Creating a Restaurant Recovery Marketing Plan

Staying engaged with your customers can be the difference between surviving as your state and local community permits restaurants to re-open and permanently shutting down.

Because the future is uncertain, you might be thinking, “Is there a point in creating a marketing plan?” Of course, because without a plan, it is more challenging to attract and retain customers.

Inspire Confidence

Even if you are operating with limited resources and offerings, use this opportunity to show your customers how you are planning for a successful re-opening. At a minimum, you should be in constant communication:

• Add fresh content to your website at least once per week
• Use social media and email to communicate with your customers to let them know what measures you are taking to support the staff, keep customers safe, and your restaurant clean

There are plenty of ways you can use social media to promote your restaurant effectively:

• Add the menu tab on Facebook to take online orders from your customers
• Add online and mobile ordering with a solution like Total Touch Web Ordering so customers can order online (and not have to redial to get through to your restaurant!)
• Ask your loyal customers to write reviews about your restaurant on Google, Facebook, and Yelp.
• Spend time connecting with the community and building your following on Facebook, Instagram, and social media platforms that make sense for your restaurant and the community you serve
• Start a contest: Asking your customers to tag a previous trip to your restaurant in a post, and reward them with a complimentary entrée or discount
• Emphasize seasonal foods and how you prepare them. People love to know what food is super-fresh
• Stay engaged with and loyal customers. Go back six months in your social media and comment on every review, post, or comment about your restaurant and the food you serve. Thank your customers. If someone posts a picture of your restaurant, share it on your page. It will make your customer feel extra special
• Post during specific times, like during lunch or dinner hours. These are the times when people are usually browsing for food options (the Facebook Insights tab in your Pages manager will show you when people are most active)
• Continue to build your email list and offer coupons and email-only specials. People love to be “insiders,” and you can reward them for being one.

Invite People Behind the Scenes

People love great food, especially when they care about the restaurant. Customers prefer their favorite restaurant because of how it makes them feel and how delicious the food is. Introduce them to the people behind their favorite food and restaurant.

Start an Online Cooking Show/ Share Recipes

People who are currently cooking at home are looking for ways to stay busy. You can take advantage of this opportunity and keep them engaged by 

• Creating an online cooking show for them. Teach your customers how to prepare some of your beloved dishes. 
• Publish at-home versions of your favorite recipes. If you have rave reviews about your Paella Valenciana, publish a step-by-step guide on how to make it, and invite home chefs to post a photo and tag your restaurant

Even though this may seem counterintuitive, we are not saying you should give out your secret ingredient or family recipe. Just walk them through the steps so that they become more connected to your brand and familiar with the food they come to your restaurant to enjoy.

Even if you do decide to reveal the secret of your special sauce, you are still the expert, and your loyal customers will still come to you.