Transport yourself into any family dinner night, and you’ll be greeted with the age-old question: who does the best takeaway in town? Personal preferences aside, Indian curry is always one of the top contenders. Well, it’s time you put a seal on this once and for all by showing them the finesse of your own Indian restaurant!
You know your tastes are solid, but to really get to the top, you’re going to need more than some magic in the kitchen. What you need is foolproof marketing and promotion that will skyrocket your Indian restaurant to the top of hungry restaurant-goers’ lists, beating the teeming competition in your locale.
And if marketing isn’t your forte, then that’s all right because you can easily learn the tricks to success right here. Here are my top tips for promoting your Indian restaurant locally:
1 Get on the Apps!
Apps aren’t just great for mingling; they’re also great for getting business. And when it comes to your Indian restaurant, then food apps are the way to go! Presented with a plethora of dining options, users nowadays look for some semblance of structure in their decisions, and food apps provide them with just that.
By listing all available restaurants within a certain area and giving users the feasibility to filter options according to price point, cuisine, and dietary style, your Indian restaurant is sure to get local traction if you play your cards right. Make sure your product photography is on point – read: mouthwatering pictures – you’re offering special discounts to app users, deliver within your area, and push your restaurant up to the promoted section every so often. Confused about where to start? Look into the likes of DoorDash, UberEats, and Postmates, and you’ll be sorted.
2 Do Business with a Google Business Profile
Have you ever typed in the word ‘Restaurants near me’ into your Google browser or maps application? If your answer to this question is yes, then you automatically know why setting up a Google business profile is essential to promoting your Indian restaurant in your local area.
Anytime a user does a search related to restaurants or Indian cuisine, your establishment will show up as one of the top picks, given that you’ve set yourself upright. And how do you do that? Well, you optimize your Google business profile by adding relevant keywords and images in the description section, making sure to add in your complete address and contact information, presenting all information correctly, and keeping it up to date, such as your operating hours, FAQs, and reviews.
Once you’re ranking higher, you’ll easily be able to get a stronghold on individuals seeking out local dining options!
3 Deliver – and Let it be Known!
In today’s busy world, food delivery is a must if you want your restaurant to succeed. People simply don’t have the time to make a takeaway run or always sit down for an elaborate dine-out meal. Instead, they crave having a piping hot bowl of their favorite Indian curry, complete with the works right from the comfort of their homes and offices. And to be rated among the top in your area, you need to provide this almost basic service.
Once you’ve handled the logistics, you need to make sure people know that you’re delivering. This is where smart advertisements come in – put up food delivery posters in your local mall, recreational center, grocery stores, and the like – pretty much anywhere that gets heavy footfall. Soon, you’ll have your phone ringing off the hook as you try to keep up with the deliveries!
And if you’re worried about not getting the aesthetics right with your posters, then you can always turn to easy-to-use tools such as PosterMyWall, where you can find dozens of food delivery templates for you to market your socks off! An incredibly small-business-friendly tool, I’ve never come across a better design platform in all my years of advertising – and it won’t even cost you much! Now that’s a win!
4 Bring on the Loyalty Club!
One of the best ways of marketing is to do it through others. Yes, you heard that right, and this is where you can get involved in loyalty programs. Partner up with local grocery stores, bookstores, and gyms – you can choose anything, really – and give away vouchers for your restaurant to their most loyal customers. Or perhaps you can host a giveaway in collaboration with them, surprising the winning entries with a free meal at your restaurant.
Either way, you’ll be marketing your Indian restaurant to an already established customer base – that customer base just won’t belong to you yet, which is even better since you’ll be able to expand your reach! Make sure to partner up with businesses that have an involved and sizable clientele, as the more exposure, the greater your number of potential customers. And be sure to run an analysis on your individual partnerships, learning from their performances and streamlining future collaborations.
So, with these surefire marketing tricks in your bag, all you need to worry about is getting the tikka marinated and the naan bread made – because there’s about to be a line of customers outside your Indian restaurant in no time!
