For any marketing strategy for restaurants to be successful, it must start with a good plan. In the competitive UK hospitality landscape of 2025, simply having great food is not enough.
Like a treasure map, a restaurant marketing plan acts as a guide to help you achieve your goals, containing all the strategies to build the business in manageable chunks. It is the strategic document that analyses, defines, and structures the steps to follow to attract and retain customers.
This guide will walk you through every step of creating a robust marketing plan. We'll follow the journey of 'Ocean,' a Mediterranean restaurant, to provide practical examples you can apply to your own business.
A restaurant marketing plan is a comprehensive document that outlines your advertising and marketing efforts for a specific period, typically a year. Its purpose is to provide a clear roadmap for achieving specific business objectives. It's important to distinguish it from other key documents:
It provides a clear answer to the fundamental question: how to make a marketing plan for your restaurant that actually delivers results. Every restaurant needs a marketing plan, whether you're a new opening needing to build buzz, an established venue aiming to increase loyalty, or a growing brand expanding to new locations.
A successful marketing plan is built on several interconnected components that work together to create a cohesive strategy. While the specifics may vary, nearly every effective plan includes the following core elements:
A restaurant marketing plan is also a financial tool. It allows you to set up ROI (Return on Investment) tracking for your campaigns, ensuring you can see exactly which activities are generating revenue.
This leads to better budget optimisation, as you can allocate more funds to high-performing channels and reduce marketing spend on tactics that aren’t working. By planning ahead, you avoid last-minute, expensive advertising decisions and ensure every pound is spent effectively.
Operationally, a marketing plan aligns your entire team—from front-of-house to the kitchen—around common goals. It provides clear responsibilities, so everyone knows their role in upcoming promotions or events.
This clarity improves performance tracking and ensures that your marketing efforts are supported by excellent service, creating a seamless and positive experience for your guests.
Every marketing plan should start with a comprehensive analysis of the business. Like an inventory check, a market analysis helps to take stock of factors that currently affect the restaurant internally and externally and is key for working out what you can and cannot use.
In marketing circles, this process is known by the acronym SWOT Analysis, and covers:
To begin SWOT analysis, you must gather data on direct and indirect competitors. A structured process helps:
Another key task will be to study market trends. According to The Food People's trends report for the UK, key consumer drivers include a focus on sustainability, demand for experiential dining, and a growing interest in hyperlocal ingredients.
By gaining insight into these opportunities, you can learn to anticipate and capitalise on changes in the culinary scene. An effective marketing strategy must also include a demographic analysis to understand your audience and their consumer behaviour better.
Applying all this to our restaurant, Ocean, a Mediterranean restaurant on the promenade in a coastal city, we can set out all the internal and external factors:
A mission statement is a short declaration of why your restaurant exists, what you do, and for whom. It’s your guiding star.
A strong mission statement is clear, memorable, and reflects your core values. For example, a successful mission might be: "To bring authentic, sustainably sourced Italian cuisine to the heart of Manchester, creating a warm community hub for families and friends."
For our example restaurant, Ocean, a mission statement could be: "To celebrate the best of Mediterranean cuisine and local seafood, offering a vibrant dining escape for our city's professionals and visitors."
Your USPs are the specific things that make you different from—and better than—your competitors. They are the compelling reasons a customer should choose you.
To find your USPs, ask what you do exceptionally well. Is it your handmade pasta, your extensive gin collection, or your dog-friendly terrace? Ocean's USPs are clear from its SWOT analysis; its exclusive local octopus supplier and its prime location that caters to both tourists and corporate clients. These should be at the forefront of its marketing messages.
Your brand voice is the personality your restaurant projects in its communications. Is it fun and casual, or sophisticated and formal?
This tone should be consistent everywhere, from your menu descriptions to your social media captions. Your visual identity includes your logo, colour palette, and the style of your photography. A cohesive visual identity makes your brand instantly recognisable and builds a professional, trustworthy image across all your marketing channels.
A customer persona is a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer based on market research and real data. Creating personas helps you understand your customers' needs and tailor your marketing to them.
A persona includes demographics (age, location, income), psychographics (lifestyle, values), and behaviours (dining habits, media consumption). For Ocean, key personas would be:
Once you have your personas, analyse their behaviour. When do they dine out? What do they value—speed, ambience, or price? What influences their decisions?
For example, "Corporate Claire" might value quick service at lunchtime but a more relaxed atmosphere for evening events. "Tourist Tom" is likely to dine out in the evenings and on weekends, influenced by online reviews and location. Understanding these patterns allows you to create targeted offers and messages.
Segmentation is the process of dividing your broad audience into smaller, more manageable groups based on shared characteristics.
This allows for more personalised and effective marketing. You could segment by booking history (new vs. repeat customers), by persona (tourists vs. locals), or by dining habits (weekday lunch vs. weekend dinner). For example, Ocean could send a special corporate lunch offer to its "Corporate Claire" segment, without sending it to tourists.
Your marketing goals should be SMART:
An example for a restaurant could be: "Increase online bookings from our website by 15% within the next three months (Q3)."
