The 10 Restaurant Marketing Tools Every Team Needs

Marketing is as important to the success of your restaurant as the quality of your food and service. You may create the greatest restaurant in the world but struggle to keep the doors open if no one knows it exists. The key to success is being able to fill seats consistently, which means you need a large number of customers who visit regularly. The only way to consistently fill seats is to build a strong marketing plan for your restaurant.  

Paytronix works with restaurants to create marketing frameworks to grow small businesses into household names. One way to do this is to take advantage of modern technologies to reach the masses. Work with the five restaurant marketing tools outlined in this article to set up a restaurant for long-term commercial success. But first, let’s take a look at an overview of the topic. 

Essential Restaurant Marketing Tools Overview 

Restaurant marketing tools include resources and platforms used to reach a wide audience. From social media to email, there are plenty of new systems to use and produce results. Where restaurants tend to run into issues is choosing the right systems for their businesses and covering every relevant area of marketing.  

The biggest benefit of using restaurant marketing tools is making it possible to simplify and automate marketing practices. For example, a social media management platform makes it easy to post content to multiple social media platforms from the same interface. This significantly reduces the time and complexity of managing your restaurant’s social media presence, which is a major complaint of business owners. 

Restaurant marketing tools also make marketing more accessible to business owners, making it easier to generate the results you are looking for. While many business owners know a lot about food service, their knowledge of how to market the business may not be as developed. These tools make processes simple, so you can focus on the content or the audience rather than trying to figure out the mechanics of how to use different marketing systems. The result centers around engaging and growing your audience, letting your business reach more people and fill more seats consistently.  

3 Restaurant Marketing Tool Must-Haves 

The days of restaurants surviving on word-of-mouth advertising alone are over. Digital marketing is the leading way to build an audience for your restaurant. A good digital marketing tool is essential for managing your company’s online presence and attracting a large enough customer base to fill every seat, every day.  

There are three types of restaurant marketing tools you must include in your digital media marketing strategy, including:  

1. Social media management platform 
2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) software 
3. Content creation program 

Combining these three tools gives you everything you need to take advantage of digital marketing to grow your business. It’s also worth pointing out that social media marketing is one of the biggest ways to reach people.  

With the number of people on social media increasing, use several platforms to create an online persona your audience will interact with. Managing several social media platforms is time-consuming, which is why a social media management platform is essential.  

Platforms like Hootsuite, Later, and Sprout Social combine all of the tools you need to manage social media platforms within a single interface. A common feature is being able to create content and customize it for different platforms while scheduling it in a single place.  

These tools make social media management easier. You’ll track all of your progress from a single place, customize and circulate content as needed, and easily share resources between accounts. Platforms like Hootsuite also give you all of the tools you need to create and edit your content, reducing the need for outside programs.  

Social media management programs also include tools to help you find and target the right audience. They are capable of doing the basic market research needed to find your ideal customer. From demographics to geolocation, these systems make it easy to see who you should be focused on to grow your audience.  

This is something many business owners struggle with when getting into digital marketing. Having some help making important decisions early on makes the dive into digital marketing easier and shortens the learning curve.  

An Intro to Restaurant Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Systems 

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems give you tools to maintain relationships with customers even when they are not in the restaurant. There are things you do to provide value to the customer and entice them to come in. However, you have to have a system in place to collect and securely manage data about your customers needed to effectively maintain a relationship.  

For example, knowing what a particular guest typically orders, how often they come in, and any feedback they leave gives you the ability to market to them. You need a system to collect and manage information. A CRM system allows you to collect feedback and act quickly to strengthen your relationship with customers. Storing all of your customer information this way not only improves security but also your ability to comb through it and find what makes customers happy. 

Automation also plays a major role in how well you adapt and maintain social media for your restaurant. You are a busy person without the digital marketing and social media to manage. Fortunately, CRMs use a lot of automation to make things easier.  

It will automatically post across three sites simultaneously and schedule posts out for the foreseeable future. You quickly get an entire year’s worth of posts created and scheduled across all of your social media platforms within a fraction of the time.  

