What should be included in a restaurant marketing plan?
A clear goal, a realistic budget (money + hours), your target guests, your offers, your channel mix, a simple content schedule, a promo calendar, and a weekly scorecard to measure results.
How to Create a Restaurant Marketing Plan
Goals, Budget, and What You Can Execute
A marketing plan fails most often for one reason- it asks the restaurant to do more than the operation can support. Before you pick channels or design promotions, start with reality - your goal, your budget, and your capacity. The point isn't to create a "perfect" plan. It's to create a plan you can actually run every week without falling behind.
First, choose one primary goal for the next 30-90 days. Keep it measurable and tied to sales. Examples- increase weekday dine-in traffic, grow lunch orders, increase catering leads, raise online ordering conversion, or improve repeat visits. If you pick five goals, you'll spread yourself thin and you won't know what worked. One goal forces focus and helps you make smarter decisions with limited time and money.
Next, set a realistic budget in two parts - cash and hours. A lot of restaurant marketing is not expensive - it's time-expensive. If you can only spare 2 hours per week, your plan should lean toward "high ROI basics" like Google visibility, reviews, and simple text/email offers - not complex campaigns that require constant content.
Finally, do a quick execution check so marketing doesn't break your kitchen. If a promotion adds volume, can you staff it? If it pushes a specific item, can you prep it consistently? If it's a discount, does the margin still make sense after fees and labor? A good plan protects operations and profitability at the same time.
Practical starter rule - build a weekly rhythm you can maintain - small, consistent actions beat occasional big pushes that exhaust the team.
Know Your Guest With Data
Most restaurants don't have a marketing problem - they have a clarity problem. If you aren't sure who you're trying to attract and why they choose you, every decision becomes a guess. The good news is you don't need expensive research to get clear. You already have a goldmine of data in your POS and daily sales reports.
Start by pulling the last 8-12 weeks of sales and look for patterns by daypart (breakfast/lunch/dinner/late night), day of week, and order type (dine-in, takeout, delivery). Where are you strong? Where do you drop off? A lot of owners focus on "getting more customers" when the real opportunity is simply fixing a weak daypart - like slow weekday dinners or a quiet mid-afternoon.
Next, identify your top sellers and your highest-margin items. These aren't always the same. Your top seller might be a traffic driver that brings people in, while a different item is what actually builds profit. Marketing should usually highlight a mix - something familiar that converts easily, plus an add-on or upgrade that improves the check.
Then define 2-4 guest segments you can realistically serve. Keep it simple and operational - "weekday lunch regulars," "families on weekends," "delivery-first customers," "late-night crowd," "office catering." For each segment, write down what they value most - speed, convenience, price, portion size, consistency, healthier options, or a fun experience.
Finally, turn that into a usable message - "For (guest), we're the best place for (need) because (proof)." If you can't say this clearly, your marketing will feel generic - and generic doesn't convert.
Build a Clear Offer
Marketing can't fix a weak offer. If the promotion is confusing, hard to execute, or barely profitable, it will either flop - or it will "work" while quietly hurting your margins and your team. This is why the offer is the center of your marketing plan. When the offer is clear and valuable, your messaging gets easier, your staff can explain it fast, and guests know exactly what to do.
Start with a simple rule- your offer should be understandable in one sentence. Not a paragraph. Not a list of conditions. Think - "Lunch combo with a drink," "Family bundle feeds four," "Free add-on with online orders," or "Catering tray special for office orders." If guests have to think, they scroll past.
Next, build offers using data, not instinct. Look at your contribution margin (price minus food cost) and layer in what you know operationally- prep time, station impact, and ticket speed. A good "feature" is often an item you can produce consistently during a rush - ideally using ingredients you already carry - without creating bottlenecks on your busiest station. If your offer relies on a process that slows the line, you'll pay for it in ticket times, mistakes, refunds, and bad reviews.
Then create 3-5 "always-on" offers you can rotate and reuse. These are not deep discounts. They're smart bundles, upgrades, and limited-time features that make ordering easier and raise check size. Examples- bundle a best-seller with a high-margin side, offer an easy upgrade (make it a combo), or promote a catering package with clear headcount pricing.
Finally, set guardrails to protect profitability - daypart limits (weekday lunch), minimum ticket size for discounts, exclusions for your highest-cost items, and a clear end date for limited-time offers. A good offer drives revenue and stays manageable. If the kitchen can't execute it cleanly, it's not worth marketing - no matter how creative it looks.
