A Guide To Reducing Advertising Costs For Restaurant Owners

I have a friend who is a restaurant owner. He runs a fairly popular restaurant in his local area. But thing is, 2009 left him with a small hole in his pocket, and now he’s interested in hearing ways how he could cut down on his advertising costs without compromising his restaurant brand awareness.

He used to enjoy advertising in food magazines, etc. But when those publications demanded higher fees, my friend knew he needed to look someplace else if he wanted to keep advertising.

I was lucky enough to talk to him one afternoon over coffee, and he happened to share his dilemma. I asked, “Have you tried marketing online?” He said, “No,” and shook his head. “You’re missing out on a lot,” I said. Those were my exact words.

Seriously, what restaurant owner wouldn’t advertise online and not miss out on a lot of good things? So I told him, “You should think about advertising on social media like Facebook and Twitter. That way you’ll reach a broader set of audience without feeling the expensive costs of print media.”

My advice to restaurant owners, start with the most popular social media websites around – Facebook, MySpace, Multiply, etc. Of course, Twitter. Once you’ve gotten the hang of it, online restaurant marketing, then you can move on to deeper stuff like blogging. You could write for the blog yourself if you’ve got the time. Otherwise, you could hire a blogger or assign one of your chefs to blog on his or her spare time—of course, with proper compensation.

My friend was worried about the same thing. “I’m not a computer person,” he said. “I know my way around the kitchen, but I can’t tell one side of an iPod from the other. Isn’t hiring an online marketing company going to cost me more than what I used to spend on magazines?”

That’s a good question. But that’s also where online marketing shines. You don’t need to hire a company. You just need to hire someone—an internet-savvy person—to spend just a few minutes in front of a computer everyday to check your email, send newsletters, update your Twitter status. But here’s an even better solution: why not pay one of your servers to do just that for you? Unless you require your servers to be above the age of 60 and possess a senior citizen’s card, they should know how social media works and wouldn’t mind earning some extra income on the side.

More restaurant owners should recognize the power of online marketing on social media. It’s here, and it’s mostly free-of-charge. Why not use it to boost your restaurant business?

Tell me what you think by leaving a comment below.

Get An Instant 10-20% Increase In Restaurant Sales By Establishing An Online Presence

Restaurant operators nowadays are lucky. They don’t know what it’s like to market a restaurant the old-fashioned way: purely word-of-mouth. These days customer feedback is still as valuable to a restaurant entrepreneur, but it’s much easier to get around, thanks to the Internet.

Online restaurant marketing tools such as blogs, SEOs, social media and etc. are making it easier for restaurant owners to reach out to their audience. This blog is a living example.

Last year Wal-Mart, while not a restaurant, started the plan to overhaul its website as a step to beating its biggest online competitor, Amazon.com. If that doesn’t convince you, maybe this will - investment firm Credit Suisse expects e-commerce sales to increase 10%, around $144 billion, by 2010.

Simply put, you can’t go wrong with online marketing for your restaurant. You just have to do it right.

Here are a few tips on how to establish a solid online presence.

1.    You are not marketing online if you don’t have a restaurant website.

2.    Make essential details about your restaurant available online. Address, contact number, menu offerings, company history, etc. Give customers what they want and not just what you want them to know.

3.    Use social media to raise awareness about your restaurant brand.

4.    A web programmer isn’t an online marketer. Web programmers design websites; online marketers sell them to customers. You need to hire both.

5.    Hire a competent marketing firm to handle your online marketing. This is a job for the pros.

6.    Promote your restaurant website both online and offline.

7.    Make changes to your restaurant website as needed.

Online marketing is essential to your restaurant’s success. Either embrace it or watch every other restaurant in your town grow to become more successful, leaving you and your recipes trailing in the dust.

Share your insights on online marketing for restaurants by leaving a comment below.

3 Action Ideas To Beat Big-Chain Restaurants At Their Own Game

We live in a world where the big boys dominate the playing field. This is something I’m not going to lie to you about. Especially in the foodservice industry, where big chain restaurants—McDonald’s, Burger King, etc.—get all the customers and a huge chunk of the market. Small business owners are left to feed on the crumbs of these burger giants.

So what to do? As a restaurant owner, you turn to online restaurant marketing, where reaching out to millions of potential customers is easy and affordable. But then you find out the same big burger chains are pulling out all the stops in their marketing on the Internet.

Here are some tips on how you can compete with these established restaurant chains on the Internet:

• Stir up a controversy

Hire a restaurant consultant to come up with a really smart and edgy marketing campaign for your restaurant. Go for shock value, of course taking care not to offend anyone with your antics. This one way, a great way, to separate your restaurant brand from the rest of the competition.

