Fine Dining Marketing Framework (Infographic)

Consider the following statistics about fine dining restaurants.

• Since 1987 the share of consumer spending on live experiences and events relative to total U.S. consumer spending increased 70 percent.
• 80 percent of Millennials want to know more about process and origins — how their food is grown and where it’s sourced.
• 81 percent of consumers search for restaurants through mobile apps and 75% make decisions from their search results.
• Customers expect real-time engagement with restaurants. 50 percent of diners expect a response in less than an hour.
• 72 percent of travelers will search for restaurants on their smartphones while on vacation.
• Millennials and generation Z spend more money eating out than any other generation, with 54 percent dining out at least three times a week.

 Diners are not just looking for top notch experiences but also ways to engage and share those experiences through their digital lives.

 Diners are not just looking for top notch experiences but also ways to engage and share those experiences through their digital lives.

How do restaurants respond to the clear shift to online for today's diners? We propose a framework restaurant managers can use to kickstart their marketing initiatives. Whether it's for a new concept or to re-invigorate an existing restaurant you can use this framework to take the next step with marketing a fine dining restaurant.

The framework has two parts. The first is the technology that currently exists restaurants must leverage in their marketing. The second is the ways in which restaurants appeal to today's diners. The framework demonstrates how all these areas interconnect to produce a coherent restaurant marketing strategy.

Great fine dining restaurant marketing requires restaurants to have a deep understanding of how technology, values and marketing interconnect. Restaurant marketing is digital first and restaurants are setting themselves up for success with CRM and restaurant reservation software that helps find and retain new customers. Social media has infected all elements of the restaurant experience, with diners looking to become part of the conversation. Restaurants can setup their marketing to encourage existing customers to promote the restaurant themselves and rely less on strategies like advertising.