You’ve finally opened up your dream fast-food restaurant: the inviting ambiance, the perfect menu, the best chef, and a dynamic team. Everything is on point, but the restaurant is still not bursting with customers as you had imagined.
So, what’s missing? The missing ingredient is an intelligent marketing strategy that reaches customers even when they’re home and convinces them that your food is a must-try. It might seem like an expensive idea. But you can promote your restaurant on budget with the following marketing strategies:
Which fast food marketing strategies work?
Fast food marketing is about enticing consumers and making them realize you’re the perfect food heaven. These strategies often include using psychological triggers to sway consumers’ buying decisions.
Some of the effective fast food strategies include:
- Celebrity Promotions: Celebrity appearance in your promotional content allows you to build credibility and mass awareness.
- Product Placement: Place your products in movies, TV shows, or cartoons. This approach lets you gain the attention of the younger audience.
- Influencer Marketing: It’s a world of social media. Partnering with famous influencers on Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube lets you promote your brand to their followers.
- Toy placements: Remember the toys in McDonald‘s Happy Meal? It’s a core childhood memory of many people. Including a toy in your kid’s meals allows you to create a sense of excitement and joy among young kids.
Best fast food marketing strategies on budget
1. Offer exciting deals and bundles
Fast food lovers appreciate bundle deals where they can try out more items on the menu at an affordable price. For instance, you can offer a classic burger with fries and a drink as a complete meal at a discounted price. This strategy lets you boost your sales and gives customers great value for their money.
Use engaging fast food flyer templates to design deals and bundle offers for flyers and social media posts. These templates help you reduce costs and maintain consistent branding across all marketing channels.
2. Offer a special kid’s menu
Parents prefer items from the kids’ menu because their kids can finish smaller portions without wasting. Things become more enjoyable when you add a small toy or a collectible to the kids’ deals to attract young customers.
Collectible toys or small freebies encourage kids to visit again and are a great way to create buzz among kids and families alike.
3. Order using a QR code
Consumers appreciate when restaurants embrace new technology to simplify the ordering process. Implementing a QR code system allows customers to browse the menu and place orders directly from their phones.
Contactless dining reduces wait times and allows for faster table turnover. Chipotle is the best example of how it uses QR codes for dine-ins and order placements.
4. Commit to social media marketing
Platforms like Instagram and Facebook are ideal for connecting with potential customers and showcasing unique selling points. TacoBell usually posts playful content on Twitter and TikTok. Its witty responses to its customers and competitors keep its audience engaged.
To leverage social media, highlight menu details, promote new deals, launch items, and interact with customers. Consistently post mouth-watering photos and videos, run contests, and respond promptly to feedback to build a loyal community. Use customizable templates from PosterMyWall to maintain cohesive branding across all your social media content.
5. Design stunning flyers
Wendy’s, a famous American fast food chain, uses traditional marketing methods like flyers and social media marketing to complement its digital strategies.
Use online design tools like PosterMyWall for professional marketing material. Its customized templates allow you to create attractive, impactful flyers and posts without advanced design skills. Distributing creative flyers in high-traffic areas like nearby offices or residential areas will enable you to remind your intended audience constantly.
6. Partner with local businesses
A business cannot survive in isolation. Forming partnerships with local companies opens more significant opportunities for both. For instance, collaborate with a nearby retailer to distribute your discount cards to customers while you promote their brand in your takeout orders.
Such partnerships let you reach new audiences and expand your customer base while offering added value to the customers of both businesses.
7. Use an interactive, user-friendly website
An Akamai study concluded that 47% of visitors expect a web page to load in 2 seconds, and 53% will leave your website if it takes more than three seconds.
It shows that you need a simple yet interactive, mobile-friendly website that loads quickly and provides comprehensive information, including complete menu details, contact information, location, and an option to place an order.
8. Play with color psychology
Why do most fast-food chains prefer using red and yellow in their branding? Brands like Burger King, McDonald’s, and Pizza Hut all have red colors in their logos. It is because red attracts attention quickly and stimulates appetite and urgency, while yellow represents happiness and positivity, offering a warm aesthetic.
9. Share customer testimonials
Satisfied customers are your best ambassadors. Encourage your customers to give positive reviews on Google, social media pages, and groups. Showcase customer testimonials on your website and across other social media channels. Also, deal with negative reviews strategically to avoid a lousy reputation.
10. At home deliveries
COVID has taught us the importance of online orders and home delivery services. To facilitate the customers’ ordering from the comfort of their homes, utilize local delivery services or Uber Eat to ensure your orders are delivered on time. You will miss out on many customers who would love to enjoy your meals at home.
Final thoughts
Fast-food restaurants have to cope with intense competition. However, using innovative marketing strategies helps you create a distinct brand image and personally interact with your potential customers