Advertising Ideas for Restaurants

Opening a new restaurant is not easy, but it is more hard to run a successful restaurant and maintain the high standards of food and service. There are so many restaurants in a city that you need an aggressive marketing and advertising strategy if you want your restaurant to do good business.

You should know the unique selling point of your restaurant and should project and pitch that to your customers. No doubt, the food of your restaurant should be absolutely divine, the decor impeccable and the service prompt and friendly. All these aspects can be enjoyed by the customers when they come to dine at the restaurant.

But the most important thing is that the customers should know about the restaurant and want to dine there. This is where you need good advertising ideas. With the right restaurant marketing ideas, your restaurant can become the next fancy place for people to dine and become a resounding success.

One of the most important thing that you should focus on, is your target market segment. Is your restaurant a fine dining gourmet place where people pay high prices for cocktails and dinner or a family style bistro. If you have a fine dining restaurant then you should target the upper middle class sophisticated clientele.

The first thing that you should remember is that you need to please your customer so much that they become regulars and also recommend your restaurant to their friend's and acquaintances.

A restaurant can be made or shattered by word of mouth marketing. If your customers are not happy with the service or food, they will not return again and worse, take their business away to your competitor.

Place large advertisement in the local newspapers, magazines and local directories that prominently displays a color spread of the inside of the restaurant with great decor and impressive food. If on the other hand you have a family style restaurant you should just advertise in the local newspapers, newsletters and directories.

Offer discounts to customers who have a meal that costs a certain maximum amount and throw in extra drinks and cocktails. You must have noticed that your restaurant is quite full for dinner but in the afternoon the lunch crowd is quite slow.

You can also create a special offer for birthdays and anniversaries where you give out complimentary cakes and pastries to the group. This is not only one of the best advertising ideas but it also makes your customers feel happy and satisfied and you are sure that they will come to your restaurant again.

A creative advertising idea for restaurants is to organize contests for the customers. You can have an oyster shucking contest, pie eating contest, etc. which are sure to garner a lot of interest. You can also opt for a competition where the customers can participate by sending in their entries for recipes like chocolate cake or cookies.

The winning participant can be offered a heavy discount for dining in your restaurant along with a complimentary bottle of finest red wine. The recipe can be featured in your restaurant's menu with the customers name.

One of the best and cheapest advertising ideas that most restaurant owners overlook is that of social networking. Place advertisement of your restaurants in social networking sites and focus on one aspect of your restaurant each week. Keep the advertisements fun and breezy and you are sure to double your business.

By using these restaurant marketing ideas you can make sure that more and more people patronize your restaurant. With the right advertising, you can make your restaurant a success.