Again it should be noted that the line between edgy and offensive is quite vague. Keep that in mind.

• Mix up your marketing mix

Election period is the time when politicians spam across all media channels their campaign platforms to try and get your attention and, eventually, your vote. This is invaluable knowledge to the keen restaurant owner.

Broaden your marketing effort. Diversify. Billboard and flyers are proven effective in communicating a message. Support them with newer advertising methods such as email newsletters, a restaurant website, and advertising on social media.

• Distinguish your brand culture

Starbucks isn’t the cheapest coffee around. But even so, hundred thousands of people around the world order a Venti Cafe Mocha Frap every day. Why is that? Because people visit Starbucks not only for their coffee, but for the unique Starbucks culture.

Many restaurant advertisements promise something different about their brand. So customers come and sit at the tables, expecting a unique experience. Instead what they get is the same mom and pop experience they know all too well, and this is where you come in.

Build a unique culture for your restaurant brand, advertise it online, and deliver. Sell not just the food but an experience they won’t find anywhere else.

You must understand that toppling the big chains isn’t an easy task. It’s going to be a struggle. But it is possible, with the right knowledge and skills to get your message across this ONE very important medium – the Internet.

Share your ideas about online marketing for restaurants by leaving a message after this post.

Five Action Ideas To Improve Your Restaurant Email List

For restaurants, the battle for customers is no longer restricted to whoever serves the bigger meatball on top of their spaghetti platter. The war first and foremost takes place online. As a restaurant owner, you ought to be concerned about growing your list of emails as much as what’s the daily special for next Tuesday.

But sometimes no matter how hard you work on your online marketing, all you get are low conversion rates. That’s the hard truth about online restaurant marketing.

So without further ado, here are five things to consider when growing your restaurant email list.

1.    The sign-up form should be easy to find
I see too many “free newsletter” sign-up icons tucked away in some obscure section of the webpage—at the bottom of the page, or else mixed in with a lot of text and images that makes it hard to see for anyone who isn’t looking for it.

Thing is a simple email could easily turn a one-time visitor into a loyal patron.

Make sure your forms are strategically placed in easy-to-spot locations on the webpage, and on as many pages as possible where the form is relevant. Forget buttons. Take note every page on your website is a potential landing page, especially if the visitor was directed by a search engine.

2.    Be specific and tell them what they’re getting
I’ve seen too many “Sign up for our free newsletter” ads on too many websites trying to grow their list of customer emails. Most of the time it does the trick. The sad part is, what if it doesn’t?

There’s always room for concern whenever some anonymous website asks for your email address. So what you should do is provide convincing proof that the user’s inbox won’t be bombarded by email spam as soon as he or she signs up. Give them specifics of what they will and won’t be receiving.

Experiment on what works best for you and your website visitors.

3.    Don’t press them for too much details
When you ask visitors to sign up, the purpose is for them to receive your newsletter, and for you to get their email address. So stop asking them to fill out forms that look like they are at the doctor’s getting ready to be checked up for sexually-transmitted diseases.

Keep it simple. Most of the time the visitor’s name and email address are all you really need.

4.    Say “Thank You” and mean it
You got their email address. Are we done?

You’re done if you are only concerned about getting their email addresses for your list. But for some of us who wish to express our gratitude and, hopefully, keep the visitors interested to come back a second time, you should construct a simple but effective “Thank You” page that tells visitors what they can expect to receive in their inbox and when.

Use this opportunity to explain what visitors can do with your emails. Don’t just link back to the homepage.

5.    Think hard on why old-timers are leaving
Like I said before, it’s impossible to fill a bucket with water if there’s a gaping hole at the bottom of the container. A leaky bucket.

Don’t panic. Instead, think. Take time to understand why old-timers and subscribers are leaving in the first place. Most online restaurant marketing campaigns prompt subscribers on their way out to complete a feedback form on why they’re leaving. I suggest you take these messages to heart. They might provide valuable input on how you could improve your online restaurant marketing service.

The thing to understand is that there is always room for improvement. When subscribers are leaving one after the other, take a long hard look at your marketing campaign and try to pinpoint the root of the problem. There is always room for improvement.

Get these five points right and you should see a healthy spike in your email list growth in no time.

For comments and suggestions, leave a message below.

Basic Tips On Writing Restaurant Marketing Articles For Your Business Newsletter Or Blog

The foodservice business is a tough nut to crack. Put aside the fact that we’re in a recession, one minute your essence of crab soup is the talk of the town and the next, a new place opens down the block and eats into your profits like a worm to an apple.

