So, you’ve got a loan, signed the lease, hired the chef and started getting the fit out done on your new restaurant. One thing that many owners don’t do when they are opening a new restaurant is think about the marketing of the restaurant.
This is a marketing plan that starts 90 days BEFORE you open the doors or take over. Of course, there are limitations if you are buying a business, but if they don’t have a website, you can register and build your website prior to handover.
Turn this into a 90-day marketing plan for before you open your new restaurant or cafe! Bear in mind that you may have two opening dates, one which is a soft launch, just relying on walk ins or maybe a small Facebook campaign to get the word out if you are off the beaten track just to make sure the kitchen and front
90–60 Days:
. Purchase the domain name for the restaurant or cafe.
. Build your website. It takes Google a few months to find a website and the longer it is around, the more important it is.
. Start building links to the website. Try the local government, local business organizations and all of the restaurant finder/list websites. The more incoming links the better.
. Get the logo and graphics design work done.
. Start organizing where you are going to get flyers printed if you plan on an opening special with a mail drop campaign.
. Start talking to other businesses about alliance marketing. Is there a nearby cinema that you can do a meal deal when they present their movie tickets?
. Are you going to use an A-Frame to advertise daily specials to customers walking by? Now is the time to start getting it made.
60–30 Days:
. Get your flyers printed and ready to go. Mailouts using the Unaddressed Delivery Service require weeks of lead time, so you want to have your brochures ready to go.
. Start your Facebook page. Get all your friends and family to Follow you on Facebook.
. Advertise your opening special on Facebook.
0–30 Days:
. Setup your twitter account and start following local businesses and identities.
. Review the website, make sure the menu is up there along with the opening date and your opening specials.
. Start training the wait staff to collect feedback cards, business cards and birthdays so you can start building your database from day one.
. Work out your offers for Facebook and Twitter. The offers may not be going out to a lot of people, but if you get the right person following you, they will share it with all their friends and the social marketing magic starts to work for you. Even with only a few people following, down the track people will see your old offers and sign up for future offers.
Great marketing comes from great marketing plans. Remember: If you fail to plan you plan to fail!