A restaurant marketing plan is most often understood as advertising. And then with advertising comes the guessing game about return on investment. The restaurant owner wonders and tries to assess if the cost of advertising will garner an increase in sales.
But here’s the great news… a restaurant marketing plan is so much more than advertising. And, certainly not all of a marketing plan involves spending money. In fact the most important compinenst of a marketing plan do not directly involve a specific financial investment. I believe that the most important component of a restaurant marketing plan is the foundation of the brand. And by that I mean the visual brand and the core values. Marketing is in the air we breathe and it is most effective to have all employees know and believe in the core values and to know what the brand stands for. Then marketing is communicated in the way answer the phone, open the door and do a spell check of the menu before we print it. All of those components when well done become a launching pad and a basis for word of mouth marketing.