2012 Key Insights for Restaurant Marketing

November 07, 2012 At the Greater Houston Restaurant Association's Education Summit next week, restauranteurs will gather for a day of panel discussions and talks on a range of topics, one being restaurant marketing trends. Michelle LeBlanc of Blue Sky Marketing will be sharing key insights based on market data learned in 2012 to prepare for 2013 plans. Below is a preview of some of the tips Michelle will share. To register for the GHRA event and hear more, click here.

Here are 5 restaurant marketing tips to get you on the right track:

The U.S. Small Business Administration suggests that restaurants allot at least 3% to 5% of total revenue to marketing. Marketing is not only advertising, it includes promotions, internal marketing materials,your website and marketing resources.
Mobile friendly sites are necessary. As of May 2012, 46% of Americans are using smartphones. Check your site's Analytics to see how many mobile users are accessing your site.
Review sites matter."Study Shows than an Extra Half-Star nets Restaurants 19% More Reservations on Yelp." September 2012 Huffington Post. Encourage reviews on Yelp and Google+.
Free directory listings will boost SEO efforts. Go to Yext.com, type in your locale details then start claiming and completing your listings. Or pay one of the myriad service companies that will do it for under $50 per month.
Forget Daily Deals. 15% of the American population is registered for a Daily Deal program. GroupOn's share price is down 77% as daily deal fatigue sets in. Daily deals are bad for restaurant revenue and do not bring loyal customers. But, there are new options coming with different models, which may change things.

If you are interested in learning more about how to incorporate social media and other online marketing tactics into your restaurant's marketing plan, we're happy to chat! Have a look at the various ways Blue Sky Marketing can help put together a ROI based marketing plan.