Restaurant Marketing in the Age of Food Delivery Apps

Here at Endee Marketing, we know food delivery apps like UberEats and Grubhub have become a huge part of the restaurant industry, accounting for over 60% of all delivery orders in the U.S. ( https://www.statista.com/statistics/767912/food-delivery-app-market-share-us/ ). While these apps provide valuable exposure and orders for restaurants, relying on them alone is not enough for sustainable success. In this post, we present a holistic restaurant marketing strategy to attract customers in a crowded marketplace.

Here is a holistic marketing plan to attract new customers to a restaurant:

1. Website: An optimized, mobile-friendly website should be the foundation of your marketing efforts. Ensure your site has mouthwatering visuals, easy online ordering/reservations, and a focus on SEO with targeted keywords. Include blog content about popular dishes and cuisines.

• • Ensure website is mobile-friendly – Over 80% of restaurant traffic is from mobile (Source: https://www.elluminatiinc.com/mobile-marketing-for-restaurant/ )
  • Feature mouthwatering food photos and menus – High-quality images drive engagement.
  • Update online ordering and reservations to make it seamless to book/order.

2. Search Engine Optimization: Leverage tools like Google Search Console, Moz, and SEMrush to analyze how customers find your website and what search terms they use. Optimize pages for keywords like “best restaurants in [city]” and “top [cuisine] in [city]”.

• • Create blog content focusing on popular regional dishes and cuisines.
  • Get customer reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook to improve local SEO rankings.

3. Social Media Marketing: Post tempting photos, run social contests, and engage followers daily on Facebook and Instagram. Monitor and respond to Google, Yelp, and Facebook reviews.

• • Post daily food photos/videos and engage followers on Instagram/Facebook (Source: https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-for-restaurants/ ).
  • Run contests like sharing a photo of a dish for a prize.
  • Leverage targeted Facebook/Instagram ads to promote new menu items or deals.

4. Email Marketing: Send promotional emails to retain customers. Offer members-only perks or early menu releases. Thank customers for reviews

• • Send emails about special events and promotions to subscriber list.
  • Offer exclusive discounts or members-only deals to incentivize sign-ups.
  • Send emails reminding customers to leave online reviews.

5. Community Events: Partner with local businesses for cross-promotions. Host special events like trivia nights or wine tastings. Offer happy hour deals to drive traffic during slow periods.

• • Partner with local businesses and vendors for restaurant week promotions (Source: https://upserve.com/restaurant-insider/marketing-ideas-for-restaurants/ )
  • Offer discounts to drive traffic during slower business hours.
  • Host a food truck takeover event as a partnership opportunity. 

The combination of optimizing your online assets, leveraging food delivery apps, forging community relationships, and executing targeted promotions is key for maximizing reach and sales. Focus on the channels that perform best and adjust your marketing mix based on results.

Our services here at ENDEE marketing are more than Print, Promotional, and Packaging. Our services can help your business source, engage, and implement a holistic marketing campaign that will drive sales today, tomorrow, and well into the future.  

To start the conversation, on how we can help you market your business and let you focus on making great food, visit: http://endee.shop or email: [email protected].