3 Email Marketing Solutions to Consider 

While social media is popular, email marketing should not be overlooked. Email is still a viable means of communicating with your audience and provides some advantages over social media.  

One way email beats social media is staying power. You deliver an email filled with things like coupons, loyalty program information, and other items of value they keep as an incentive to come into the restaurant. Social media interactions and engagement tend to be temporary, making it hard to keep customers engaged. Emails last indefinitely and give customers time to interact with them when the time is right.  

Another important note about email marketing is an email subscriber list gives you the ability to reach your audience over time. As long as you have an email address from a customer, you have the ability to continue to communicate with them. This is why email and newsletter subscriber lists are considered so valuable to businesses: It is a roster of everyone you connect with and potentially generate repeat business from.  

The value of email to businesses is well-known, which is why there are so many tools available to help you manage an email list of customers. Some of the most well-known are MailChimp, Constant Contact, and Klaviyo. Platforms like Mailchimp are designed to let you create emails and automate the sending process as much as possible, making it easy to communicate with a large number of people on a regular basis. From there, you coordinate holiday events, daily specials, and coupon deliveries to incentivize customers to plan another trip to your restaurant.  

Constant Contact, in particular, is exceptional at creating and sending newsletters. A newsletter is a great way to promote your restaurant, even to those who don't dine with you regularly. It is effective at advertising to anyone who is on your list rather than only focusing on bringing customers back in.  

At the same time, Klaviyo is known for its effective campaign management features. It helps you segment your audience into smaller groups to apply more targeted marketing options. This way, you are not using a one-size-fits-all approach with your entire audience. The more you target your approach to the right people within the list, the more of a return you should expect to see. If you want to see results, then there are a few things you should do to make email marketing more effective for your business.  

Start by identifying and segmenting your audience into smaller groups. While everyone in the group likes your restaurant, they don’t all like the same things or have the same influences.  

Segmentation lets you target smaller groups based on their preferences without sending emails to people who won’t benefit from them. Not only does it lower the amount of effort you have to put in, but it also makes your efforts more focused and productive.  

Another tip for email marketing success is to focus on the quality of your subject lines. Compelling subject lines get attention from readers, and they are largely why people choose to open an email. You can’t have an effective email marketing campaign when all of the subject lines are sub-par. As you get into email marketing, place special attention on how your subject lines come across to potential customers. 

Finally, one of the best ways to get the most value out of your emails is to follow up. Keep the communication going to keep customers engaged. Email management platforms let you automate this process as well by creating and automatically sending follow-up emails at specific intervals.  

Managing Your Restaurant Loyalty Program 

Loyalty programs boost customer retention and engagement significantly but are cumbersome to manage. You can use tools to automate communications about your loyalty program, reducing the strain on time and resources.  

Loyalty program management tools also integrate seamlessly with email marketing platforms. In some cases, you combine the two to make management easier while optimizing the experience for customers.  

Making your loyalty program integrate seamlessly into the experience drives customer retention. The more seamless you make the accrual and redemption of rewards, the more it impacts how loyal customers are. The goal is to make sure they get rewards while having to do as little work as possible beyond making purchases.  

Rewards also go a long way in increasing customer spending by motivating purchases. When you offer the right incentives, they help customers justify spending more money than they would otherwise. Loyalty programs make it easy to reward and incentivize customers who are already committed to your restaurant, turning it into a cycle of purchases, rewards, and benefits for both sides.  

2 Analytics and Reporting Tools 

As you implement systems to help you reach more people and manage your audience, it is important to quantify your performance. If you don’t know how well your current efforts are performing, it is impossible to know if you are making progress toward your goals. Fortunately, analytics and reporting tools make it easy to measure your performance and see the impact of the changes you make.  

Consider using one of the two platforms to track customer insights: 

1. Google Analytics is a popular choice because it gives you direct information right from the search engine provider. Since Google is so widely used, it makes sense to base your decisions on its analytics.  
2. Square Analytics is also popular, giving you information about purchase insights from the vendor. Look for a data analytics platform with the ability to integrate with the other systems you use. Then, set key performance indicators (KPIs) you want to track, and measure your progress with every major change you make.  

