5 Effective Offline Marketing Tips for Restaurants

January 23, 2020

Restaurant technology is important, but sometimes we get tech overload and need a break from our digital existence. Your customers are no different. While a digital marketing strategy for your restaurant is integral to your success in this day and age, there’s still room for more traditional, offline marketing methods.

Here are five offline marketing tips for restaurants:

Participate in food and wine festivals: People LOVE food and wine festivals. After all, what’s not to love? Sponsoring a booth and handing out samples of your staple dishes is still a great way to get your name out there and promote new and return visits. Offer a discount to people who stopped by your booth or promote a special event just for festival attendees.
Host a themed event: People love themes. Especially millennials, who we now know represent the largest food and beverage spenders of the past decade. Try a flashback Friday where you encourage customers to dress from their favorite decade and offer drink specials that tie into the theme. Or, depending on the style of cuisine, holiday themes with pre-fixed menus tend to be profit drivers.
The tried and true A-frame sign: Nothing promotes your events and specials quite like a quirky A-frame sign propped up in from of your eatery – assuming city codes permit (don’t get us started on that). Use lunch and happy hour specials to lure in passersby and take advantage of the foot traffic that’s literally just walking by.
Upsell at the table: The upsell is arguably one of the most effective – and profitable – restaurant marketing techniques in existence. If your wait staff isn’t properly trained in the art of the upsell, you could be missing out on huge revenue opportunities. But beyond simply training your waiters, table marketing through your menu, table tents, and other table-based collateral is a great way to introduce new dishes and drink and dessert specials.
Partner with a local business: Partnerships with local companies and nonprofits are a great way to introduce new customers to your restaurant. Perhaps a fundraising event in which you donate a percentage of profits to a local nonprofit or a partnership with a local business where employees received a discount or exclusive lunch special. The possibilities here are endless and should have a positive impact on your reputation as well.

Now that you know there’s offline marketing tricks that work, it’s important that your restaurant marketing strategy be all-encompassing, and that includes a mix of online and offline marketing efforts, including local SEO.