It’s no secret that people take to the internet to discover new restaurants, write reviews, browse menus and make reservations. Marketing your restaurant can sometimes be tricky in today’s digital world as well as in Bangladesh. You need creative restaurant marketing ideas to draw customers in and keep them coming back for more!
Before you can dive into marketing to your audience you need to define who they are! Are you marketing to millennials, the older generation, families with kids? Or to Gen Z, Teenagers?
This step is crucial before you can begin marketing with your creative restaurant marketing ideas because without a clearly defined audience you can’t possibly build an advertising campaign. The more clearly you can define your target audience the easier it will be to create content, ads, and emails.
Here are 5 restaurant marketing ideas in Bangladesh:
1. Create social media challenges or contests
Everyone loves winning free stuff and a social media contest is a fun way to promote your brand. Try a giveaway contest where you ask people to tag their favorite dining buddy!
This can help you gain more followers, boost your brand visibility, and get more customers to check out your business. If the winner has never dined with you before it will give them a chance to try your restaurant risk-free.
2. User-Generated Content
User-generated content can make your life a whole lot easier! By using content that your followers post you can save time as well as money.
92% of people trust recommendations from other people over branded content. People don’t like sales content from marketers. They trust their peers. So use content that average people post to promote your brand.
The best part about this is you can use their content for free! As a restaurant, you will more than likely have tons of user-generated content because people love to take and post photos of their food.
User-generated content is typically an indicator of a trustworthy or reliable brand. If other people are promoting your brand this is basically like them giving you a great review!
Using content from your followers helps you as a brand connect with people on a human level and come across as authentic.
Let’s bring these first creative restaurant marketing ideas together.
In 2014, Starbucks wanted to create a new design for its limited edition coffee cup. But decided that instead of wasting time and money designing, they would turn to their loyal consumers to create one for them!
They asked users to submit photos of their cups with the hashtag #whitecupcontest. The winner would receive $300 as well as have their cup featured. Starbucks has combined a contest with user-generated content and a hashtag.
The ultimate combination of creative restaurant marketing ideas!
3. Email marketing for restaurants
Email marketing is an essential marketing tactic that all businesses, even restaurants, should be using!
First, you need to build your list first. Consider a pop-up on your website or a landing page to collect customer’s emails.
You can even collect them in your restaurant but keep in mind that you will have to manually add them to your email API later.
Once you build up your list you can start crafting email campaigns as well as automated emails.
If you are thinking “What am I possibly going to send emails about?”, here are some creative restaurant marketing ideas that you can work into your email campaigns.
- Email customers your menu if it changes or sends out the weekly specials
- Tell them about events you are having
- Make a customer appreciation day that’s exclusive for subscribers where they get a discount
- Share your restaurant’s story or history
Remember, not every email should be selling your restaurant. Provide your subscribers with quality content so that they will continue opening your emails and engaging with you.
4. Monitor Your Social Media Presence
Social media marketing strategies are an undeniable force in today’s world. Pamphlets and delivery menus slipped under doorways simply won’t cut it anymore.
Often, the restaurants with a strong social media presence as part of their restaurant marketing plan are the ones that fare the best, and in the competitive food industry of Bangladesh, ignoring social media is a death sentence.
Of course, you’ll want to create a Facebook business page and an Instagram account to share special discounts, exclusive coupons, photos of your newest dishes, and promote your own news accolades. But setting up your accounts is only half the job – it’s also essential you keep up with activity happening on your social sites.
There are many great free and paid social media management tools – a few popular free options include:
- HootSuite: A one-stop dashboard for keeping tabs on all your social media networks. Create custom streams, schedule posts, and more.
- Buffer: Buffer makes it easy to find, schedule, and share articles across your networks. Staying active and posting valuable articles (that your fan base will enjoy) is key for social success.
5. Food Blogger Outreach
When you’re a new restaurant, you may find it difficult to generate reviews and hype about your business. One great way to get reviews and press on the web is to invite food bloggers to your restaurant to give you a try, and consider offering a free meal or appetizer to get them in the door. Politely ask if they’d be willing to review your restaurant and share their experience online.
You can’t outright ask for a positive review, as that would be dishonest, but it’s fine to simply ask them for an objective restaurant review. Some bloggers might decline your offer, but the more you ask, the better your chances are of getting some positive feedback and generating more interest online. Some food bloggers have big followings, and getting their attention can have a huge influence on your restaurant. Even just one write up or mention from a major foodie can be a huge for restaurant promotion efforts.
For more ideas, you can contact us.
Also read- TOP 5 TOOLS TO FIND RELEVANT INFLUENCERS ON SOCIAL MEDIA