Restaurant Branding and Marketing Strategies

First things first: Before any of your decisions are set in stone, you should conduct a thorough market analysis. Consider the location where you want to open your restaurant and analyze its demographics to see if your restaurant concept would work well there. What kind of people live in your area of choice? Families, students, older people, or a mixture? What is their lifestyle like, and how high is their budget for eating out?

Other important questions to consider are what restaurant options are already represented in your chosen area and if your restaurant would fit into the area and satisfy a need. If you are looking to open a restaurant in a very busy, high-end street in downtown where people rush in and are craving to grab something healthy for lunch, your style of restaurant should be a different one than if you are going for a quieter place on the countryside where families can come to enjoy a peaceful afternoon coffee and homemade farmhouse pie. These examples are just there to illustrate the point: examine your area with its demographics and choose your location and restaurant style well.

Your brand is the way customers perceive you. Good branding is the key to stand out from the crowds and create connection with customers. But what makes a good brand? It’s not just about the trendy designed logo and catchy phrases. It is about the values and identity from which your style and outward appearance flow.

When you do your market analysis and choose a location, you are automatically thinking about your identity as a restaurant already. However, once you have done your research and settled for a place, give these thoughts even more depth and time. Who are you, and what do you want to embody and accomplish with your restaurant? What are your core values as a restauranteur? Also, ask yourself what the personality of your restaurant will be. Fast or relaxed? Modern, classic, or romantic? City-loft or farmhouse vibes? Traditional cuisine or trendy, exotic dishes? Which style of service do you offer? (Quick service, mid-scale or upscale?). All these factors play into your brand identity and personality.

Once you have the answers to these questions set and know exactly what your restaurant should embody of who you are, what you do and why you do it - all the other decisions from big to small will fall into place a lot easier.

A mission statement might sound exaggerated, but it doesn’t have to be long or complicated.

If you have your brand identity sorted out, this will most likely come very naturally to you. Just try to think of a sentence that expresses what you do, why you do it and the value you bring to your guests.

Having that statement repeated on your website, under your logo, and displayed on different occasions throughout your store will strengthen your brand identity and create meaningful connection with your staff and customers.

If you don’t know where to start or feel a bit uninspired, try to think about your favorite restaurants or some very successful eateries and examine closely how they went about with their branding. What do they bring across when you hear their name, when you see their website, or when you walk into their store? How do they make you feel and what plays together to create that feeling?

You don’t even have to limit yourself to looking at restaurants only. You can certainly get inspiration from all different kinds of brands.

Don’t copy anyone else but take note of these things and look at them as an inspiration for which elements you want to include in your own restaurant branding.

To use your money wisely on advertisements, define multiple buyer personas for your restaurant. Think about who exactly your dream customers are. Be detailed: what is their lifestyle, their job, age, hobbies, and interests, and even their name and personality? The more specific you can be, the better your marketing will work.

This strategy will help you personalize your ads and position them in the right places where your target audience will see them.

Depending on your buyer personas and the time spending habits of your target audience, you should invest in different ad placements. Instagram, YouTube, magazines, or the bus station: Each option has its own benefits and will attract different groups of people.

If it fits your target audience, we recommend investing in well-positioned ads. However, most of our suggested marketing strategies are free of charge or very low-cost. Smart advertising and marketing don’t need to break the bank. Use small amounts of money to pay for ads here and there - if your online appearance is on point, these small investments can get you very far.

There you go - these are our top tips on how to succeed in branding and marketing strategies for your restaurant. Customize each of these points to your use and it will help you make that successful restaurant dream come true!