or her at the table. If he or she starts handing out your marketing options before these circumstances have been established, then you need to fire one consultant off the payroll.
Learn your situation first, what your restaurant needs, before figuring out which way to go. Doing it the other way around is business suicide, wasting your time and thousands of dollars in the process.
Play smart. Know your situation first before deciding on a restaurant marketing campaign. That’s what I told my good friend.
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December 10th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
There are so many more affordable ways to market your restaurant other than old school advertising! The problem with many restaurant consultants out there is that they are chasing old methods that may have worked in the past, but are too expensive right now, for most struggling restaurants.