How to attract more customers to your diner, restaurant or cafe

Raise your profile

Think creatively when it comes to raising awareness of your brand. Advertising in local trade press can be a successful way to advertise your restaurant, but it is costly, so consider running adverts every few months and if possible add discounts or offers in, to monitor the increase in customers based on your offers. If you have a strong local following you’re more likely to maintain a positive revenue across the year, boosted by peaks during busier, holiday periods.

Run an event

Why not consider hosting a charity night, quiz night or raffle in your restaurant to raise money for a worthy cause? You can invite press to your event to increase awareness of your brand and your offering. Whilst there’s an upfront cost involved with producing and serving food, why not create a taster menu? It will give people a small insight into the food you serve without spending as much as the cost of a 3-course meal. You could also offer anyone who returns within a 4 week period a small discount on their final bill, encouraging them to return.

Social media advertising

Advertising on Twitter, Google and Facebook allows you to target your ideal customer based on criteria such as demographics and geography. You can also target ‘look-a-like’ lists on Twitter, for example people following other restaurants with a geographical relevance to your own. You can set your daily budget on all 3 channels, and measure every click through from your adverts. This will allow you to closely monitor the ROI you’re making on your online adverts.

Offer unusual food

You could also consider offering quirky or unusual dishes in your restaurant or café to attract more customers. Rather than offering regular beef burgers, consider other meats you can use such as venison or pigeon to create incredible succulent meals. Try serving sweet waffles with bacon and eggs to mix up a usual breakfast, or porridge topped with other breakfast favourites like bacon or sausage in your café.

Offer a unique service

What talents do your staff have? Can they sing, dance, roller-skate? Incorporating their talents into your restaurant service could be an exciting, unique way to attract new customers to your business. You don’t have to offer this all year round, you could create themed nights – for example a musical night where every dish is themed around a musical and performances are put on throughout the night. This will help to generate a positive ‘feel’ inside your restaurant, it can give you ideas for advertising around the special nights and help to draw in new customers who haven’t previously visited before.

Feel of the restaurant

Whilst it’s important to get creative when looking to attract more customers to your restaurant or café, you also need to ensure the basics are perfectly presented. Customers have come to expect impeccable service, and a genuine desire from staff to go above and beyond to make their experience a positive one as they dine. For all of your linen and laundry requirements, contact Johnsons Stalbridge Linen Services to see how we can take the pressure of your linen management off your hands.