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With so many restaurant marketing tools out there, does it feel like you’re stuck in a never-ending loop of trial and error?
We’ve been there!
Don’t worry, though – we’ve got your back!
We’ve scoured the internet, talked to our experts who have managed marketing for more than 2000 restaurants, and probably consumed way too much caffeine.
Why?
All for bringing you the ultimate list of the best restaurant marketing tools that actually work.
No fluff, no filler – just the good stuff.
So, let’s dig in!
Let’s explore the essential social media marketing tools that can help restaurants boost their online presence:
Juggling multiple social accounts can be time-consuming without the right tools. That’s why smart restaurant owners and social media managers use social media management platforms.
These tools allow you to schedule and publish content, monitor performance, and do more – all from one centralized dashboard.
On that note, here is our pick of the top three tools for social media management:
Hootsuite is like the popular kid in school with over 18 million users. It’s the go-to social media management tool for a reason.
With Hootsuite, you can schedule your posts in advance (because who has time to post in real-time every day?)
You can also use the tool to keep an ear to the ground and monitor mentions.
It also lets you manage social campaigns, measure ROI, and generate detailed reports.
Hootsuite even integrates with over 250 business apps like MailChimp, SurveyMonkey, and Uberflip. This allows restaurants to connect disparate programs and centralize data.
Buffer’s user-friendly interface and ability to queue scheduled content is a game-changer.
It provides suggestions to optimize post-timing based on historical performance data.
So you can post when your audience is most likely to engage, not just when you remember to.
And if that isn’t enough, Buffer can also help you save replies to easily respond to comments.
You can also assign team members specific social media responsibilities. It’s like having a personal coach that helps you work smarter, not harder.
Sprout Social is your analytics powerhouse wrapped in an intuitive platform. It lets you monitor brand mentions, keywords, hashtags, and more across all your social networks.
This means you can spot trends, detect sentiment shifts, and seize new opportunities.
Sprout Social also provides demographic insights on your followers. What’s even better is that you can also compare your performance with competitors.
At Restaurant Growth, we leverage these platforms and more in our multi-channel digital marketing capsules for restaurants.
Let us handle the social heavy lifting for you!
Running a restaurant without social media data is like navigating a kitchen blindfolded. How else can you tell if those drool-worthy food pics are actually making mouths water? Or whether your witty #foodpuns are falling flat?
Analytics provide clarity. They slice through the noise to spotlight what’s working, what’s wasting time, and what tweaks your strategy needs.
For restless restaurant owners, metrics on the audience dictate decisions, not gut feelings.
After years of reviewing analytics suites for restaurants at Restaurant Growth, these two tools stand out by a mile:
Iconosquare offers advanced analytics to help restaurants of all sizes elevate their social game.
Users can gain a holistic view of performance with metrics highlighting top-performing platforms, posts, and menus along with customer engagement rates.
Location tagging shows which dishes go viral at specific restaurants. This can help with targeted menu optimization.
And, with industry benchmarking, eateries can compare their efforts against local competitors. This can be done down to the city level.
Ideal for emerging and enterprise chains, Emplifi provides unmatched scale.
It has the ability to integrate unlimited social profiles and users under one dashboard.
Restaurant groups can analyze performance by location to determine regional menu trends and re-share top posts in underperforming areas.
And, with AI-powered image recognition, brands can even track visual trends. These can be anything from plating styles that inspire the most engagement to buzzing ingredients.
Also Read: All-In-One Guide On Social Media Marketing for Restaurants
From campaign creation to automation, here are our editor’s top picks for email marketing:
The right email platform makes it easier to do email marketing.
Here are our top three picks in this category:
This “marketing-favorite” poses formidable features. These include a simple user interface, comprehensive reporting, and broad integration capabilities.
With Mailchimp, you can segment contacts based on factors like location and purchase history to deliver hyper-relevant content.
You can also optimize your campaigns for better results with detailed analytics on open and click rates.
The one thing we love the most is that their free plan covers up to 2,000 contacts.
When it comes to versatility, Constant Contact certainly delivers. They’ve created an all-in-one digital marketing suite.
Thus, beyond email you’ll get tools for creating killer websites, running Google and social media ads, event promotion, and more – all in one seamlessly integrated system.
Their focus lies on making marketing easy and successful for small- to medium-sized businesses.
We personally feel their interface takes some getting used to. However, the broader capacious marketing toolset can offer major value to restaurants.
With this tool, you can even sell tickets, take online orders, and do more through embedded links in your emails. An important highlight we certainly can’t miss out on!
Brevo packs a punch with automation, SMS marketing, landing pages, and CRM in a neat package.
Dynamic content blocks let you customize emails while still using templates.
You can also access detailed stats on your email performance. These stats come straight from your inbox with the Chrome extension. The free plan includes 300 emails per day.
Whichever platform you choose, focus on creating emails that speak to your diners’ cravings.
Segment your lists, personalize subject lines, and highlight mouthwatering menu items.
And, if you’d like to delegate email marketing to the experts, consider partnering with agencies like Restaurant Growth.
We live and breathe email marketing.
Designing killer creatives, segmenting your audience, building automated flows, and more – we’ve got it covered!
Let’s work towards that high CTR!
Marketing automation enables restaurateurs to streamline and scale their digital marketing.
This helps build meaningful relationships with customers. All while freeing up time for focusing on daily operations!
