Shits scary!
Literally! It’s scary how unprepared restaurants are to market properly in 2024.
I’ve always said that restaurant owners are 10 years behind on technology, well, most are 20 years behind on marketing.
When I think about the tools we have at our disposal today, It takes me back to 1999, when my professional marketing career started. Back then, you were handcuffed to mass media if you were a restaurant. You had no choice but to rely on paid advertising. Direct mail, radio, TV, and outdoor would have been the mediums most of you used. Yes, “word of mouth” and holding a sign on the sidewalk was free, but that was about it.
Flash forward to 2024, and you have all been handed A DREAM SITUATION! And it honestly pisses me off how so many of you suck at marketing, so today, I’m going to DUMP it all on you. I will put all the cards on the table and hopefully impact one of you.
Below, I’m going to list every opportunity you have TODAY (in 2024) to drive sales for your restaurant that didn’t exist where I THINK your mind still lives (in 2004).
Email
I recall being told around 2010 that email was dead! That it was soon to be obsolete. I told that person they were crazy, and here we are 14 years later, and I was right. Now, full disclosure: it might have gone by the wayside if it wasn’t for the release of smartphones, but it didn’t 🙂 As I type this post in late 2024, email marketing is alive and well. In fact, my visit to Chipotle yesterday happened because of their email to me.
But, there are a few issues most restaurants have:
1st – Their emails SUCK! They are always about the restaurant and always discounting their food.
2nd – You don’t have enough customer emails in your database.
3rd – Everyone gets the same email all the time. The small database that you do have is not segmented at all.
Here are a few facts for you:
– 92% of your customers use email daily
– Consumers check their email 3 times daily and work email 14 times daily.
– 53% of consumers prefer to get communication via email from restaurants
– Every $1 invested in email marketing is worth $38 in restaurant sales.
First, let’s tackle why your emails suck and what you should be sending.
– Every email can’t be about you. Yesterday was Halloween; how about an email today asking customers to click and go comment on your Facebook post with pictures of their little ones in their costumes? All you’re trying to do with your emails is gain attention. Topics like this are a pattern interrupt, meaning it’s against the norm and more likely to get their attention.
– Weekly specials, resist the urge. If you constantly email me an offer, I’m conditioned only to go when your offer appeals to me. Plus, your best customers don’t need an offer. They need a reminder to eat with you. Constant discounting erodes your brand and your profits.
– Weak calls to action. Like my example above for Halloween, give them a reason to click. FORCE them to take an action. A click combined with an email open means you own more space in their mind.
– Have AWESOME pictures. I’m blown away by the weak images I see in restaurant marketing. Spend a few thousand dollars and have someone create amazing pictures for your entire menu, and then use that throughout your marketing.
Facebook
No one will argue that Facebook is an absolute goldmine for gaining your customer’s attention. So the question remains, why do 99% of restaurants SUCK at using it? Facebook is not Money Mailer & ValPak.. It’s not a place for your daily ads; it’s meant to be SOCIAL, so let’s get you using it right.
Here are a few facts for you to chew on in case you’re still questing WHY Facebook:
– 73% of adults are on Facebook
– Consumers check Facebook 11 times per day
– YOUR customers spend 4 minutes on Facebook every time they log in
– Higher-income consumers are on Facebook. Regarding the income brackets on Facebook, 63% of people who earn under $30,000 use it, while 74% of those who earn over $75,000 use it. And when you take out the 75+ audience, Facebook has the customers you need to reach using it many times an hour.
So, what’s the opportunity for your restaurant?
It would help if you viewed Facebook like you own cable TV now. Think about what cable TV was twenty years ago; that’s now Facebook. And you control every cable channel. But the issue is you only use it like the commercial breaks. It’s time you start thinking about mixing some “shows” into your mix. Use the FREE video features to tell your story, your restaurant’s story, your community story, your employee’s story, ETC.
You need to become the show, not the commercial break.
Instagram
Instagram has basically the same opportunity as Facebook. Your customer’s attention is there, just for different reasons. Facebook is used like a newspaper that meets the school lunchroom, while Instagram is more about the media. You’ll find your younger customers here more often, but IG does not have the ability to go viral and land on your customer’s friends’ timelines.
What IG does have, though, is IG Reels. Short videos that are perfect for gaining massive attention.
Here are a few facts to keep in mind:
– 57% of users are female
– Over half of users’ time is spent on IG Reels (you can hook your IG page up to Facebook Stories and post both places with one click in IG)
IG will help you reach more younger women and moms. It’s also a great place to start your journey creating short form content that you can reuse on YouTube Shorts and TikTok (more below on that).
Texting
Text messaging is a great way to drive sales and gain massive attention. WHY? Because everyone with a cell has texting, and they open EVERY text!
– Text messages have an average of 98% open rates, dwarfing any other marketing platform.
– 90% of text messages are read within the first three minutes of receipt. Customers are always paying attention to the “text bubble.”
– Text subscribers are more loyal. They visit 44% more frequently than non-subscribers.
However, the issue with texting and restaurants is that you must be careful. Texts are considered a much more personal medium. It’s a very intrusive, so if you’re going to text customers, you must be extremely cautious. If you use SMS anywhere close to how you use email, then your customers will opt out quickly.
Restaurants should text customers 1-2 times every 6-8 weeks.
What do you send? You have three choices for texting, in my opinion
1st – Solid offers
2nd – Contests driving people to a social media post
3rd – Events, BUT only to segmented audiences.
Phone Calls
I bet you didn’t think you’d see this on here 🙂
Guess what, people still use the phone as a…..phone! But I will warn you: consumers hate robocalls and spam. So, if you take your marketing to a new level and incorporate phone calls, you better have a VBR.
