Top 10 Lessons in Restaurant Marketing

Posted on 05. Jan, 2010 by Gary Tripp in Marketing

Chain Leader blogger and restaurant-chain marketing veteran Karen Brennan outlines the Top 10 things she has learned so far. For the full report, check out Brennan’s blog.

10. Customers own the brand. A brand is a set of expectations, and if your guests don’t believe your messaging, it may as well not be true.

9. Marketing restaurants is simple. Make customers want to come. Make customers want to come back. The devil is in the details.

8. Marketing is a philosophy, not a department. Marketing is everyone’s job, from the hostess to the CFO to the unit-level manager.

7. You’re not selling burgers; you’re renting chairs to people buying burgers. Restaurant capacity is the secret. Maximize every daypart.

6. If you want people to talk about you, give them something to talk about. If you don’t give people something specific and concrete to talk about, they have nothing to say.

5. Marketing is a “ready, aim, fire” discipline in a “ready, fire, aim” industry.

4. Marketing can’t promise what operations can’t execute. A simple thing like promoting a long-ticket-time appetizer versus an easy-pick-up item such as soup can negatively affect the guest experience.

3. Never confuse effort with results. It’s easy to feel really good in the midst of rolling out a new program. But it’s important to stop every now and then to measure results.

2. Steal only from the best. And make sure the idea fits your brand.

1. You’ll never be first by following the competition.

Blog post can be read in it’s entirety at Chain Leader