Marketing Your Small Restaurant and Bar

Easy Restaurant and Bar Marketing


2009 Projected U.S. Restaurant and Bar sales are $566 billion. How much of that $566 billion will your establishment bring to the table?

The word Marketing is a very broad term that has different meanings for well just about everyone. Even the term Restaurant and Bar Marketing doesn't narrow the field much.
There are 2 very different types of Restaurants and bars. There are chains that have 25 - 30,000 locations with annual average sales of $10-15 million per location and then you have us "the little guys" that have one maybe two locations and average $200,000- $400,000 annually. Just to be clear this blog is about the latter. Any independently owned small business in any retail industry is going to have a tight budget. Marketing seems to always be the first budget cut, especially in the current economy. It is not considered a "must have". I have 2 very strong opinions on this subject. First I believe it is exactly times like this that marketing is needed the most. These are the times that it becomes an absolute "must have". Secondly I believe marketing funds are the most misused and misappropriated business expenditure in a large percentage of small businesses. Marketing needs to be constant to be effective and if you plan on spending more than a couple hundred dollars than a marketing plan is a wiser investment and will provide a larger ROI. I don't want to rant so I will simply say this; If in the last 12 months you have paid out over $1,000 for radio ads or paid out any dollar amount for a one time advertising anything then stop what ever you are doing right now... sit down and please read this blog.


Marketing DOES NOT have to cost alot. Marketing DOES have to be Constant



Market From Within
Word - of - Mouth is the best advertising you can get. Its low-cost, low-maintenance, wide-spreading, constant, and effective. However if the word is bad it will also effectively hurt your business. The base of any marketing is going to start with you, your staff, and your establishment. Make sure your establishment is clean, especially the bathrooms. Clean (or dirty) bathrooms speak volumes about a restaurant. Your staff is a powerful marketing tool. They should be friendly, courteous, and well trained. A well informed staff can assist in promoting products and events. They are valuable assets when it comes to keeping customers happy, involved, and excited about upcoming events. Word-of-Mouth advertising means getting people to talk about you in a positive light.
New Customer marketing is 7-10% more expensive than marketing to your current clientele. Work with your staff to increase party sizes, increase customer frequency, and increase check averages.

Use Bathroom Signage and Menus to promote products and events.



Interactive marketing is proven to be the most comprehensive and productive marketing medium. There are many Internet avenues for your business, however at the very top of the list is a website. I can not stress enough the importance of having an on line presence for your brick and mortar establishment. Over 75% of restaurant goers check out an establishment's website before they ever step foot in the door.Creating and maintaining your own website is really very easy and extremely affordable. There are hundreds of inexpensive web hosts to choose from that include quick, easy-to-use site builders. I suggest checking out godaddy.com, web.com , officelive.com, or hostgator.com. Your website should have the same look and feel as your restaurant using the same colors, textures, and theme. Your website can contain any information you want to include however be sure you have the following pages; ABOUT US- to introduce the owners and investors. This should consist of experience in the industry both time and skills and the type of business structure formed to open your Restaurant, CONTACT US - This should include the physical address with directions and a map, the phone number, and an email address. MENU - post all your product menus , but be sure your Food Menu is highlighted. EVENTS let them know about daily or weekly events or up coming special events. Include a link to join your email club for updates and specials. Just remember this could be the only time they look at your website. Include any info that will bring them back to the website and hopefully into your establishment.
Once your website is established as your on line base add social networks, such as MySpace or Face book, and/or Blogs such as Tweeter or Blogger.com to find and contact potential customers in your area.
Once your website is established start an email marketing campaign. This will more than likely prove to be your most inexpensive and effective marketing tool. iContact and Constant Contact are both good companies that will organize and store customer email addresses and help create effect monthly email campaigns that offer an opt out . A recent survey by A Closer Look Marketing from October - December 2008 revealed that restaurant coupons received by email were used by 42% of the consumers compared to 13% of consumers that received them via traditional mail (mailers or newspaper inserts) and 6% of consumers that received coupons at your establishment to be used on a return trip. A Closer Look also revealed that the best way to build your email database is to include a line at the bottom of each guest check that invites patrons to participate in a web survey, which you can add on your website. This will also give you invaluable customer feedback.

There are hundreds of websites that potential customers reference for information on restaurants and bars. For FREE or very little money you can list your establishment's information on several industry websites for example just to name a few; access.com, yelp.com, yahoolocal.com, yellowpages.com allmenus.com , urbanspoon.com , restaurant.com , pickarestaurant.com, about.com,and citysearch.com. Check back with these websites to update your establishment's information and events on a quarterly basis. Linking some of these postings to your website will also help to increase traffic on your site.


ACloser Look survey report also stated that in this tough economy restaurant coupons and special offers were winning new business. 75% of consumers surveyed stated they tried 3 to 4 new restaurants during the 3 month period and 17% tried a new establishment with coupons or special deals 6 times or more.
Everyone wants to go where everyone knows their name. From the same survey: 55% said they are a member of a restaurant club, whereby they receive discounts on special occasions and are eligible for member only offers. 40% considered themselves to be very loyal to the establishment where they were a member.







