Proven Restaurant Advertising Strategies to Stand Out in a Competitive Market –

Economic pressures continue to squeeze U.S. consumers. They are pulling back on nonessential expenditures. Specifically, they are cutting back on their dining out habits. But consumers can be tempted to enjoy a meal out with the right restaurant advertising strategies.

How Are Consumers Cutting Back?

On average, around 37% of consumers have not been going out to eat as frequently this year. Even higher income consumers report a cutback with 27% of this group not eating out as much as they were last year. For 44% of lower-​income consumers, reduced dining out occasions are the new reality.  These stats come to us from a recent YouGov survey.

Why Are Consumers Dining Out Less?

The new reality is that roughly 31% of U.S. adults eat out once a week, while 38% eat out once a month. The primary reason consumers are cutting back is price. 82% say restaurant prices have increased.

Overall, 57% of consumers report that they’re feeling the cost-​of-​living increases. To extend their available cash, 46% are cooking their meals at home.

Consumers don’t necessarily think that restaurants are trying to gouge them. At least 44% of higher income diners believe that restaurant pricing is fair.  But 37% of lower-​income consumers say the prices are too high for the quality they’re receiving.

How Are Consumers Adjusting Their Dining Out Habits?

Sometimes, diners simply change where they’re eating out instead of cutting it out completely. Younger consumers, Gen Zers and millennials are most likely to do so (57%).

These consumers turn to less expensive restaurants. In particular, 46% are visiting fine dining restaurants less often. And 41% have cut back their fast casual visits.

They skip drinks or dessert, and they use coupons or discounts. The popularity of coupons is where marketing partners can help restaurants make the most of their advertising investments.

The Value of Top-​Line Restaurant Advertising Strategies

Consumers turn to the following to obtain restaurant promotion details:

• Email/​Newsletters 33%
• Social media 32%
• Word of mouth 31%
• Restaurant apps 30%

Loyalty programs are another great way to strengthen the connection with customers. AudienceSCAN from AdMall reports that 15% of U.S. adults are loyalty card/​app users.

The YouGov data shows that 44% of younger consumers are part of a restaurant loyalty program, while 33% of older consumers are. Remind your accounts that patrons will return to a restaurant with a loyalty program if they like what is being offered.

It’s also critical to target the right consumers with the right restaurant advertising strategies. This requires your accounts to understand what their audience enjoys about the restaurant experience.

Connecting with Fine Dining Customers

Patrons of fine dining establishments over-​index for responding to streaming TV ads. 63% have done so in the last 30 days according to AudienceSCAN by AdMall.

Wine is a favorite beverage for 34% of this audience. And 29% of these consumers want to make purchases that help them feel successful. In the next year, 19% of these consumers will attend a concert, which is 40% higher than all adults.

Share these aspects of the fine-​dining audience with your accounts as they consider their restaurant advertising strategies.

Selling to Fast-​Food Breakfast Customers

If you’re working with fast-​food breakfast accounts, they should know that a significant percentage of their audience (58%) responds regularly to smartphone app or text messages. These consumers are far more likely than average to be time-​crunched 35–44 year-​olds. 40% have a 21–60-minute commute in the morning and will want assurances that they can grab and go  — breakfast in hand.

AudienceSCAN from AdMall contains many dining-​focused audience profiles to help you and your accounts properly target them with the right restaurant advertising strategies. Yes, consumers are cutting back on dining out. But our latest State of Media Sales survey shows that nearly 40% of media sales manager feel very or slightly optimistic about growth in this vertical next year.

Photo by Marcus Herzberg on Pexels.