How to build a strong restaurant brand

One of the most important and long-term investments you can make related to your restaurant marketing strategy is to build a strong brand name. If you succeed in creating high brand awareness and spreading a message able to remind customers’ minds, this will already be a significant success. The well known brand is a precious resource that works for your business profit and empowers all the advertising campaigns you are about to run. Moreover, a strong brand can help you maintain stable positions vs. your competitors and make it more difficult for them to "steal" your customers.

The question is how to build a successful brand name. There are a lot of factors that influence the brand success but the basis is a strong brand identity containing clear values, mission, vision, and message. When the identity is clearly formulated and well communicated, the customers know what they are going to receive when interacting with your brand in terms of quality, pricing offer, and most importantly emotions. 

One of the main characteristics of successful brands is that they are always friendly and communicate trust, security, and understanding to customers. In our days of technological progress, overload of information, and advertising messages, it is appreciated by customers when brand communication includes also human aspects. Customers don’t want to receive any more commercial messages designed to manipulate them but they seek authenticity. When they see the real people working for that business with their everyday activities, stories, etc. it is much easier for customers to trust them and choose the products and services represented by the brand.

In this regard, instead of communicating generic messages, you need to make this communication more human including real stories related to your everyday business activity and not invented ones. How can you do that?

Here are some ideas that you can use for your communication online on both your website and social media profiles.

What is your story? 

Perhaps it would be interesting for your customers to learn how was born the idea for your restaurant was. Tell them your story by publishing an online interview with the company CEO. Describe in the interview how the idea has been realized from its creation to the venue opening. How much time was necessary to build the project? What were the different stages you passed through to make your restaurant work? How did you choose the name of the restaurant? You can use some occasion, for example, a company anniversary, to share this story with your customers. Moreover, you can share on social media some photos of the opening date and of the team with which you have started this endeavor. All this information will diversify your communication and make it original and friendly.

Present your employees

Present your employees, the people thanks to which customers can take advantage of your services. This presentation can happen in different ways. You can present every week a different employee in your social media profile by publishing their photo in a post or story telling in brief something interesting about him. Describe what they like working for your brand and with your customer, as well as what exactly are their duties. You can also congratulate them in a public way on socials as an employee when they have a birthday. Don’t forget to take photos when you make team buildings or parties with your team and post them on your website or social media profiles.

Your Menu: The main protagonist

One of the reasons why customers visit any restaurant is a part the fact to spend a pleasant time with friends, but most importantly to taste its specialties. Turn your menu to the main protagonist in your brand storytelling. Show videos and photos of how the different dishes are prepared, and what are their ingredients. Present your chefs and how they prepare the meals. Make your chief chef show interesting cooking techniques or share cooking advice.

Do your customers know why did you include exactly these dishes in your menu or how did you choose their names? Tell your clients how the menu was built, and what are its accents. Show them how the plating is made, especially if you pay special attention to it and tend to be creative. At the same time, you can develop further all these topics in your online communication providing useful ideas and tips to your online users that they can apply at home when preparing meals for their families.

A preoccupation of your customers could be whether all hygiene rules are respected in the kitchen and food preparation. You can make a demonstrative video and show how everything in your kitchen is in order and how all standards are met. This will make for sure a positive impression on users.

Another idea could be to share online which are the preferred meals on the menu with your customers according to seasons, day of the week, etc. If you pay attention to these facts and notice some tendencies, you can even develop some promotions during the different periods which can boost your promotions.

Food quality and deliveries

The quality of the products used in the kitchen is another important issue that customers pay attention to. Create videos and photos in which you tell about the origin and quality of the products you use to prepare your menu. You can mention also your suppliers and the guarantees they give you in this regard.

Every daily activity of your business can become an inspirational story able to increase your brand awareness and customer loyalty. Look around you and decide what will be interesting for your users to share as information for your restaurant activities. Make a storytelling, show real human faces, share your experience and your brand will become the favorite one of your customers.