What are customer profiles — and why should you build them?

By Mark Plumlee Knowing your customers is perhaps the most important part of running a successful small business. Knowing your target audience should inform every decision you make – your overall atmosphere, your menu, your marketing strategies, and beyond. Familiarity with your diners allows your business to provide them with the exact drinking or dining […]

Why you should solicit more online reviews (and how to do it)

By Mark Plumlee If you want to capture the attention of would-be guests on the internet, online reviews are of the utmost importance. According to a study by TripAdvisor, 94 per cent of respondents in the U.S. admitted that online reviews influence their dining decisions. Another study by two economists at the University of California, […]

10 fun back-to-school promos for your restaurant

By Zach Williams Summer is a lively season for restaurants, overflowing with promotional possibilities. The daylight is long, the weather is fine, kids and teenagers are off school, and the revenue potential is huge. Now that the season is winding down, though, you might feel that you’re running low on marketing ideas. Have no fear, […]

How to design an awesome summer menu

By Megan Prevost Thanks to tourism, longer days, and more leisure time, summer is always a busy season for restaurants. The summer season offers numerous opportunities to create an exclusive experience for customers that they won’t find elsewhere. To create a special summer experience, start with your menu.  Your menu isn’t just a piece of […]

Omni-channel marketing is a cornerstone of restaurants’ future

By Mark Plumlee Consumers are more fractured than ever before. People receive their information from different channels and different devices, and businesses and brands must compete with a thousand other distractions at any given moment. This makes the job of marketing a restaurant much harder, but it also provides interesting opportunities for omni-channel marketing. Advertising […]

Why creating a story with your menu makes a difference

By Ralph Zoontjens The term “food marketing” may conjure images of billboards or TV ads, but the restaurant menu is one of the most important touchpoints to engage your customers and keep them coming back. For the past two years, food marketing has been dominated by pandemic-related risk management, but now, restaurants have the freedom […]

3 steps to building a stronger brand

By Sydney Ahmadian A great brand is pivotal to marketing your business. It helps people identify people, companies, and products. Without it, customers won’t know what your restaurant is all about. COVID-19 sanitized many restaurants of their branding, making now the perfect time to build a stronger brand presence. You don’t have to be a […]

11 social media marketing best practices for restaurants

You’ve pivoted. You’ve survived. Now, it’s time to thrive. By Sabrina Falone All marketing, both traditional and digital, is about sharing your brand’s messaging in a way that creates an emotional response that inspires people to spend money with your company. That’s certainly no different with social media marketing. Social media is a great way […]

Restaurant Branding During COVID-19: Being memorable

The final chapter of our three-part look at restaurant branding during the pandemic looks at how to build a unique brand identity to stand out in a crowded market. By Doug Radkey Within this series, we’ve learned the importance of a brand guide along with consistent brand messaging, and come to understand the elements of connection […]

Restaurant Branding During COVID-19: Building connection with your community

In Part II of our three-part look at restaurant branding during the pandemic, we assess how operators can build a lasting connection with their community. By Doug Radkey In Part I of this series, the word connection was used often. When you are building or rebuilding the essence of a brand, it is all about the connection […]