Running a quick service restaurant is no small feat. With so many moving parts, marketing often gets pushed to the back burner. However, with the right restaurant marketing agency, you can boost your restaurant’s visibility, drive more customers through your doors, and keep them coming back for more – without adding a ton to your to-do list!
This article will guide you through finding the best restaurant marketing agency for your needs, and why a partner like Table Needs could be your best ally in achieving your goals.
Understanding the Unique Needs of Quick Service Restaurants
Just like different restaurants excel at different types of food, beverage, and service styles, different marketing agencies excel within different industries and marketing tactics. Sure, there are marketing best practices no matter the industry, but finding a restaurant marketing agency or restaurant marketing service that understands the unique needs of quick service restaurants is essential.
Quick service restaurants thrive on specific metrics such as foot traffic and online orders, average order value, and customer retention. A deep understanding of these metrics is necessary for marketing efforts to be effective, as well as an understanding of how you run your business.
A restaurant marketing agency will tailor strategies to fit the unique needs of your specific restaurant and craft marketing plans that intentionally expand brand awareness, grow your customer base, and increase your sales.
Common Challenges Restaurant Owners Face
For many restaurant owners, coming up with restaurant marketing ideas can be overwhelming. There are so many options: large marketing agencies, boutique agencies, freelancers, or even handling marketing in-house. It’s hard to know which route to take, especially when you’re not familiar with the marketing landscape.
Many restaurant owners realize they need help but aren’t sure what kind of help they need. They might try to DIY their marketing, leading to sporadic posts on social media, not knowing what to post or why their marketing efforts aren’t yielding results. This lack of clarity can lead to frustration and wasted resources.
Lesson #1: A restaurant owner who tried to handle their marketing in-house. Michael, the owner of a local deli, typically posted randomly on his deli’s social media accounts, without any sort of strategy aside from thinking, “I need to remind people about my shop.” These posts barely got any likes or comments and he didn’t see an increase in sales when posting. Michael knew that marketing was necessary to grow his business and so he started looking for help.
General Marketing Agency vs Restaurant Marketing Agency
Understanding that you can’t do it all yourself is the first step – just like you can’t run your entire restaurant on your own! That being said, choosing the wrong type of marketing services can be an expensive mistake.
General marketing agencies don’t understand the nuances of the restaurant industry. They may create campaigns that look good on paper but fail to deliver results because they don’t resonate with your customers or align with your business goals.
The cost of choosing the wrong agency isn’t just financial. It also means lost time and potential revenue. A restaurant-specific marketing agency can help avoid these pitfalls by providing targeted, effective strategies that drive real results.
Lesson #2: A restaurant owner chooses a general marketing agency. After doing a bit of research and asking around, Michael chose a general marketing agency in his town. The agency had a good reputation and had done well for local retail shops and services. However, Michael quickly realized that they didn’t fully grasp the unique challenges of his deli. The content didn’t engage customers, the strategies didn’t align with his restaurant’s peak hours and promotional events, and he didn’t see much – if any – increase in sales. After a few months, Michael realized he needed a restaurant marketing agency.
Benefits of Working with a Restaurant Marketing Agency
Working with a restaurant-specific marketing agency offers several distinct advantages. First and foremost, these folks have industry expertise. They stay updated on the latest trends and understand what strategies work best for quick service restaurants. This knowledge allows them to create marketing campaigns that are both current and effective.
Seamless collaboration is another significant benefit. A restaurant marketing agency understands your hours and availability, making the partnership smoother. They know that your peak hours are likely different from a typical business and will work around your schedule to ensure minimal disruption.
Lesson #3: A restaurant owner partners with a restaurant marketing agency. Michael found a restaurant marketing partner and decided to give it a try. The people he worked with quickly grasped his deli’s unique selling points and crafted a targeted marketing strategy. As a result, Michael saw quicker results, increased sales, and better name recognition within his community.
Costs of Working with a Restaurant Marketing Agency
As with anything, there is a downside to working with a restaurant marketing agency. Yes, they will have a clear understanding of your business and create results-oriented marketing strategies however this usually comes at a high cost.
Most restaurant marketing agencies charge a fixed monthly fee for services that can range anywhere from $1,000-$5,000 a month and more. So even during a slow period, you’ll still be on the hook for a big bill.
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In addition, it’s difficult for a restaurant marketing agency to truly know if they’re efforts are working without insight to your business’s reports and POS system data. Agencies will be able to track social media stats, website visitors, and even clicks to your online ordering link but they won’t know how many people actually bought your delicious burgers after posting about it, unless you provide that data.
Lesson #4: A restaurant owner partners with a restaurant marketing agency. Michael saw results from the restaurant marketing agency, however the sky-high monthly fees were eating into his revenue – a lot. He worried that he wouldn’t be able to keep up with the bills during his usual seasonal slump. He wondered if it’s really worth the cost… Michael looks for a less expensive but still effective marketing option.
Alternatives to Choosing a Restaurant Marketing Agency
Table Needs specializes in helping restaurants like yours achieve growth goals through professional restaurant marketing services tailored to your unique needs – without the sky-high fees. By offering a mix of social media marketing, website development, and monthly marketing consultations, we work closely with you to grow your audience, generate more sales, and keep customers coming back for more.
Why are our restaurant marketing services so effective? Because we intimately understand your business:
- Table Needs works primarily with independently-owned quick service restaurants, coffee shops, and food trucks
- We have the experience, data and reporting to match marketing efforts to actual revenue.
- We’re a one-stop-shop for all your restaurant technology and business needs.
Let’s work together to create some marketing magic! Book a call with us to learn more about Table Needs Restaurant Marketing Service and how we can help find your path to profitability.
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