Google, Reviews, Website, Ordering
Before you spend money on ads or try to "post more," make sure your foundations are solid. Most restaurant marketing leaks happen in boring places - wrong hours online, missing menu links, outdated photos, slow websites, broken ordering buttons, and reviews that never get a response. When these basics aren't tight, you can drive more traffic and still lose sales because guests can't find you, trust you, or order easily.
Start with your Google Business Profile because it's often the first impression - especially for local searches like "pizza near me" or "best tacos." Confirm your hours (including holidays), categories, address pin, phone number, website link, menu link, and ordering link. Add fresh photos regularly - storefront, top items, dining room, and a couple of "proof" shots that show portions and quality. If you have limited bandwidth, improving Google visibility can outperform a lot of social posting because it reaches people who are already looking to buy.
Next, create a simple review system. Reviews aren't just reputation - they're conversion. Many guests use rating and recent comments to decide where to spend money. Train your team to ask at the right moment (after a good experience), make it easy (QR code on receipt or table tent), and respond consistently. A calm, respectful response to a negative review can protect future sales, even if you can't change that one guest's mind.
Then audit your website and ordering flow. Your website should load fast and answer three questions in seconds - What do you serve? Where are you? How do I order/reserve? Put the call-to-action (Order Online, Reserve, Call, Catering) above the fold. Make sure your menu is readable on mobile, and keep pricing and item availability accurate. If you use third-party delivery, confirm your listings match your current menu and packaging notes.
If these foundations are strong, every marketing effort becomes more effective - because you're not paying to send people into a broken funnel.
Choose Your Channels Based on ROI and Effort
Once your foundations are solid, the next step is picking channels you can actually manage - and that can realistically produce sales. The mistake most restaurant owners make is trying to be everywhere at once- Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Google ads, Yelp, email, SMS, flyers, partnerships, influencers. That becomes a full-time job, and the results usually get worse because nothing is consistent long enough to learn what works.
Instead, choose channels the same way you choose menu changes - based on return and effort. Start with the highest-intent channels first - places where guests are already looking to buy. For most restaurants, that means Google Search/Maps and reviews (because they capture demand that already exists). Next come owned channels like SMS and email, because they're low cost and great for repeat visits especially when you use them to promote a simple offer on slow days. After that, choose one or two social platforms your guests actually use and your team can maintain. Social is valuable, but it's usually a longer game- it builds awareness and trust, then converts over time.
A practical "starter stack" for many restaurants looks like this -
- Google + Reviews (to win local search)
- SMS/Email (to bring people back with simple offers)
- One social platform (to stay visible and show the food/experience)
- Local partnerships (gyms, offices, schools, nearby businesses)
If you're considering paid ads, set clear boundaries. Ads can work, but only if your offer is strong and your ordering flow is clean. Otherwise, you're paying to highlight a confusing deal or send guests to a slow, frustrating checkout.
The goal is not to pick "the best channels." The goal is to pick the few channels you can run consistently, measure weekly, and improve over time. Consistency creates data, and data makes your marketing cheaper and smarter.
Create a Content Plan Your Team Can Maintain
A content plan doesn't need to be creative or complicated - it needs to be repeatable. Restaurant owners often stall here because they think content means polished videos, constant trends, and perfect photos. In reality, the best content is usually simple - it shows what you sell, proves quality, and makes it easy for someone nearby to choose you today.
Start by choosing 3-4 content pillars that match your operation and your guests. Examples - (1) your food (best sellers, close-ups, portion shots), (2) your people (team, behind-the-scenes, prep), (3) your experience (dining room, speed, convenience, pickup), and (4) your community (local events, partnerships, regulars). These pillars keep you from scrambling for ideas and help your feed feel consistent.
Next, set a weekly publishing template you can actually follow. For many restaurants, this is enough -
- 2-3 simple posts per week (food + behind-the-scenes)
- 1 promo post tied to a clear offer (combo, bundle, slow-day special)
- A few quick stories (fresh batch, lunch rush, "today's feature," reviews)
- If you can do more, great - but don't build a plan that collapses the first time you get short-staffed.
Make content production easy with a 15-minute photo/video checklist - shoot one hero item from three angles, record a 10-second clip of it being finished, capture one quick kitchen moment, and take one storefront shot. That's enough for multiple posts. Save everything in one shared folder so you're not hunting for images when you need to post.
