HOW TO REACH AND SELL RESTAURANT OWNERS
35+ years … helping restaurant suppliers sell restaurants!
10 MARKETING CHANNELS TO REACH RESTAURANT OWNERS
*This article is not about which ad medium/marketing strategy will generate the best ROI, but rather this article is about Reach … which marketing avenue will help you reach the most restaurant owners – restaurant decision makers. Thus, below options are sorted by potential Reach … from low to high … the number of restaurant owners that the avenue can likely reach.
#1. SEO Optimization: This option receives the lowest Reach Score. If your website doesn’t appear on page1 of Search Results, then REACH is zero … as few restaurant owners will keep scrolling through search results to discover your company. And regardless of what some dubious SEO / web developers may promise, the odds are very low that your website will appear on page1 of Search Results … no matter how many bells & whistles. Bottom-line, it’s better to invest in other options than spending thousands with SEO Optimization.
#2. Miscellaneous: Personal Connection, Trade Show, FB Groups, Fairs, etc. These niche vehicles are effective for generating sales, though realistically these vehicles will only reach a fraction of America’s 500,000+ eating establishments.
#3. Social Media Ads: Facebook and Instagram do not have effective/accurate filters for pinpointing restaurant owners. And LinkedIn is missing 75+ percent of restaurant owners … as most restaurant owners don’t have a need for a LinkedIn account … which is mainly for used executive networking. Bottom-line, social media ads are not effective for reaching restaurant owners.
#4. Ads in Restaurant Trade Publications/Sites: Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Business, Restaurant Development & Design, FSR Magazine, BlueCart Blog, Modern Restaurant Management. Sure, it’s worth trying a few ads in some of these publications, though note that over 75% of restaurant owners do not subscribe … thus, a marketer is missing 75+ percent of their potential customers by relying on publication space ads. Plus, space ads have a steep price, thus there’s the ROI question.
#5. Telemarketing: Very weak reach score because it’s nearly impossible to get a restaurant owner or key decision maker on the phone. Tough to get a positive ROI unless product/service has a very high customer LTV.
#6. Google Ad Words, Pay-Per-Click Ads (PPC): This popular advertising vehicles has a weak Reach Score since most restaurant owners / restaurant decision makers are not online searching for products/services. And when they are searching – unless you’ve deep pockets, there are low odds of your ad being there at the right moment. Plus, ad space competition is stiff, so generating a positive ROI is tough. IF the goal is to REACH the maximum number of qualified restaurant decision makers, then PPC is not the best vehicle for Reach.
#7. Email Marketing: An “accurate and verified” email list of restaurant decision-makers is a great investment since email marketing is cheap. The weakness of email marketing is Reach … no reputable restaurant email list data seller has emails for more than 25% of restaurant owners.
#8. Digital Ads to Restaurant Server (IP Targeting): This ad vehicle can reach 80% of restaurant Internet-servers … making IP-Targeting a great ad medium for building brand awareness … as all restaurant decision makers / purchase influencers (owner, manager, supervisors, etc) who are surfing the web from the restaurant Internet-server will see your ad. CTR is weak so again brand awareness should be the primary goal with this vehicle … not sales.
#9. Digital Ads to Restaurant Owner’s Phone/Tablet, PC: This ad medium can put your offer in front of 50% of restaurant owners. Plus, with a strong offer, CTR can make this a long-term positive ROI vehicle.
#10. Direct Mail: Reach Score Winner! There’s no other ad medium that can REACH more restaurant owners … no other ad medium that can come close in putting your offer in front of so many restaurant owners! Plus, direct mail has the huge advantage of space for effectively sharing your message. Direct mail has only one weakness … and one only, cost! Though the good news is that DMDatabases has ways for cutting your direct mail campaign cost in half … thus giving you a guaranteed ROI.
*Side Note: Selecting – customizing your restaurant mailing list is a major key to direct mail success. CLICK HERE for tips on how to buy a restaurant mailing list.
HOW TO SELL RESTAURANT OWNERS
#1. LTV: Before beginning an ad campaign, think about LTV … what is the average “lifetime value” of a restaurant owner? Basing your budget on LTV gives you expanded insight into your marketing strategy.
#2. BUY RESTAURANT OWNERS: Don’t sell … buy restaurant owners. By this phrase we mean don’t try to make a profit on the initial sale. Well, how much should you spend to buy a restaurant owner? This question is answered by looking at Rule #1. Example, if the average LTV is $1500, then likely it’s worthwhile to spend $100 in buying a customer.
#3. OFFER THEY CAN’T REFUSE: How can you buy a restaurant owner? This answer lies with the offer. Example, an offer with a $100 value will generate more new customers than a $25 offer. Bottom-line, give an offer that a restaurant owner can’t refuse? CLICK HERE for more insights on this topic.
#4. DON’T IGNORE MANAGERS: Restaurant owners … all decision makers … rarely make decisions in a vacuum. Instead, every decision is influenced by influencers, and a key influencer at restaurants is the manager. Whatever the ad medium (digital, email, direct mail, etc), don’t hesitate with presenting your offer to the manager.
#5. REPETITION: As one can only imagine - restaurant owners and managers are swamped, so it’s possible that your beautiful enticing offer may be ignored on the first go, so don’t surrender as repetition will eventually land at the right place at the time … earning you a new customer with a lifetime of income value.