KPIs are the specific metrics you use to measure your progress towards your goals. Essential KPIs for restaurants include:
Based on its SWOT analysis, Ocean's SMART goals could be:
There's no magic number, but industry benchmarks provide a useful starting point. According to BDO's report on the UK restaurant sector, established restaurants typically spend 3-6% of their annual revenue on marketing.
New restaurants launching in a competitive market might need to allocate more, often in the range of 10-15%, to build initial momentum. Factors like your location, competition level, and growth goals will all influence your final budget.
A modern marketing budget should be heavily weighted towards digital channels, where ROI is often more measurable. A sample budget allocation might look like this:
Even with a limited budget, you can make a big impact. Focus on free tools and tactics:
An omnichannel marketing approach, which provides a seamless and consistent experience across multiple channels, is most effective. Your choices should be guided by where your target audience spends their time.
Your website is your digital storefront. It must be professional, mobile-friendly, and easy to navigate. SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) is essential for ensuring customers find you on Google. Focus on on-page SEO basics like including relevant keywords in your page titles and descriptions. Implement local SEO strategies by creating pages for specific neighbourhoods or dining experiences.
A fully optimised Google Business Profile is non-negotiable. For Ocean, this means targeting keywords like "Mediterranean restaurant in [coastal city]" and "seafood restaurant near the promenade."
Choose platforms where your target audience is active. For most restaurants, this means Instagram and Facebook for visual storytelling, and potentially TikTok for reaching a younger demographic. Your content should be a mix of high-quality food photography, behind-the-scenes videos, and engaging Reels.
Post consistently and interact with your followers to build a community. Encourage user-generated content and consider partnering with local influencers. Ocean's social strategy should focus on showcasing its stunning sea views and its signature octopus dish on Instagram.
Email is a powerful tool for building direct relationships with your customers. Build your email list by offering an incentive to sign up on your website or during the booking process. Send regular newsletters with updates, promotions, and event information.
Use segmentation to send targeted messages; for example, you can create a welcome series for new subscribers or send a special birthday offer. Automation can save time and deliver highly personalised experiences.
SMS marketing offers incredibly high engagement. Use it for high-urgency communications like booking confirmations and reminders. You can also run flash promotions, sending a special offer to your subscribers for a quiet Tuesday night.
Always ensure you have explicit consent (opt-in) from customers before sending them marketing messages, in line with UK regulations.
Online reviews are the new word-of-mouth: a vast majority of consumers read online reviews for local businesses. You must actively manage your presence on Google, TripAdvisor, and TheFork.
Respond professionally to all reviews, both positive and negative. Thank customers for their feedback and address any issues raised. Actively encourage happy customers to leave a review, as a steady stream of positive feedback is a powerful marketing asset.
Paid ads on platforms like Google and Facebook/Instagram can deliver highly targeted traffic. With Google Ads, you can appear at the top of the search results for keywords like "restaurants near me."
With social media ads, you can target users based on demographics, interests, and location. Start with a small budget to test what works, and use retargeting campaigns to show ads to people who have already visited your website, reminding them to book a table.
While digital is dominant, traditional channels can still be effective. Consider placing ads in local community newspapers, lifestyle magazines, or tourist guides. Well-designed flyers or menu mail-drops in your immediate neighbourhood can also drive local footfall.
For restaurants with a larger budget, local radio spots can be effective for reaching a broad audience, especially for promoting a big event or a grand opening. Building relationships with local journalists and food critics can also lead to valuable media features.
Forge partnerships with other local businesses that share your target audience. This could include nearby hotels, theatres, or corporate offices. Offer their guests or employees a special discount.
For Ocean, a key strategy would be to form partnerships with the nearby office buildings to promote their after-work events and corporate lunch deals.
Don't forget to market to the customers who are already inside your restaurant. Use table tents or menu inserts to promote upcoming events or special offers. Add a QR code that links directly to your Google review page or social media profiles. Train your staff on upselling and promoting your loyalty programme.
A marketing calendar is a visual schedule of your marketing activities. It is essential for planning, ensuring consistency in your communications, and coordinating your team's efforts. It also helps you manage your budget by allocating funds to specific campaigns throughout the year.
Your calendar should be built around key dates that present marketing opportunities:
Work in 90-day planning cycles to stay agile. Set monthly themes that guide your content. For example, January could be focused on "Healthy Dining," while December is all about "Festive Celebrations."
Then, plan your specific social media posts, emails, and promotions on a weekly basis. Ocean's calendar would have a strong focus on the summer tourist season from June to August and on corporate events in November and December.
You don't need fancy software to get started. A simple Google Calendar or a spreadsheet can work perfectly. Project management tools like Trello or Asana are also great for organising campaigns and collaborating with your team.
These campaigns are designed to attract new customers. Tactics may include:
These campaigns focus on encouraging repeat business from existing customers. They may include:
Host events that turn a meal into a memorable experience. For instance:
Plan special campaigns around key dates in the calendar. Create set menus for Valentine's Day and Mother's Day. Develop a festive package for Christmas parties. Run a "Summer Terrace" promotion with special cocktails during the warmer months. In such a case, Ocean's tourist season specials should be a cornerstone of its summer marketing.
