The current market is driven by the likes and dislikes of millennials and generation Z. Your competitors are no longer just other restaurants. The rising trend of food trucks, meal-kit services, on-demand food services and convenience stores selling ready to eat meals, restaurant owners need to find new ways to drive traffic to the website. While determining the promotion strategy for a restaurant is a challenging task, one needs to have a clear idea about the recent market trends.

New generation customers are looking for new information, new restaurants, and interesting dishes online. If you are a restaurant striving hard to boost online sales, restaurant marketing has to be one of your pivotal interests. Let’s take a look at some of the simple, yet effective and modern restaurant marketing tips.

Emphasize on Online Ordering

It may be interesting to note that 44 % of new generation consumers consume fast food 1- 4 times a week, and 83% of these orders are placed online. If your restaurant is not taking advantage of online ordering, then it's time you think again. As per recent surveys, an average ticket from online ordering is 10% to 30% larger compared to offline orders, resulting in 95% repeat orders. Integrating online ordering to your website your restaurant becomes more discoverable online, make it easy for your customers to find you and order from you.

Invest in Restaurant Technology

Dated technology is dated for a reason. Phone orders and cash registers can lead to mistakes or misunderstandings that can create delays in the system. Without a reliable POS system bolstered with advanced features, your restaurant’s efficiency is at risk of limiting the number of orders you can process in a given time.

Research from the National Restaurant Association indicates that 8 in 10 consumers agree that restaurant technology enhances convenience, speeds up service and increases order accuracy. Investing in modern restaurant technologies will not only boost customer experience but also streamline operations, as well as add positively to the bottom line.

Turn Your Customers into Promoters

Promoters are the people who share their positive opinion about your restaurant, either by posting reviews, writing blogs or simply talking about it with their friends and family. Word of mouth is immensely powerful. Consistently providing an exceptional customer experience and stellar meals to all guests are sure to increase restaurant sales through them and their connections. To get better results, create strategies around establishing customer loyalty and referral programs. Such strategies help build a larger customer base while rewarding customers who spread the word about your business.

Construct Menu Carefully

Your restaurant sales revolve around your menu. Millennials are "foodies", and they like to explore new cuisines, innovative dishes, and unusual drinks. If you’re just starting out, use menu design psychology to strategically suggest certain dishes to your customers. If you have been in the business for a while, it is important to keep a track of what sells and does not from your menu. Restaurant industry Experts advise updating the menu every 3 months.

Use Google My Business

Google is a popular search engine with 3.5 billion searches per day. 98% of your customers are searching for your restaurant on Google. Therefore, it is vital to list your business with Google My Business with necessary information. Google My Business is an extension of Google Places, which now allows business owners to control their appearance on Google Search and Google Maps, giving owners the opportunity to increase their general reputation, as well as overall sales and traffic.  It is a lucrative way to appear in the front when people search for businesses similar to yours.

Create Brand Identity

Building a strong brand identity is imperative for businesses to attract potential customers. Strong brand identity also has a more significant effect on your customers, as well as competitors. The first step to building a strong brand identity is to understand the target audience.  Identify what your potential customers are looking for, what are their interests, and what social channels they prefer to make decisions. Your brand kit and media kit should be a true reflection of your vision and your customer's expectations.

Use the Power of Digital PR

The concept of digital marketing and online public relation is on the rise. Millennials are consuming digital content at an alarming rate. Developing a community presence and having a healthy media presence are some of the successful ways of attracting regular clients. Online advertisements and sponsored posts published online have more power to shape a person’s buying decision. Upload impressive pictures and footage of your specialties and share them on social media platforms. Here are some do's and don'ts of Social Media Marketing that will help you create an effective marketing strategy.

When it comes to analyzing ROI from marketing, digital marketing and PR should work in conjunction. While a solid digital marketing strategy improves online visibility of the restaurant, PR focuses on relationship management with global communities being the cornerstone. This is also the most affordable way for achieving long-term exposure.

Leverage Influencer Network

One of the most compelling online marketing strategies to boost restaurant sales is to influence the crowd through influencer marketing. Partner with food bloggers, food enthusiasts and food channels that can share content on the topics related to your restaurant. In return, you can provide them incentives like discounted food, coupons or gift cards to show appreciation for their effort.

Wrapping Up...

These are just a few ways to increase revenue at your restaurant. The key is to make your restaurant stand out from the rest is to stay abreast with the new industry trends and adapt to market demands. Competition is high, hence, you need brilliant ideas to take the restaurant business to newer heights.

Looking to capture more revenue from online ordering? Activate your free Restolabs account and join a network of 250k restaurants from around the world.