The one thing everyone has been talking about recently is the re-opening of restaurants. Granted, there still may be restrictions, but the sheer pleasure at being able to go out for a meal will no doubt keep any shivers at bay.
Most restaurants will no doubt be busy at the moment – but it’s important to keep that momentum going if they are going to grow a steady clientele in the future. Obviously, the quality of the food and the general ambience is important to diners, but there is more you can do to get your brand out there and compete with other local restaurants. This is especially true when all restrictions are lifted and the choice of venue widens for diners.
One of the advantages of print marketing is that it will help you to set the scene for your diners, letting them be clear about what kind of restaurant you have and why they should book and come and eat with you. Once they have eaten with you, your print marketing should remind them about their great experience and bring them back again and again.
So, what marketing materials will work well for getting your brand out there with potential diners?
Business Cards
Why not get into the habit again of carrying some quality business cards to give to people you meet when out and about? You could also encourage your staff to do the same – have some printed for each staff member with a small discount code so you can encourage them to compete to see who gets the most bookings in a particular period of time and give them a prize.
Your business card should reflect the type of food you serve and the ambience of your restaurant. We can help you achieve this by using one of our very talented and experienced graphic designers.
Don’t forget to include your contact details, the address, phone number, website URL, email address and so on.
Direct Mail Flyers
Most restaurants have a specific target market and generally it is the local area around their restaurant. For this reason, a flyer pushed through local doors on a regular basis will remind them you are there waiting to take their booking. Make sure it is well designed to reflect the type of food you offer, and that phone number and website are prominent. Don’t be despondent if you are not showered in bookings in the first instance – marketing experts say that you have to be seen and noticed at least seven times before a buyer acts. So, keep sending out the flyers and they will quickly progress from being binned, to being pinned to a notice boards, to being a catalyst for a call to book a table. If you are using this in conjunction with a digital campaign (for example a local Facebook advert) this can work a lot faster.
Lumpy Mail
An extension of direct mail flyers would be lumpy mail – which everyone is enjoying at the moment as it’s a great change from all the digital marketing that is popular. Why not select something like a fridge magnet, and a flyer so they can stick your leaflet to their fridge for when they want to use it. You can even source custom made pins for pin boards these days for those who love to maintain a pin board in their home. You could also have these items available to give to diners when they pay their bill (or give them a choice of one to take home).
Special Offers
Special offers, birthday offers, anniversary offers and more can win a lot of loyalty from your diners. Especially where you can gather some information and send out relevant offers in a timely fashion. Who doesn’t enjoy getting a money off voucher for their birthday or other special occasion? They can also be particularly useful for encouraging people to use the restaurant during quieter times of the day, week, month or year. Vouchers can be posted out with lumpy mail or flyers, pushed through neighbourhood doors or handed to guests when paying for their meal in preparation for their next visit.
Themed flyers
Most restaurants are keen to encourage repeat business and one way to do this is to have special events and themed nights. This can be around Valentines Night, Easter, Christmas, Chinese New Year, Halloween to name a few. You could even make up your own and have specially themed Spring and Summer events. It’s all about being a little bit different to other restaurants in the area and offering new experiences to your diners – either regular ones or new ones.
These flyers can be distributed by pushing them though local doors, passing them out in the restaurant and on the pavement, or in local car parks.
We have graphic designers who are specialists in these types of printed materials and they are ready and witing to help you. Always remember to use your branding, address, phone number and dates for the special nights.
Menus
The design of your menu is much more than a list of dishes and some prices. It should convey and match the ambience in your restaurant and suggest the price point of your restaurant. However you position your restaurant, from a branding perspective, should be reflected in the menu. This is the item that all your diners will see, touch and read. If you think about pub chain menus they tend to be colourful and reflect pictures of the actual menu items and generally reflect a value for money price point. But you could design your menu in a more formal way if that is what you want to reflect about your restaurant. Many design menus and other printed material to reflect the theme of the restaurant – maybe a fish restaurant or a vegan restaurant. The design of your menu and the imagery will say a lot about you as a business.
It’s also a good idea to make sure that your menu has a full range of items and prices, a comprehensive description of what the diner can expect and it’s availability. It can also include or be separate to your drinks and dessert menu, but they should all look like they have come from the same ‘family’.
Takeout Menus
Many restaurants have developed a takeout option – even if it was something they didn’t do before Covid hit us all. This may be something you wish to continue to broaden your appeal in your local area. Some may just want to do a Sunday Lunch menu; others may want to offer a takeout menu most days.
Rather than provide a bare unattractive list of options, have your takeout menu designed to reflect your restaurant. Your takeout menus don’t just need to be sent out to your diners who wish to dine remotely, they could also be distributed to local businesses as lunchtime options for their staff, where they can call and order food for individuals or even for a business meeting or event.