Why take the chance your restaurant marketing plan will fail? By creating a plan that integrates all your marketing efforts and sets your entire operation toward a common goal, you won’t be taking any chances. You’ll give your operation a set track to run on by creating a stable, planning-oriented framework. You’ll be able to place your operation’s potential into perspective by analyzing your competition as well as your own operation. You’ll be able to realistically rank your priorities, assign responsibilities and designate deadlines while removing any guesswork. And, in the long run, you’ll probably find yourself ahead of your competition.
Questions to Help You Start a Restaurant Marketing Plan
Effectively constructing a restaurant marketing plan takes an enormous amount of forethought. Here are some questions you should answer before you begin:
- Who are my target guests?
- What are the basic strengths of my operation?
- What needs do my guests have?
- Who is my competition?
- How effective are my current marketing efforts?
- Do I have the financial and human resources I need to support my marketing efforts?
Steps to Develop a Restaurant Marketing Plan
With your answers, you’re ready to begin. Here’s how to develop a restaurant marketing plan in seven basic steps:
- Market research: Find out exactly what your guests think of your operation.
- Use that information to identify your operation’s strengths and weaknesses. Be honest!
- Specifically state your operation’s objectives. Do you want to increase guest traffic? Maximize profits on the guests you’ve already got? Turn once-a-month-guests into once-a-weekers?
- Use those objectives to come up with long-term and short-term marketing strategies.
- Develop the actual marketing programs. First conceptualize your programs, then break down steps and tasks.
- With an outline of tasks required for each program, you’ll be able to establish your budgets and back-timed schedules. Begin delegating responsibilities to your staff.
- Once the program is completed, evaluate your results. Was it a success? Worth the investment? Worth doing again next year?
Restaurant Service and Sales Training
Great marketing can kill a bad business. Make sure your staff is ready deliver exceptional service and maximize sales with traffic generated from your restaurant marketing plan. The Service & Sales Excellence Waitstaff Training Series is based on Service That Sells!, a restaurant training philosophy developed by restaurant owners for restaurant owners. Click here to learn more.