VBR = Valid Business Reason.
And here are my TOP phone VBR’s
1st – Birthday calls. The restaurants that have taken my advice on this always doubt me early on, and within 60 days, they are BLOWN AWAY. They are constantly met with amazed customers. “My kids didn’t even call me on my birthday, but my local pizza joint did!”
2nd – MIA customers. If you’re using a program like DRYVER, you’ll have a system that notifies you of customers who used to come but have not visited in a while. This is a great chance to call and say, “We miss you.”
3rd – Catering sales. Most restaurants have a form of catering sales. Whether it’s large pizza orders or legit catered events, PICK UP THE PHONE! It’s pretty damn obvious that you’re most likely customers are…local businesses.
Last but not least, the GOOD NEWS! 75% of customers don’t answer their phone, so you’ll be sent to voicemail. Do you realize how easy and impactful it is to leave this message: “Hey Matt, it’s Avery from Little Italy Ristorante? Just wanted to call you and tell you happy birthday. Don’t forget you’ve got a great birthday offer of a free pizza waiting for you here at Little Italy. Hopefully, we will get to help you celebrate. Happy Birthday, we appreciate your support.”
FYI, Avery’s team does this every week and see’s HUGE results!
YouTube
YouTube has two great opportunities for your restaurant: Long-form videos and YouTube Shorts.
Let’s start with YT Shorts. You can simply re-use the exact content you’re posting on IG Reels.
Second =Long Form Video
Did you know that YouTube is the #2 search engine on the internet, behind Google? I won’t go deep into YouTube long-form video content because that, my friends, is a big beast. But it’s a great place to post 2+ minute videos that tell stories. The content you should be doing on Facebook with video content can be duplicated here.
LinkedIn
As a business owner, you are one of the biggest influencers in your community, whether you realize it or not. Owning a business is tough and most people want no part of it. As a restaurant owner, you can become a bigger name locally than you’ve ever thought in your local business community.
I’d be using the unique video content you’re posting on Facebook here, as long as it’s NOT SELLING food. Then, I’d combo that with stories chronicling your journey every week. Talk about the up’s and downs of running a business. Let’s this audience see what happens behind the curtains. Now that I have typed this, I think you could take this exact content over to your personal Facebook account (see below).
Your Personal Facebook account
“But Matt, that’s my personal account.” I hear that garbage all the time. Guess what? Your business IS and better BE your entire life! You’ve signed up for the most demanding job I’ve ever seen: owning a restaurant. You’ve signed for massive loans, went into debt and added a lot of stress to your life, SO SUCK IT UP!
Start using your PERSONAL Facebook account to inform your friends and family what you’re up to. Mix in what I talked about above with your business Facebook page and your LinkedIn account. But whatever you do, DO NOT become the peson that simply shares every damn sales post from your restaurant.
And don’t leave out your family or your personal life (working out, motivational posts, etc.). Please be a human on Facebook and nurture the easiest customers you’ll ever have: your friends and family.
X (Formerly Twitter)
Copy and post what you’re doing on Facebook here. I wouldn’t put much effort into unique X content unless you really understand and use the platform. This is simply another place to grab some eyeballs and attention.
TikTok
Do exactly what you’d do on IG. Just replicate it here. Don’t worry about the results. Grab a few eyeballs.
Social Media Ads
Friends, this is easily the BEST place to spend your money. The cost and targeting is insane.
Facebook ad prices are dictated by demand. The demand for your customers is low! WHY? Because 90% of ad inventory is bought by major companies ( like Nike/Coke/McDonalds), they mostly target people under 25. So, this makes anyone over 25 years old easy to reach and CHEAP!
Next is the geographic targeting. You can go down to a 1-mile radius around your restaurant and farther away to target very specific areas.
Then there’s the demographic targeting. You could build an ad to reach ANYONE! Women 25-55 with kids who like [insert any topic]. This is your chance to avoid sending an email or making a Facebook post for every event or promo you do. With Facebook ads you can build a very specific ad and target away. By doing this you reach the right people and don’t annoy others.
You can also target customers who have interacted with your Facebook page, posts and even your website. Imagine having ads running targeting only customers that visited your menu page!!!
Online Ads
This is above my pay grade since we don’t do them daily for clients. But many websites, likely in your community, get a lot of attention and offer places for banner ads and paid articles. Look around at what sites your customers visit for local news.
One spot I often hear about is Google Pay Per Click ads. I personally don’t feel it’s a great use of your money. Think about it, most of your busienss will come from locals, how often do you google “where should I eat” when you’re home? Not often. Now, if you’re a tourist restaurant, this is a great place to be.
Influencers
For me, there are two types of influencers. There are the “Social Media” influencers, and then there are your community influencers. Both are great, but community influencers are worth much more.
What’s a community influencer? The band director, football coach, head of the school FHA, President of your local Chamber, other business owners, etc.
Let’s take the band director as an example. They have 100 kids, 200+ parents (with divorce), a few hundred grandparents, many friends, past alumni, and supporters. A band director has direct influence over 2,000+ in your community. Imagine if they were on your side! Imagine if you used your restaurant’s social media support and promote them. Over an extended period, if you used your content for this purpose, you’d have 30-50 local influencers, making you the most visible and supported restaurant in your community.
Social Media Influencers are a great option too. I’d avoid the expensive ones and try to find the ones with smaller audiences but great local content. Many of these influencers will significantly impact you and could only cost you a meal.
In Closing
I’m sure I missed a few opportunities that exist, but this practice was more about laying the groundwork, not painting the entire picture. You have an amazing opportunity to DOMINATE the attention of everyone in your community, so go FREAKING DO IT!