To begin a restaurant marketing plan you need to have some vital information up front such as, how much money to put aside for marketing. Normally, this figure would be between 3 to 6 percent of the estimated sales. However, you do need to set aside the largest percentage of this money for your busiest months.

Main Principles of a Restaurant Marketing Plan

Some of the main principles of a restaurant marketing plan include the products to be sold, the location of the establishment, the prices of each item and the promotional aspect of the business but that is not all. To be effective the marketing plan needs to be based on knowledge about the restaurant business in general and on actual facts.

The financial and marketing history will need to be considered along with what type of competition you will encounter. Do you have similar businesses nearby with lots of competition or will you provide a different type of restaurant for the residence in the immediate area.

You must take into consideration the type of customers you will be receiving and how often they return. For example, do most of your guests dine alone, as couples, as a family or in large groups? Do a lot of elderly couples visit your restaurant? These questions are important because you need to make sure you have the right accommodations suitable to make your customers comfortable and that you have a good diverse menu to suit the needs of everyone.

The first time a customer dines at your restaurant they will form an opinion of the service they received and the quality of the food provided. By knowing how many customers are repeat visitors you will be able to judge your performance and learn what areas need to be improved. Customers return to a restaurant when they are treated with respect, courtesy and great food. If they are not returning, then you know there is a problem somewhere.

It is a good idea to provide promotional items to encourage your customers to invite friends to dine with them. You can start up refer-a friend programs that offer your regular customers a discounted meal or provide accommodations for birthday parties and so forth. You can increase the frequency of your customer visits by increasing their loyalty with the best service possible. The only exception to this would be if you were in a location near an interstate where your customers were mainly travellers and not residence located near the area.

The cheque average that your restaurant receives is also a very important part of your marketing plan. Increasing your prices is not the only way to make these averages higher so the marketing plan that you put together should include specific methods for increasing the cheque average in your restaurant.

Some of these methods can include suggestive selling programmes, offering the customer the chance to upgrade the order to larger portions or by allowing separate dishes to be added to meals. Anytime the cheque average drops or climbs you should be aware of this and determine what factors are affecting the change.

There are also other outside forces that will make an impact on your business. This would include any road repairs or construction planned for the area surrounding your business. Many times extensive road repairs can isolate your business and make it hard for customers to reach you. Plans for the construction of a housing development nearby will most likely increase your business as it gets underway and more families move into the area.

How to Design Your Marketing Plan

Design your restaurant marketing plan to match the behavior of the potential customers instead of trying to change their routine to meet you plans. It is impossible to change the habits people already have in place but a good marketing plan will help to influence their existing behavior by capturing their attention and making them interested in what you have to offer.

A good restaurant marketing plan will put more attention on ways to increase the number of returning customers instead of ways to bring in new ones. It is more effective and better for business while being less expensive than targeting new customers. For the best results, design ways to reach potential customers mainly through public relations instead of mostly advertising.

When you keep track of all the information above along with your overhead and income you will be able to improve and update your restaurant marketing plan as your business grows. By having a good marketing plan you are setting yourself up for success.