Tips for Marketing Your Restaurant To Your Current Customers

A restaurant’s marketing budget should be between 6-8% of the total sales it brings in yearly.  Despite this relatively small number, many restaurants spend closer to 85-90% of their budget to attract new customers.  In addition, often, restaurants make the mistake of focusing the bulk of their marketing to bring in new clients, when they should rather focus their marketing on the customers they have—even if it’s only a small amount of people. 

Below are some effective ways you can directly market to your existing customers:  

1.       A Newsletter

A newsletter is a great way to offer your guests important information about specials or coupons, as well as new menu items that you plan to add or have already added.  Having these newsletters available when guests enter will give them an opportunity to read about your restaurant while waiting for their food.  You can also have guests sign up to receive the newsletter electronically via email, and offer an incentive (like a free drink or a free menu item) for doing so.  

2.       Food Testing

Wherever customers congregate in your restaurant is an excellent place to have an upbeat, smiling member of your staff offer them free tastes of food.  This is a great way to introduce new menu items or highlight specials since customers are always appreciative of free food.  

3.       Themed Dinners

A themed dinner is a great way to bring customers in on particularly slow nights.  Advertise the availability of the themed dinner within your restaurant so that your current diners will see it and be inclined to return.  Examples of themed dinners can be: 2 for 1 specials, Specials for Mothers/Fathers, child discount or free child’s meal, healthcare employee discount nights, teachers’ appreciation nights, etc.  The list of possibilities is endless.  

4.       Prize drawing

Who can turn down a free dinner or a free bottle of wine with their dinner?  Offering prize drawings, such as asking customers to put their business card in a bowl, is a great incentive to bring current customers back.  You can also be sure that they will tell their friends about your restaurant.