Boring, you have to agree that the majority of restaurant promotion, point of sale material, even including the menu, looks very boring. With videos taking such a prominent place in our lives it seems a shame that we can't merge this into our point of sale activity, or can we?
I guarantee that someone does this before long.
Here are a few suggestions for your restaurant promotion. What about a built-in screen on your 'A' board, showing video clips of the inside of your restaurant, your chefs at work, some of your signature dishes etc. This is more likely to get people to stop and look at your 'A' board to see what it's all about.
If you have a waiting area, where your customers can relax, how about showing live action of your chefs at work. If your restaurant is open plan already, you could stream videos of them preparing specials, describing the cooking process and showing completed dishes.
These are ideas for the near future, but now let's look at bringing more excitement and more interest to you restaurants point of sale material.
First things first, whatever you do to change your content, all of your literature, website and Facebook page, twitter background and blog should have a theme. I hate the phrase 'corporate image' but you should have a standard theme to your restaurant advertising and restaurant promotional material that your customers can recognize.
Get yourself a tagline or catchphrase; you can even add audio in the form of a jingle or signature tune. When someone visits your website your signature tune would start to play, quietly in the background. Using a signature tune is a subtle way of linking your restaurant in the mind of the customer. There are tens of thousands of royalty free melodies and tunes available online, including some very famous classical numbers. Using a famous piece of music means that it is likely your customers will hear it at other times then hopefully think about your restaurant.
You need to select a background format and color scheme for your restaurants publicity material and online presence. Once you have done this it's time to look at your content.
For your menu; because we are dealing with food and drink, a very visual and sensory subject, it makes sense to include photographs but don't overdo it. You would be advised to use a professional photographer to make some high quality images for you. A word of caution here - have photographs of the way your food is actually presented to the customer so that it is recognizable when it arrives on their table.
It is also an idea to show photographs of fresh produce, so your customer will know at an unconscious level that they are getting fresh, not frozen or processed food. Be selective which dishes you use, remember not too many. Also consider the layout of the menu and not too many items. Your customers are here for a gastronomic experience, not to read a novel.
'A' boards and external signage: Whether you use your 'A' board to describe the day's menu, specials or upcoming events, try to bring something to the table that makes people pause or do a 'double-take'. Use your imagination to think of options that make your restaurant unique. Most 'A' boards are as boring as an old fart and they just don't get noticed. More white space makes your content stand out, so don't cram it full of text.
Leaflets: Obviously the size of the leaflet you produce will restrict how much you can put on it. A sheet of 'A4' with 1 fold gives you four sides you can play with. You could have a few photos of the restaurant and food; list a few specials from your menu, opening hours, address and contact details, website and Facebook page. Again don't overfill the space, very often less is more and will get read.
Flyers: On the front have plenty of clear white space, just have restaurant name, address and telephone number and a clean crisp call to action, i.e. your offer. On the back have your website, Facebook, Twitter and a link to offer some free recipes or newsletter sign-up.
Business cards: Again don't overfill the space, restaurant name, address, telephone booking line and tagline. Use the back of the business card as well, so few people use this space and they are missing an opportunity to give important information. Either give your website URL, Twitter, Facebook, email address and URL for newsletter sign-up, or give a brief description of your restaurant cuisine and your website URL.
In part 2 we're going to look at your restaurant online promotion. If you want to get it as soon as it's released, click on the online RSS feed button.
Combining your Restaurant PR with your Restaurant promotion is just one of the techniques Baz Rothwell recommends in order to maximise your publicity. Baz has spent over 40 years in the leisure industry and he brings this fountain of knowledge together in his articles, tips and strategies at http://restaurantmarketingguy.com For a free 3 part ecourse on social media marketing go to http://bit.ly/hzeZUo
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