Listed, in order of importance, reasons consumers will try a new restaurant
1. Recommendation from a friend 46%
2.Coupon or insentive 40%
3.Location 28%
4. Menu selection 21%
5. Reputation for being family/ 5%
kid friendly




--H

Industry Trends

A survey of more than 1,600 professional Chefs revealed these leading 2009 culinary trend themes: nutrition and nutrition awareness, gluten-free/ allergy-conscious, Micro-distilled / culinary cocktails, food and alcohol pairings / Spirits flights


The Current Top 10 menu trends

1. locally grown produce
   
2. bite- sized desserts
   
3. organics
4. healthy kids' meals
5. new/ fabricated cuts of meat
   
6. kids' veggie/ fruit side dishes
7. superfruits such as acai, goji, or mangosteen
8. small plates/ portions for example mezze, tapas, or dim-sum
9. Micro- distilled Artisanal Liquor
10. Sustainable Seafood

Current Top Alcohol Trends

1. Micro-distilled liquor
2. Cullinary Cocktails
3. Organic Wine
4. Craft Beer
5. Muddled Cocktails
6. Wine or Beer Flights / Food-Alcohol Pairings
   

Non- Alcoholic Beverages

1. Specialty Iced-tea
2. Organic Coffee
3. Flavored/ Enhanced Water

Luckily for many of us Cocktail trends are showing no signs of slowing down. The always popular mixed drink while never in danger of fading out seemed for a while to be put on the bottom shelf during the micro- brew, import-weisen, fruit flavored $9 draft beer craze.
Many of us bartenders felt unchallenged and uncreative spending our bar shift pouring pints of the latest brew into their own uniquely designed glasses. I began to get excited when I heard that 2o something say " I don't know what I want... Surprise me" I noticed other bartenders taking full advantage of our chance to mix, shake, and muddle a new concoction. This was apparently more wide-spread than I thought. Skillfully Mixed Original Signature Cocktails with fresh and exotic garnishments such as star fruit, kumquats, or flowers are all the rage. Even the old favorites you haven't mixed up since the early 80's like Pink Squirrels, Rob Roys, and Rusty Nails have started popping back up only this time around they have a new and organic twist.

Infusing is on that 2009 hot trend list. Using the locally grown, organic, fresh herbs, fruit, and vegetables out at the bar to flavor your plain bottles of liquor has started bridging that gap with the Chefs in the kitchen. Creating the "Culinary Cocktail" has bartenders approaching the cocktail recipe just as a chef does a food recipe. I have seen many bartenders pow-wowing with Chefs mixing and matching food and drink ingredients to create amazing taste sensations.
Pairing cocktails and wines to complement food dishes is listed on the 2009 hot trend list. It really delivers the whole dining experience to our customers. In addition to food-alcohol pairings is a similiar hot trend -"Spirit flights" A flight of Spirits or Beer allows patrons to compare a selection of small samples in a particular catagory or theme. These flights are also sometimes used to pair with food dishes.
These are all listed as this years hottest trends and I would agree. One popular hobby that I have noticed that wasn't mentioned on any of the Industry trend lists is home brewing. It seems everyone I talk to is fermenting beer in their basement , aging wine in their pantries, or distilling their own brand of booze. I have not attempted the home brewing , but I am thinking of looking into it. That would be branding at its best.

2009 Restaurant & Bar Industry Sales Projections

2009 Industry Sales will be $569.9 billion. Below is the estimated breakdown of those sales.

Type of Establishment-- Estimated Sales ( Billions )
Commercial --$516.0
Eating Places -- $377.9
Drinking Places-- $17.1
Managed Services --$40.1
Lodging-place Restaurants-- $27.9
Retail , Vending, Recreation --$52.9
Other-- $49.9



Industry Sales Facts:

• The overall economic impact of the restaurant industry is expected to exceed $1.5 trillion in 2009
• Every additional million dollars in restaurant sales generates an additional 33 jobs
• Eating and Drinking places are mostly small businesses, with 91% having fewer than 50 employees
• The Restaurant Industry is expected to add 1.8 million jobs over the next 10 years, with employment reaching 14.8 million by 2019
• One-quarter of eating and drinking places are owned by women
• One out of every four adults got their first job experience in a restaurant or bar
• Restaurants will provide more than 70 billion meal and snack occasions in 2009
• On a typical day in the U.S. in 2009 more than 130 million individuals will be foodservice patrons
• 68% of adults said their favorite restaurant foods provide flavor and taste sensations that cannot be duplicated in their home kitchen
• Restaurant - industry sales on a typical day in 2009 will be $1.5 billion
• 76% of adults said they are trying to eat healthier at restaurants then they did 2 years ago
• 69% of adults said purchasing meals from restaurants, take-out, or delivery places makes it easier for families and children to manage day-to-day life
• 52% of adults said they are likely to make restaurant choice based on that establishments involvement with the local community
• 27% of adults said when choosing a restaurant , they are paying more attention to coupons and value specials than they were 2 years ago
• Recent nation- wide survey revealed that 98% of consumers eat out at least once a week
• Surveys revealed a strong relationship between restaurants that offered membership programs with very loyal patrons
• U.S. Eating and Drinking establishments employ more minority managers than any other industry
  

Georgia Restaurant and Bar Facts and Stats

• Restaurant and bar jobs represent 10% of total Georgia Employment
• 2009 Georgia Restaurant Sales Projections are $14.2 billion