Restaurant owner, how to promote your new place?
Catering is a sector that can be saturated depending on the scope of implementation. To resist the competition from the first hours of opening, you need to prepare the communication around your establishment and carry out some actions to advertise your restaurant. This is important to make yourself known quickly and to register table reservations quickly and easily.
Organize an evening event for the opening of your new restaurant
Communication around a new restaurant should not be done carelessly. To ensure complete success as soon as the doors open, you must define a good promotion strategy. With that in mind, plan an evening event to quickly get in the way of locals and your acquaintances. The most important thing is to introduce your guests to the setting on the first night, but especially the restaurant menu. do not forget to order and have brochures printed or flyers to place on the tables to facilitate the ordering of your dishes. They can be “Z” shaped with left to right flaps, painted or gold, in A5 or A4 size.
The rigor in the preparations is essential to score a big coup and make a good impression on all the guests at the inauguration and on passers-by. Take care of the guest list, because whoever answers the call should correspond to a range of customers depending on your services. Even if the dishes are well seasoned and the dishes are tasty, you have to pay particular attention to the quality of service. In a restaurant, appreciation is always based on a set of elements. However, keep in mind that, in addition to the guests, passers-by or those who have received your flyers can also come and taste your menu.
Contact food bloggers and journalists covering your area
The catering market is quite regulated. You will easily find professionals who can describe your business in words that make you want to visit your establishment. There are for example the culinary journalists, who you absolutely must contact. Prefer who covers your region to see a review of your restaurant published in the regional newspaper in the “culinary and gastronomic discoveries” section. This publication will give you some local exposure. Unbeknownst to you, food critics may drop by and order some dishes. It is this type of incognito visit that restaurant chefs often fear.
The process should be the same on the internet. You can invite local bloggers covering food-related topics. They will write articles for present your young restaurant and the various services that you propose. Exceptionally, you can agree on a time slot to give an interview to bloggers who request it. It is always an advantage for your merit to communicate about your structure, the entrepreneur you are and your team.
Create a page dedicated to your restaurant on the main online booking sites
The internet can help you improve the reputation of your new restaurant. To do this, you simply have to register your establishment on reliable online booking platforms. However, they must be accessible to restaurants. This is the case of TheFork, a site dedicated exclusively to online restaurant reservations. You have on this type of portal a set of tools to create a file presentation page of your restaurant. Thus, all Internet users looking for a place to eat in the region, during the day or in the evening, can quickly find your address online.
The goal is to attract consumers to your restaurant for lunch or dinner. They will evaluate you on the platforms where they have booked a table, which will contribute to your ranking among the most popular properties in your area. Subscribers to these sites who see your restaurant at the top of the rankings will be curious to discover your place and experiment with your dishes. Once they are satisfied with your services, they will not hesitate to advertise you around them and will come back with their friends for lunch or dinner.
Update your social networks with photos of your new facility
Extending and maintaining one’s online presence must continue with social networks. Create a professional restaurant page or account on the most popular platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok… On the other hand, you have an obligation to stay active to gain subscribers and grow your community. To do it, regularly post content on your page. To get started, start by sharing:
- photos of the entrance, reception and kitchen,
- photo of your work brigade,
- photos of some of the customers’ favorite dishes,
- photos with some personalities among the customers,
- the image of flyer of your menu,
- seasonal promotional offers,
- job announcements…
Depending on the daily life of your restaurant, you will always find ideas for animate and update your social networks. The important thing is to communicate more about your company to maintain a connection with your subscribers. It will be easier for you to ask them to rate your restaurant over time.
Offer coupons to customers who book directly on your website
Apart from the other initiatives made to mark your web presence, you must have your own website for more independence. It should be designed with a specific restaurant theme. Ask a web developer to build it and you will get a unique interface. The part dedicated to the reservation must be ergonomic and quick to fill in. Make sure you promote your website to your subscribers and customers and to do so, mention it on all your media and advertising.
It is an investment that must bring you money, it is also its primary reason for being. For this you must motivate customers who regularly book from the restaurant platform. Offer them coupons that will allow them to reduce the bill every time they eat at your table. It will be normal for them to extend this benefit (or this VIP customer privilege) to their contacts. This will result in increased traffic to your new establishment’s online portal, which will have a positive impact on your turnover.
