Marketing tips for culinary entrepreneurs: attract more customers

Marketing spans all activities involved in attracting new customers and converting them into loyal customers. We want to grow your business and your turnover with a well devised strategy.

It all starts with knowing your target audience and the market. These are the fundamentals. What are your customers’ needs and points of frustration? How can you improve their lives and make them happy? What can your business do for them? With this information, along with your mission and vision, you can set out your marketing strategy.

As well as your target group, you need to know your competition. Are they appealing to the same target group? If so, what marketing activities do they use? This will give you an idea of what your marketing should consist of and which marketing channels you should use.

Now you know which steps to take, it's important to decide on a tone of voice and visual identity. This will give you a basis from which to write texts and design visuals for your marketing. Your tone of voice is the manner in which you speak to your target group. Choose a voice that fits your brand. For example, an Italian restaurant called “La Dolce Vita” that wants to attract families might use a warm, family-friendly tone, or a sandwich shop called “Daily Bites” which hopes to attract students will want to use an informal, dynamic tone of voice. Choose a visual identity that is consistent with your tone of voice. For “La Dolce Vita”, you might want to use an elegant, inviting and authentic visual style. “Daily Bites” would be better off with a fresh, modern and energetic style.

An important component of a successful digital marketing strategy is a website. You can hire a web developer to build one or you can build it yourself with platforms offering simple templates like Shopify and Wordpress. Use your tone of voice and visual identity to determine the look of the website. Make sure you include your location, opening hours and menu.

You can now link to your website from your other marketing channels or use your website as a marketing tool. Consider using SEA (Google Ads) or SEO (search engine optimisation) to draw more visitors to your website. Have you only recently launched and is a website too big of an investment for your business? Just start by creating a Google business profile. It's free and a great way to make your business findable, share information and even collect reviews.

Other digital strategies often involve utilising your social media channels. For example, an Instagram account where you share photos of your business and dishes but also highlight reviews from satisfied customers. Go a step further by creating video content and sharing it with your followers. You can read more in our article about social media marketing for culinary entrepreneurs.

Digital marketing may have taken off in recent years but traditional marketing techniques are still highly effective. One example of this is mailing out menu flyers in your region. An oldie but a goodie. You'll let people know a new restaurant has opened in their area, show them what they can eat, and how they can reach you. Get ready for lots of orders and reservations.

Do you sell popular products, like La Lorraine Bakery Group's donuts? Communicate this to potential customers with displays and flags in front of your location. It lures them through the door and can even lead to impulse buys. Want to use our displays and banners to attract more customers? Contact us today and we'll provide you with our marketing resources.

Is your business located in a city centre? Don't underestimate the power of good old flyers and posters. Create unique designs that convince your target audience to visit you. Just like mailing out menu flyers, this is a tried-and-true strategy.

Tip: your menu is another marketing tool. Find out how to make a good first impression with your menu.