Stand Out from the Competition with Three Trendy Restaurant Marketing Strategies

In 2019, almost every suburb of America has a bustling hub of international restaurants, ready to whisk your taste buds around the world. To really succeed amongst this competition, follow these 3 hot restaurant marketing strategiesto stand out from the crowd. 

1. Pop-Up Somewhere Unexpected

Your local community should have a reasonably busy calendar of events throughout the year, especially in the warmer months. Craft festivals, food markets, or music events are all great places to have a small pop-up restaurant. It’s a terrific restaurant marketing strategyfor several reasons:

• It’s only a short-term investment without too much commitment
• You open your menu to a completely new market of customers
• The events offer built in infrastructure and crowds
• You can test small batches of new menu items 
• It’s a great way to engage with your community
• Because the alternative foods at the event will likely be quite average, your menu will absolutely stand out. 

  

The National Restaurant Association agrees on its broad appeal saying, “Most pop-ups have served edgier gourmet cuisine, suggesting that the model works well for this segment. At the same time, more quick-service restaurants are jumping on board, and many industry analysts believe the format can work well for any concept.”

2. Give Your Customers What They Want

Yes, that does sound like the most obvious restaurant marketing strategy ever, but do you really know what attracts your customers in 2019? While you’re busy plating the best meals you can, it’s easy to overlook what dining trends your customers are talking about and how important that is to increasing your revenue. 

Restaurant marketing agency Placepull said, “Things like reducing food waste, using only local ingredients and low carb meals are all very much in vogue these days, and can give you that vital competitive edge to ramp up your revenue. Spend 10 minutes each day chatting to your customers and you’ll quickly get a feel for what trends will bring them back into your restaurant again and again.” 

What do they like?

What don’t they like?

Is live music important?

Is good wine something they look for?

Talk to them, in person and on social media – we promise you they will be more than willing to give you their opinion. It’s by tuning into your customers’ interests and desires that will put you head and shoulders above your competition who are not looking at the big picture. 

3. Make You Restaurant Your Living Billboard

This restaurant marketing strategyis all about street appeal. The windows of your restaurant are the best on street advertising you can have. Everyone is attracted to a busy restaurant, so make sure you put your first customers next to the window. 

This way when people from outside look in, they’ll see satisfied customers laughing, drinking, dining and enjoying their time with you. That should create enough food envy for them to walk through your doors.

And before they even see your windows, music can send hints of what lies ahead if they walk a few more steps towards you. People are naturally curious and will absolutely walk towards music to see what it’s all about. 

For the price of an inexpensive Bluetooth speaker, you can get the curiosity of people from half a block away. It’s been proven to work too, as VisionCritical says 90 percent of people would select a business that was playing music over one that wasn’t.

Walk by your restaurant in the shoes of a passer-by, and think about what you can do to make it stand out from the street. Think of all the senses and try to appeal to them. 

Those were three restaurant marketing strategies that will almost guarantee to help you stand out from the competition, and increase your revenue as a result. Whether you start off small with some music outside, or launch right into a brand new food truck, there is something here you can start today to make sure you’re a step ahead of your competition.