PR is about building a positive public image. Send out press releases for significant news, like a major refurbishment or a new head chef. Build relationships with local food bloggers and media. Enter your restaurant for industry awards to gain credibility and exposure.
Your "MarTech" stack is the collection of software you use to execute your marketing plan. Essential tools for a modern restaurant include:
Management (CRM) platform stores key guest data, including booking history, preferences, dietary requirements, and special occasions. This information allows you to provide a highly personalised service and run targeted marketing campaigns, turning first-time visitors into loyal regulars. Many reservation systems include a built-in CRM.
The real power of a tech stack comes from integration. When your reservation system "talks" to your email marketing software, you can automate personalised campaigns, like sending a feedback request after a meal or a birthday offer. This data synchronisation saves time and allows for much more effective marketing.
Many essential tools offer free or freemium plans that are perfect for small restaurants. Start with free versions and invest in paid plans as your needs grow and you can prove the ROI.
You can't improve what you don't measure. Set up tracking from day one. Install Google Analytics on your website to monitor traffic and user behaviour. Use the built-in insights tools on your social media platforms and track open and click-through rates in your email software.
Most importantly, correlate all this data with your reservation and sales data to see what's actually driving revenue.
Focus on the metrics that matter most:
Schedule regular check-ins to review your performance. A quick weekly check of key metrics, a more detailed monthly performance review, and a quarterly strategy session will keep you on track. This allows you to be agile and adjust your plan based on real-world results.
For Ocean, this means closely monitoring the booking numbers for Wednesday lunch and Thursday dinner to see if their campaigns are working.
Marketing is a process of continuous improvement. Use A/B testing to find out what works best. Test different email subject lines, different images in your social media ads, or different offers on your website. Adopt a mindset of "test, learn, and optimise" to constantly improve your results over time.
A marketing plan can seem theoretical until you see it in action. To bring these concepts to life, let's explore how different types of restaurants can apply these steps to achieve specific goals.
Let’s make an example: a new independent bistro in a competitive London neighbourhood needs to build awareness from scratch. Their marketing plan should focus heavily on pre-launch hype, with an influencer-only preview event, a targeted local PR campaign, and an introductory offer promoted via hyper-local social media ads. The result can be a fully booked first month and a strong foundation of positive online reviews.
Let’s make another example: an established but dated Italian restaurant in Manchester wants to attract a younger clientele. Their marketing plan should focus on a complete rebrand, a new modern website, and a relaunch campaign on Instagram and TikTok. They can partner with local food influencers and host a series of "Pasta Making" workshops.
Successful plans share common elements: they are data-driven, customer-centric, and highly focused on measurable goals. The biggest mistake to avoid is inconsistency; a marketing plan is not a "set it and forget it" document but a living guide that requires continuous effort and adaptation.
The most common mistakes in the planning stage are not setting measurable goals, failing to properly research the target audience, and underestimating the budget required to achieve your objectives. Another major pitfall is not planning for consistency, leading to sporadic marketing efforts that fail to build momentum.
During execution, common errors include spreading resources too thinly across too many channels, neglecting to analyse the data and results, and having inconsistent branding across different platforms. Poor follow-through on planned campaigns is another frequent problem.
Initially, Ocean's marketing was unfocused. They posted randomly on social media and ran occasional discounts without a clear goal (a planning pitfall). They also neglected to track where their bookings were coming from (an execution error).
By creating a structured plan, they were able to correct course and focus their efforts on measurable, high-impact activities.
Creating a restaurant marketing plan is a significant undertaking, but it is one of the most valuable investments you can make in your business's future.
By following these steps, you can move from reactive advertising to proactive, strategic marketing that delivers measurable results. Remember that consistency and patience are key; a great plan is not executed overnight.
It requires continuous effort, analysis, and a willingness to adapt. Tools like TheFork Manager can be invaluable in helping you execute your plan, from managing online bookings generated by your campaigns to gathering the customer data needed to refine your strategy for even greater success.
You should review your plan's performance monthly or quarterly and conduct a major update or create a new plan annually.
A new restaurant should aim to allocate between 10-15% of its projected revenue to marketing for the first year to build awareness and attract a customer base.
Many restaurants successfully manage their own marketing, especially with today's user-friendly tools. However, if you lack the time or expertise, hiring a freelancer or a specialist agency can be a worthwhile investment.
Generally, channels that can be closely tracked, such as email marketing, Google Ads, and promotions run through a reservation system, deliver the most measurable ROI.
You can see short-term results from paid ads or promotions within days. Building a strong organic presence through SEO and content marketing is a long-term strategy that can take 6-12 months to show significant results.
You can use a core "master" plan, but each location will need its own localised version that takes into account the specific neighbourhood, competition, and target audience of that area.
A business plan is a comprehensive document that covers all aspects of your business, including operations, finance, and staffing. The marketing plan is a specific component of the business plan that focuses solely on how you will attract and retain customers.
You measure success by tracking your progress against the KPIs you set in your plan. Success is not just about being busy; it's about achieving your specific, measurable goals, whether that's increased bookings, higher revenue, or better customer retention.