Restaurant Traffic: Freshen it Up

When it comes to bringing new clientele into a restaurant, owners are constantly on the lookout for new ways to attract fresh faces. Naturally, repeat customers are incredibly valuable, but a restaurant can’t grow without a healthy supply of new patrons. There are some tried and true methods that should not be ignored, like distributing menu flyers and coupons.

However, the name of the restaurant game is staying fresh, up to date, and unique, and this includes a restaurant’s tactics for bringing in new clientele. Consider a few of these ideas to spice up your restaurant’s marketing techniques.

1. Free Samples – Free samples may not seem like a new idea, but how often do you actually see a restaurant offering free samples to passersby in their area? (This works especially well for restaurants in areas with high foot traffic.) Choose a signature menu item that is easy to prepare in large quantities and is easily portable.Before busy lunch or dinner hours start, set up your samples just outside your entrance. Offer your delectable bites to people walking by, and you should see immediate results as you attract people who were already looking for somewhere to eat.

   Keep in mind that you should have plenty of the dish you are offering as a sample available, since it may be the most popular item on the menu that day!

2. Teach – Consider having your chef do cooking demonstrations open to the public on a few nights that you would normally be closed or very slow. Attendees could cook along with the chef and make their own dinner from your menu. Advertising for the class would be done for your restaurant without bombarding consumers with your normal marketing techniques.

   Also, it gives newcomers the chance to get a feel for your restaurant and become curious about your menu and atmosphere. Not to mention, class attendees would be excited to become future patrons of a place where they can say they “know” the chef.

3. Give Back – Host a benefit or fundraiser at your restaurant, offering a limited menu at a discount. You will bring people into your establishment that may not have noticed it otherwise, and you will have a chance to solidify your rapport with those who may have already been curious about your restaurant.

   This idea may also give you a chance to connect with some prominent community members and create a relationship with influential people. Most importantly, you will establish yourself and your restaurant as a positive influence in your community.

All of these possibilities are simple and easy to implement with almost any marketing plan. Try one or all of them, but spread them out to ease the very slight financial burden that could accompany putting these new marketing techniques into practice. (There might be no loss of profits at all if you consider hosting a cooking class, since you could charge a small fee per student.)

You may sacrifice a small amount of profits initially for some of these ideas, but the potential profits can be long-lasting and well worth the effort.

Tags: Restaurant Management Group, Restaurant Receiverships, Restaurant Turnaround Management