4 Ways to Promote your Restaurant Business and increase sales!

The restaurant business is one of the most competitive industries out there. From eateries in a small village to large restaurants in a busy city, the process for promoting the business is always about being found via both online and offline marketing tools!

Create An Attractive Website with Plenty of Information

Having a website is the catalyst to a host of promotional options for your restaurant. The expression ‘leave no stone unturned’ is one that all restaurant owners should consider when creating a website for their restaurant.

In a world of information hungry web surfers, the more information about your restaurant you can provide, the more bookings and walk-in customers your restaurant will receive.

Creating a restaurant website does not have to be an overly complex process as long as you stick to important points which we list below. Online ordering is a great way to let customers in a hurry order before they arrive for their booking, and this works brilliantly if you have a menu already published on the site. Adding to this, online booking and payment systems are also great options to give customers every convenience a website can offer!

Here are some tips for creating the perfect restaurant website:

• Add the menu and pricing (keep it up to date)
• Add online booking & ordering systems
• Add a blog and discuss food topics
• Add a gallery showing the restaurant & food
• Add a map and directions
• Make opening hours abundantly clear
• Offer the chance to leave reviews
• Make telephone & email links clickable

Google & Bing Maps

As a land-based business one of the most important things you can do is add a Google Maps and Bing Maps location – the 2 most popular map and local business search tools online.

Not only do these map search tools help people get directions to your restaurant, but they also have the specific purpose of helping people find local businesses. Let’s say you run an English breakfast, sandwich, and lunch shop.

Someone nearby may search for a breakfast or sandwich shop, and if your business lists on a ‘Map’ tool, then it will show up as an option. On top of this, these local search results also rank on search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing.

Some of the most popular local business search maps online:

• Bing
• Google
• Facebook
• Apple

Use Business Directories Like Google My Business

One of the great things about business directories is that they often come in both paperback form and online, so your business expands its reach to offline and online audiences. No matter where your business is situated, there will be a handful of directories that people actively use to search for recommendations, and of course, the restaurant sections are always busy attracting people looking for somewhere to eat.

Note: Many of these directories come with ratings and customer review systems, so if you are confident your restaurant offers value for money, building up directory reviews will help it stand out!

Directories your restaurant should already be listed on:

• Google My Business
• Yelp
• LinkedIn Company Directory
• HubSpot
• com

Join as Many Social Media Platforms as Possible

In many ways social media is free advertising. You can create a business page for your restaurant on platforms such as Facebook and Instagram, while LinkedIn is specifically for businesses and connecting/associating employees like your star chef with your restaurant. Once your business pages are up and running, you will need a social media strategy in place for each platform your restaurant uses.

For example, some restaurants use Instagram to aggressively post 3 or 4 times a day to show off the daily atmosphere of the restaurant, clean kitchens behind the scenes, and pictures of the menu, special menus, and prepared food as well as smiling happy customers. On the other hand, the same restaurant will post much less on the Facebook page using a selection of the photos posted on Instagram!

Find out more in this topic by checking out the top 5 social media trends here!

• Build brand awareness
• Build your restaurant’s brand image
• Connect with customers
• Give the customer a voice
• Enhance search engine rankings
• Excellent promotional tool

Be Diverse, Be Brave, Be Informative!

The restaurant industry is a competitive marketplace. Of course, location, physical visibility such as being on a busy high street versus a quiet tucked away street, and the quality of service your employees produce all play a part in the marketing and restaurant service excellence arenas.

But, ultimately to succeed in the face of the competition, giving your restaurant business exposure in every possible area of marketing will boost its current situation.

That means making sure it has an informative website, it is easily found on local business search engines, and it has a social media presence because when it comes to finding places to eat, the majority of people’s go-to resource is one of these online media tools!

Jack Bannon

Jack Bannon - I have been a writer for many years after working for numerous IT solutions and marketing firms. I enjoy the challenge of communicating how different industries function and how to communicate niche specific to consumers, while I have also been involved in projects to help businesses improve areas of their value chain as well as helping them go back to basics to identify external and internal influences that have caused their overall internet marketing strategy to lose traction - the challenge is always to be honest, realistic, and never take shortcuts when it comes to research!