In a recent blog on FohBoh, Jose Riesco talks about how these “times of crisis are times of opportunity” for marketing, especially in the restaurant industry. It’s true that people are spending less and dining out less, so now is a good time for restaurants to re-evaluate their marketing programs. It’s time to eliminate programs that don’t work and invest in programs that produce results.

A good exercise for restaurants is to make a list of every single marketing expense, then evaluate which ones can be tracked. In the example on Riesco’s post, his client found that 80% of his marketing expenses were non trackable. This client found that he had no way to measure how many customers his Yellow Pages, local newspaper, and other restaurant catalog advertisements were bringing into his location. Riesco’s advice was to eliminate those marketing expenses that cannot be measured.

Riesco also suggested adding a discount coupon to the existing advertisements reasoning that if customers really did come into the restaurant because of this ad then surely they would bring a discount with them on their next visit. If this does not prove these programs are effective, then they should be eliminated.

One way to redirect marketing funds is to update the restaurant’s website to include a sign up for capturing visitors’ information and offer them a “welcome discount”. Another type of campaign that is 100% trackable is a card mailer with a magnetic strip. These mailers can be integrated with a restaurant’s existing POS system and work in the same way as a gift card. Card mailers allow restaurants to target specific potential customers through direct mail, then track who redeems the offer.

Tracking marketing campaigns is essential to measuring their success, so it might be time to re-evaluate and re-think existing campaigns and replace them with campaigns that your restaurant can accurately track.

Printing Services and Print on Demand
Get more when you outsource for printing services
Statement Printing Blog