Finally, treat content like a sales tool, not entertainment. Every post should answer - what is it, why should I care, and what should I do next (order, reserve, visit, call for catering). When content is consistent and clear, it stops feeling like extra work and starts behaving like a system that drives real traffic.
Run Promotions That Don't Destroy Your Margins
Promotions can absolutely drive traffic - but only when they're designed to protect margin and protect the kitchen. The most common mistake is defaulting to heavy discounting ("20% off," "BOGO," "free entree") without doing the math. If your food and labor are already tight, a discount can turn more sales into less profit, more stress, and slower service. A smart marketing plan uses promotions as controlled tools, not panic buttons.
Start by choosing promotion types that increase value without giving away the house. Bundles are usually stronger than discounts because they simplify the decision and raise the check - lunch combo, family meal, party pack, catering bundle. Upgrades also work well - "Add a drink and side," "Make it a combo," "Add protein," "Double portion," or "Dessert add-on." These boost the ticket while keeping your cost increase smaller than the price increase.
Next, set margin guardrails before anything goes live -
- Minimum ticket size (e.g., offer applies only over $25)
- Daypart limits (weekday lunch, slow evenings)
- Exclusions (high-cost items, already-discounted items)
- Expiration date (so promos don't become permanent)
If you use delivery apps, factor in fees - an offer that works in-store may fail on delivery if margins are thinner.
Then set operational guardrails so the promo doesn't break service -
- Pick items that don't bottleneck your busiest station
- Plan prep levels and par adjustments for promo days
- Train staff on a one-sentence explanation of the offer
- Make sure POS buttons, online ordering, and modifiers are clean and accurate
Finally, think in calendars, not random blasts. A simple approach is a 4-week cycle - one featured item, one slow-day offer, one retention push (loyalty/SMS), and one community or catering push. When promotions are planned, measured, and operationally realistic, they create steady growth - without the we're slammed and losing money feeling.
Measure Weekly, Adjust Monthly, and Keep It Simple
A marketing plan only becomes "real" when you measure it consistently. Otherwise, you'll fall back into the pattern most owners know too well - you post, you run a promo, you spend a little money, and you're never sure what actually moved the needle. Measurement doesn't have to be complicated, but it does need to be regular - and tied to the goal you chose at the start.
Begin with a small weekly scorecard (10 minutes to pull, 20 minutes to review). Track the few numbers that tell you if marketing is working -
- Traffic by daypart (transactions or guest counts)
- Average check (overall and for promoted items)
- Sales mix (what categories are growing or shrinking)
- Offer performance (redemptions, attached items, bundle mix)
- Repeat behavior (loyalty signups, SMS/email growth, returning guests if you can track it)
- Online ordering funnel basics (visits orders, cart abandonment, peak ordering times)
- Reviews (new review count and rating trend)
Then create a simple habit - every week, ask three questions.
1. What improved - and why?
2. What dropped - and what changed operationally (staffing, hours, menu, pricing, delivery issues)?
3. What's the one change we'll test next week?
The biggest rule here is to test one variable at a time. If you change the offer, the photo, the platform, and the timing all at once, you'll learn nothing. Small tests - like changing the headline, swapping the hero item, adjusting the daypart, or tightening the call-to-action - add up fast when you run them weekly.
Finally, do a monthly reset - keep what's working, cut what isn't, refresh photos, and rotate offers based on margins and kitchen reality. The goal isn't perfection. It's building a marketing system that gets smarter over time, stays manageable during busy weeks, and consistently drives profitable traffic.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I improve my Google Business Profile performance?
Keep hours accurate, add fresh photos, link to your menu and ordering, post updates regularly, and build a steady review system. Consistency matters more than "one big update."
What's the biggest mistake restaurant owners make with marketing plans?
Doing too much at once. Too many channels, too many promos, and no measurement. Simple, consistent actions that you can execute weekly beat "big campaigns" that burn out fast.
How do I choose the right marketing goal for my restaurant?
Pick the one outcome that would move the business most in the next 30-90 days (weekday traffic, lunch growth, catering leads, repeat visits, higher average check) and make it measurable.
What are the best marketing channels for most restaurants?
Start with high-intent basics - Google Business Profile + reviews, then add SMS/email for repeat visits. Choose one social platform you can maintain, and consider local partnerships.
