Over 200 million Americans visit a sit-down restaurant at least once a year. And yet, only 13% say they are brand loyal to a particular restaurant. That means that for the vast majority of restaurant owners, relying on repeat business or customer loyalty for a significant part of their revenue is simply not an option.

Instead, successful restaurants must have a comprehensive restaurant marketing strategy that they can rely on to generate new business, let more people know about their offers and selection, and gain a broader brand recognition that can help the restaurant become more appealing and trustworthy.

And the good newsflash is that there are strategies for marketing restaurants that are not only incredibly effective at getting people to come but also offer incredible ROI for every dollar you invest.

To help you take your restaurant marketing game to the next level, let’s look at some of the most effective strategies you should consider below.

Understand Your Audience

While there are many potential strategies for attracting new business to your restaurant, they all rely on one thing to be successful. You need to have an abysmal understanding of who your customers are, who you want to attract, and what types of messages are the most likely to get their attention.

If you have an already established business, you probably have at least some understanding of who you should focus on. But at the same time, it can lead you to make costly assumptions about who you need to focus on, which can end up costing you money on ineffective marketing approaches.

To avoid that, make sure that you not only make your own judgments about who your customers are but also talk to them, get to know them through feedback collection, review analysis, and other methods that will shine a light on what type of person ends up being the most satisfied with your services and is the most likely to come back for more.

Utilize Online Ordering

The global pandemic has dealt a huge blow to the entire restaurant industry. And unfortunately, thousands of restaurants were forced to go under because they couldn’t adapt to the changing situation and make their business sustainable despite it.

Namely, the pandemic has shown that companies who want to survive and grow today must have a convenient and well-developed online ordering system. That way, even if the restaurant’s physical location would not be able to accept guests, you would have a way to accept orders and keep the business going through delivery services.

But that’s not the only reason why an online ordering system makes so much sense. There’s also the fact that you can use such a system to reach a whole new segment of potential customers who don’t often dine out but prefer to order in.

Many restaurants today have built entire businesses almost exclusively on online orders, so tapping into this rapidly-growing industry is one of the best ways to make your business more visible, especially if you also use third-party platforms for getting your restaurant in front of a sizable ready-to-buy audience.

Focus on Local SEO

Online searches remain one of the primary ways that people discover new restaurants. With Google and Google Maps offering such convenient ways to find and evaluate restaurants, people have become accustomed to doing a quick search for food options in their area and making a choice based on the few top results they come across.

That’s why for restaurants who want to be discovered by new people, focusing on local SEO is one of the highest ROI strategies that could be used.

If you can achieve a high review rating on Google and get ranked for relevant and high-value keywords, you could potentially get an influx of new customers who are eager to come and try your food.

Make Your Online Presence Appealing

Finally, if you want your restaurant marketing strategies to pay off, you must make sure that your restaurant looks appealing to prospective customers.

That means that your website must be user-friendly and convenient, your social media presence must be consistent and full of beautiful images, and you must also have a presence of fans who vouch for your restaurant and rave about the food.

Having excellent reviews and appetizing photos can go a long way in persuading many people to try out what you have to offer.

Conclusion

There are many strategies for attracting new customers to your restaurant. But most of them come down to understanding who to target, becoming visible, and making your restaurant seem appealing by having a consistent online presence.

With the steps listed above, you should be able to get in front of new customers consistently, ensuring that your restaurant always has room for growth and that you can sustain revenue through a variety of marketing strategies.