2 Mobile Marketing Platforms 

Mobile marketing platforms also play an important part in restaurant marketing. Mobile devices are used more than any other method of communication. If you avoid targeting mobile devices, you are cutting your restaurant off from a large segment of your possible customer base. Alternatively, a strong mobile marketing platform gives you access to the largest segment of the market and is your key to expanding your customer base.  

There are several ways to go about mobile marketing using a wide range of tools. SMS marketing is growing in popularity and is proving to be one of the most effective methods. A program like SimpleTexting automates your SMS marketing program, letting you pre-program text messages and manage who they are sent to.  

App-based promotions are another popular option. It gives you the opportunity to influence the behavior of customers at a time when it makes the most sense. Receiving coupons through a restaurant app makes the program manageable while also giving you direct access to customers to build engagement.  

Social Media Advertising Tools 

Once you have a social media presence, monetize it by advertising on various channels. To do this, you need to use a social media advertising platform. Similar to a social media management tool, this option coordinates your advertising efforts instead of making content for your channel. Every social media channel has an advertising system you take advantage of to attract a bigger audience.  

A good example of this is Meta Ads Manager, which manages advertising systems across Meta’s social media options. This one tool lets you coordinate advertising budgets and setup ads across several platforms, all from within the same interface.  

Another benefit to such a tool is its ability to track performance metrics like ROI. You might be able to track all of the performance metrics you need without having to set up a separate system.  

ROI is the most important metric to track since it shows if the money you put into the program is worth the returns. Other metrics show you how to make changes for better performance. If you only track one thing across your social media, make sure it is ROI. 

A Restaurant Content Management Systems (CMS) Overview 

Finally, the restaurant website is the most important online real estate you have. Even if you are doing well on social media and other forms of digital marketing, your website holds you back if it is not providing value. To this end, use a restaurant content management system (CMS) to make sure you have a firm grasp on all of your online content.  

A CMS centralizes the process of creating, posting, and managing content across all digital realms. For example, a CMS manages your website and blog, making it easy to update both from the same interface. Your CMS may also integrate with other platforms, giving you a better way to manage content seamlessly across your online presence. 

Managing all your content from a single platform gives you greater control over your branding consistency. The content is more consistent across different platforms, making your restaurant recognizable in a sea of advertising. You also have better control of how you keep everything up-to-date.  

Frequently Asked Questions About Restaurant Marketing Tools 

Paytronix works with restaurants to find the best ways to market and grow. We work with a lot of restaurants, and we answer many questions for each client. Here are a few that we frequently answer, which will help you better understand restaurant marketing.  

What is the most important marketing tool for any restaurant? 

The most important marketing tool for any restaurant is a CMP. A content marketing platform helps you manage the core of your online presence and may help with other platforms, depending on which tool you choose. 

If you only have the resources to invest in one marketing tool, start with a CMP to manage your website and blog. From there, expand to other tools used to help with social media and other avenues to increase your reach.  

How do you stand out in an oversaturated hospitality market? 

The best way to stand out in an oversaturated hospitality market is to focus on building an audience by representing your company authentically. People want to see what your restaurant is like but not in a salesy or marketing-focused way.  

Use this to your advantage by showing them the personal side of your company through food, atmosphere, and personality. People will flock to you because they like what they see, not just because you offer them coupons and other perks.  

How do I increase the number of customers in my restaurant? 

To increase the number of customers in your restaurant, focus on increasing your online presence. Your audience is the number of people interested in your restaurant. Adding people to your audience means you might convert more of them into customers by offering incentives to bring them in.  

Take the Next Step with Paytronix 

Your restaurant could grow into a household name with the right systems in place. Building a system for your restaurant doesn’t have to be challenging. You just need help to find the right tools and practices. That’s where Paytronix comes in.  

At Paytronix, we help restaurants create programs to improve customer retention. Whether you need a loyalty program, help with gift card integrations, or other customer engagement solutions, we are here to help convert your audience into customers. Book a demo with Paytronix to see how we make it easier than ever to create and maintain an online presence for your business.