By Business Type
Restaurant marketing you can do between lunch and dinner
Hungry people decide fast. Four free habits that put your restaurant in front of them at the moment they are choosing where to eat.
· 2 min read
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Marketing for restaurants and cafés
Be the obvious choice when someone gets hungry.
Nobody plans a Tuesday lunch three weeks ahead. Restaurant marketing is mostly about the minute or two when a hungry person is choosing. All of it fits in the quiet stretch between lunch and dinner.
They are hungry now. They pull out a phone, look at three places and pick one in a minute or two: is it open, what does it serve, and does it look good?
In this order
Start with these four
None of them costs money. Get the first one working before you move to the second.
Step 1: Make your Google listing answer three questions
Are you open, what do you serve, and does it look good. Keep the hours right for every holiday, link a current menu and add ten of your own photos.
Set up your Google listing →Step 2: Ask for the review while the plate is still warm
The moment is when a guest says “that was great.” Put a small card with a QR code in the check presenter or by the register. Never offer anything in exchange.
Make a review card →Step 3: Post what is coming out of the kitchen today
The special at 10:30 in the morning, with one photo, one sentence and the price. People deciding on lunch see it right when it matters.
Post ideas for restaurants →Step 4: Give regulars a reason to come back on a slow night
A signup sheet by the register and one short email a month: what is new on the menu, an event, or something for the night you most need to fill.
Start an email list →
Where to spend your time
Every channel, ranked for restaurants and cafés
You don't need all eight. Start at the top and stop when your week is full.
Start hereWhere your first hours should go.
Add nextWorth it once the first ones are running.
Nothing to post?
Three posts for this week
Post 1: Show your work
Today's special, posted mid-morning while people are deciding on lunch.
Caption to start from
Today's special: [dish], [price]. Until it's gone.
Post 2: Help
Answer a diet or allergy question before people have to ask.
Caption to start from
Yes, we have [gluten-free, vegetarian or kids'] options. Here's what to order: [dishes].
Post 3: Be a person
The cook or server your regulars ask for by name.
Caption to start from
If you've eaten here, you've met [name]. [Number] years in and still [what they're known for].
What can wait
Paid ads, a new website and a loyalty app can all wait. If your hours are wrong on Google, no ad will fix it.
Do this today
Search for your restaurant on your phone. Check the hours, tap the menu link and look at the first five photos. Fix whatever would make you scroll past.
The full read
Want the whole plan in one sitting?
The article walks through each of these jobs in more detail, with the words to use and what to do first.
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