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Brook Priest advised on 24 Jan 2012
Expert in Full Service Restaurant Operations, Family Business Dynamics, & Cost Controls
I would hesitate to use any kind of ""average benchmark" for setting a marketing budget, because the amount a restaurant owner spends on marketing is going to vary so greatly depending on location, price point, quality, your relationship with your customers (ie your ability to attract repeat customers), etc.
In your situation, your in a high traffic mall, so I would expect your occupancy costs to be higher (compared to a strip mall or standalone building), but your need to advertise less (because of the inherent higher foot traffic). However, that said, I think there is a general consensus among independent restaurant owners that the more you can connect with your customers and bring back repeat business, the less you have to spend on marketing.
The goal is to get customers to give you information when they come in, by establishing a loyalty program or rewards program, and to keep them coming back with a combination of rewards, great food, and awesome service. There are a lot of vendors that offer electronic awards; or you can do something as simple as keeping an email list and offering punch cards (buy 10 entrees, get the 11th one free). The reason this works is that these are customers that have already shown an interest in your business. You can make the assumption that they like your food, so they will be more likely to respond to an email from you (as opposed to spending hundreds of dollars trying to get the attention of a million newspaper readers that may know nothing about you).
Anyway, the goal is to increase business while reducing the actual dollars you're spending on marketing, and I really believe you can do this by focusing your marketing more on loyalty, rewards, and social media.
In your situation, your in a high traffic mall, so I would expect your occupancy costs to be higher (compared to a strip mall or standalone building), but your need to advertise less (because of the inherent higher foot traffic). However, that said, I think there is a general consensus among independent restaurant owners that the more you can connect with your customers and bring back repeat business, the less you have to spend on marketing.
The goal is to get customers to give you information when they come in, by establishing a loyalty program or rewards program, and to keep them coming back with a combination of rewards, great food, and awesome service. There are a lot of vendors that offer electronic awards; or you can do something as simple as keeping an email list and offering punch cards (buy 10 entrees, get the 11th one free). The reason this works is that these are customers that have already shown an interest in your business. You can make the assumption that they like your food, so they will be more likely to respond to an email from you (as opposed to spending hundreds of dollars trying to get the attention of a million newspaper readers that may know nothing about you).
Anyway, the goal is to increase business while reducing the actual dollars you're spending on marketing, and I really believe you can do this by focusing your marketing more on loyalty, rewards, and social media.
0
Mark Wright advised on 24 Jan 2012
Business consultant to turnaround situations bringing to bear over 30 years of corporate and mid sized company leadership and success.
I don't mean to state the obvious but it should fit within your budget and be an amount that you can sustain each month. How you spend the money may and will change but you should commit an amount that whether it brings results or not you can continue to use in your marketing efforts. Do not expect to spend thousands of dollars in one or two months and see results the next month. Develop a strategy that calls on different forms of marketing activities. You should vary them and try different tactics. See if you can't monitor effectiveness.
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