This is where restaurant marketing articles come in.

You know how important online marketing is these days. If you want to prove customers you are more than just operating within the four walls of your establishment, give them a good article that will grab their attention and, hopefully, keep them coming back. Here are some tips on writing quality restaurant marketing articles.

1. Be casual with your words
I usually see marketing articles on the Internet written like it was going for the Pulitzer Prize equivalent for restaurant marketing articles and, let me tell you, it isn’t very effective. I hate to see honest marketing efforts go down the drain, but that’s exactly what it is.

Be casual with your words when writing your articles. It doesn’t matter whether you’re spilling a deep trade secret or talking about doughnuts. What matters is you get the point across, and get it done without putting your audience to sleep.

2. Share some of your best recipes
Food lovers are always interested in knowing the recipe to a delicious pasta sauce or chicken pot roast. If there’s anything on your menu that’s been getting a lot of attention, consider discussing it in one of your restaurant marketing articles.

While the fans are dying to get their hands on your little secret, I’m pretty sure not everyone who sees it is going to try it. Eating out is still a popular past time in this age of free online cookbooks. On the other hand, sharing recipes is a great way to spark some positive word-of-mouth about your restaurant.

3. Introduce readers to your suppliers
So okay. I know the idea sounds boring, but look at it this way. Writing about your food supplier puts a human face to your restaurant business. Besides there are groups who’ll always be interested in this type of information, including those concerned about environmental issues, ethical sourcing, and patronizing local products.

Restaurant marketing articles help establish a more friendly relationship between brand and customer. As a restaurant operator, this is your chance to speak in your customer’s language. The article doesn’t always have to be online–restaurant marketing articles apply to mailers and newsletters, too. It’s a worthy investment that pays good interest, if done right.

Marketing Tips For Restaurants: Do You Struggle With Social Media?

Social media is both familiar and unexplored lands for restaurant operators. It’s been around some time, yet any online marketer will tell you there are still vast uncharted opportunities in social media waiting to be tapped. Problem is, you already signed up for Twitter, Facebook, and even YouTube, but for some reason customers just don’t seem to come in. You are losing money, you are losing hope on your restaurant business, and this whole social media thing.

Let me quote a simple fact about online marketing.

If content is king, then conversion is queen.

John Munsell, CEO of Bizzuka.

I’ll tell you one thing. Marketing your restaurant through social media –Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, etc–has more to do than just signing up an account and introducing today’s wine dinner or next week’s lunch specials. Conversation is key. You need to bridge the gap between your brand and your customers, and social media, if done right, can help you with just that.

Here are some marketing tips for restaurant operators looking to advertise through social media.

1. Devise a plan (or know what you want to do before you do it)
Advertising on social media requires more thought than it looks. To paraphrase the CEO of M Strategies Inc. Michelle Smith, it isn’t strategy just being there.

The first crucial marketing tip for restaurant owners is to know their audience. Are your customers or market niche on social networks? Which social network?

Then proceed by establishing a friendly relationship with them through dialogue. Tell them about your brand, the latest news and events happening in your restaurant. I’m sure everyone one of us is a customer, a consumer, and isn’t it wonderful when a certain brand takes the time to hear us out?

2. Listen to your brand feedback (or get ready to mingle)
People hate filling up customer feedback forms, but they seldom hold back saying what’s on their mind on the Internet, especially in social network forums. Any marketing tips for restaurants article or blog will tell you that.

As a restaurant operator, this is incredible customer data, and you don’t even have to offer free dessert. In social network forums, customers will say what they liked, what they didn’t like, what they’d have wanted to see but didn’t, etc. Since most social network forums have IM features, it’s easy to reach out to them.

3. Invest time to do the task (or don’t do it if you don’t have time to do it)
Kogi BBQ is a small, albeit very successful, food business that roams around Los Angeles on a van selling tacos. But here’s the real piece of news: Kogi BBQ has its own exclusive social media manager staff - Mike Prasad. His sole responsibility is to handle the brand’s presence online.

When advertising on social media first started out, it was okay to assign an intern on it. But times change, and competition only grows over time.

Nowadays it’s brand suicide, almost unethical, for a restaurant operator to put a kid on the job. These days it’s best, as a marketing tip for restaurant operators, to invest time and money to hire someone with the right skills and knowledge. And make sure this person can tie it all together. So your restaurant website, newsletters and microsites all track back to Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, and all other social networks with your presence.

An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.

Benjamin Franklin.

This is it for now. I’ll give you time to digest everything so you could get started on planning your social media efforts.

Check back later this week where I’ll discuss more social media marketing tips for restaurants.