Running a successful bistro takes a pinch of warm welcome, a spoon of bonhomie and a strong commitment to the delivery of great food. However, if you can’t get the word out about how marvellous your place is then it will be hard to bring in the money you need to keep it working.

Here are 4 ways to ensure that your marketing for bistros hits the spot and gains the results you want:

1. Who is your target audience?

As part of your marketing process, you need to find the answers to these questions:

  • What is the purpose of the campaign?

    Ensuring that you know exactly what you want to accomplish and keeping your marketing on the path to do that is essential to sticking within your budget.

  • Who is your ideal customer?

    If you’re under the impression that anybody and everybody fits with the proforma of your ideal customer, then you’re wrong. Discover what your niche is. What is it that makes your bistro different from other eateries in the area? Consider whether you are happy with your customers as they are or if you want to go more upscale for increased income.

  • What is my restaurant capable of doing?

    Consider your resources and staff, are they capable with the success of a major marketing campaign or is it better to increase business incrementally.

2. Run a targeted campaign.

Now that you’ve got a good understanding of who your target clientele are, you can set up an advertising campaign to engage them. If you’re a child-friendly family restaurant then create your ad around the child-friendly menu, your fun family entertainment and plenty of high chairs. If you want a different approach, try a buy-1-get-1-free giveaway or even discounted coupons. If you’re focused on students, then pay to run an ad on the college social media sites or printed media.

3. Throw a big event.

If you’re up for big things, throw an event that will bring in the media. Getting free promotion through the local news is cheaper than buying ads. Create a charity event, an educational event or a food tasting and you’ll have what it takes to invite the local press.

4. Promote it online

It’s not enough to run the event, you need to make sure people know about it. In addition to printing and distributing flyers, use other tools to help such as Facebook, Twitter and even make the best of the announcement area on your TripAdvisor entry. Be sure to add an extra page to your website to tell people all about your event and let them know what time they need to come. Other approaches include using telephone SMS text messaging.

Marketing campaigns that are aligned to your target market are far more effective than those that aren’t. By applying your business intelligence with some appropriate techniques used for marketing for bistros, you’ll soon be able to enjoy the benefits of greater business growth.