Poor marketing is one of the leading causes of restaurant failure. Many restaurateurs focus solely on the food and operations, without giving enough attention to marketing. This is a huge mistake, as effective marketing is essential to the success of any restaurant.

A successful restaurant or F&B marketing strategy is essential for driving growth and generating new business opportunities.

However, if executed poorly, it can damage your reputation and cause you to miss out on potential customers. Investing the time and resources into developing a strong marketing plan will pay off in the long run.

In this blog post, we have shared 5 mistakes that you could be making for your restaurant/F&B marketing.

#1 Not having a website

Your restaurant’s website is one of your most powerful marketing tools. It can help you reach new customers and deliver essential information about your business.

If you’re looking to get your restaurant noticed, a website is key. Your potential customers will go online to find out more about your eatery before deciding whether or not to give it a try. If you don’t have a website, you’re missing out on a major opportunity to market your business.

Even if you have a website and if you’re not regularly updating your restaurant website, you could be doing some serious damage to your marketing efforts.

In today’s world, it’s becoming increasingly common for customers to look up restaurants on Google before they make a decision about where to eat.

So, if your website is out-of-date or inaccurate, it could deter potential diners from choosing your establishment. Keep your restaurant website current and relevant to ensure that it’s working for you, not against you.

#2 Not hiring a professional agency

If you want to be successful in the restaurant industry, you need to allocate a budget for marketing. This includes not only paid advertising, but also the cost of hiring a professional marketing & branding agency.

Of course, you can hire individuals to do various activities according to your own marketing strategy.

Depending on your budget, you may need to hire a PR manager, social media manager, digital marketing manager, and graphic designer.

Alternatively, you can also outsource these tasks to a branding & marketing agency that can do all the heavy lifting for you.

However, failing to take professional help is one of the biggest mistakes you can make when it comes to marketing your restaurant.

By not hiring the professionals, you may put your business reputation at stake.

#3 Lack of social media

As a restaurant owner, it’s important to have a social media presence. Social media gives you the opportunity to build relationships with your guests and stay top-of-mind. If you’re not on social media, you’re missing out on a chance to connect with your diners.

Differentiate your restaurant from the rest by having a social media presence.

Diners are looking for an inside look into restaurants before they choose one, so give them what they’re looking for! By staying active on social media, you’re top-of-mind for when those diners are ready to make a decision.

#4 Not utilizing Google My Business

As a restaurant owner, one of your main priorities is making sure that potential customers can easily find information about your business online.

Google My Business is a great way to ensure that your restaurant’s data is readily available to anyone who searches for it on the web.

By claiming your business and ensuring that all of your information is up-to-date, you can make sure that potential customers have everything they need to know before they decide to visit your establishment.

#5 Poor email/SMS marketing

One of the worst things a restaurant owner can do is buy databases of consumers from various sources and add them all to their email marketing and SMS marketing database.

This will not only leave customers with a bad taste in their mouths but can also result in your emails being marked as spam.

Over time, this can damage your restaurant’s email domain and prevent it from being sent to even your legitimate customers. The same is true for sending SMS messages.

It’s also important to give your readers options when it comes to managing their email preferences. Instead of simply having an “unsubscribe” button, send them to a page where they can either unsubscribe or switch to a different cadence. This way, you respect their wishes while still keeping them engaged with your content.