Let’s check out the two star players we like at Restaurant Growth for marketing automation:
HubSpot is arguably the most popular all-in-one marketing automation platform.
It empowers restaurants to capture leads, nurture relationships, and analyze performance with its robust analytics.
It even lets you create optimized landing pages, blogs, emails, and more without any coding knowledge.
We love how HubSpot helps restaurants create customized messaging. This can help you target different customer groups based on their order history and preferences.
Its analytics also provide keen insights to further personalize your approach.
With pre-built templates and integrations with essential restaurant tech stacks, HubSpot makes mapping out the entire customer journey simple.
The free CRM is a good starting point for restaurants dipping their toes into automation. However, the pricing points can be heavy on the pocket if you’re a small eatery.
So, weigh your options with this one!
Trusted by 100,000+ businesses globally, ActiveCampaign shines with its intuitive email marketing.
It lets you send highly personalized, targeted emails to niche customer groups.
For instance, you can set up sequences welcoming first-time guests. Or, target regulars with special offers, recommending dishes based on past orders.
This level of personalization helps improve engagement and loyalty.
Here are the best website builders and SEO tools that can help your restaurant stand out:
Creating an attractive, user-friendly website is crucial for restaurants seeking to boost online visibility and reservations.
You can build a website for your restaurant easily and affordably with these three tools:
The OG of website platforms, WordPress offers unparalleled flexibility and customization options for tech-savvy users.
With thousands of restaurant-specific themes and plugins, you can easily integrate essential features.
We particularly like how its open-source CMS allows easy management of menus, online ordering integrations, etc.
The possibilities are endless with this open-source powerhouse.
Just be prepared to get your hands dirty fiddling under the hood. Or hire a web developer to handle the heavy lifting.
Friendly interface? Check.
Drag-and-drop editor? Check.
Octopus mascot? Check.
For restaurants seeking streamlined website building without coding headaches, Wix ticks all the boxes. We love how it’s SEO wizard provides customized recommendations to enhance search visibility.
Their artificial design intelligence even ensures your site looks fabulous on smartphones. This is crucial considering 89% diners use mobile search before visiting a restaurant.
While some find Wix’s free templates a bit restrictive for extensive customization, we think they offer great bang for the buck, especially when starting out.
With sophisticated designs optimized for visual impact, Squarespace empowers restaurants to create sleek, modern websites that aesthetic-focused foodies will love interacting with.
We especially appreciate Squarespace’s integrated mailing list and powerfully intuitive analytics dashboard.
However, the lack of ability to fully customize CSS/HTML code makes migrating an existing Squarespace site to another platform cumbersome.
Effective SEO is essential for restaurants to get found online and drive reservations.
The right tools provide invaluable insights to improve your website’s visibility.
Our team reviewed the top SEO software to help you make informed decisions. We looked at functionality, accuracy, usability, and value for money.
SEMrush is an all-in-one SEO and marketing platform. It offers solid keyword research, backlink analysis, site audits, rank tracking, and competitor monitoring.
We especially like the detailed keyword data and suggestions for long-tail variations. The site audit clearly identifies issues to address. Competitive intelligence reports provide actionable insights to outperform rivals.
The tool is very comprehensive but has a steep learning curve. The interface can feel overwhelming initially.
But with some time investment, it’s an incredibly powerful solution.
Ahrefs focuses heavily on backlinks and domain analysis. At the same time, it also allows tracking rankings for important keywords, monitoring site visibility, analyzing your competitors, etc. The site audit feature also helps improve on-page optimization.
As for us, we find Ahrefs’ link intersection and site explorer tools very useful. You can also analyze individual URLs to check their authority metrics. However, their rank tracking and UI aren’t as refined as some alternatives.
Moz’s keyword research tool shows search volume, competition, and optimization opportunities. Their site crawler identifies issues to address for better SEO.
What sets Moz apart is its beginner-friendly dashboard. The layout makes it easy to check site health metrics at a glance. Their learning resources like Moz Academy are also top-notch for SEO education.
Don’t wait another 6 months to see organic results with SEO.
Partner with Restaurant Growth and experience the difference ‘real’ SEO can make.
We don’t just tweak keywords. We create customized campaigns that drive reservations.
Word of mouth is worth its weight in gold. Naturally, online reputation management tools are essential for staying ahead of the competition. Here are our editor’s top picks:
Managing your online reputation can ultimately impact revenue and growth. Don’t leave it to chance, or risk competitors swooping in. Take control of your reputation today with enterprise-grade review management.
The below-listed versatile platforms provide actionable review management while saving time:
ReviewTrackers offers real-time review monitoring across 100+ sites like Facebook, Yelp, and Google. Its intuitive dashboard lets you track review volume and sentiment with custom analytics.
You can also respond to feedback straight from the platform.
Birdeye makes it simple to manage your online presence in one place. It brings in reviews from everywhere online automatically.
Plus, with review sites driving over $1 trillion in annual spending, Birdeye helps convert reviews into measurable ROI.
With review sites like Yelp and food blogs exploding in popularity, you need to keep your finger on the pulse of what diners are saying.
Luckily, advanced social listening tools make this a breeze.
Let’s explore some top options our team likes:
Want serious business intelligence? Brandwatch crawls social sites, news, blogs, and more to give you deep consumer insights.
We’re talking demographic data, sentiment analysis, influencer identification, and sophisticated reporting.
It’s a robust platform with loads of filters to pinpoint mentions and conversations most relevant to your brand. The real-time alerts help you address brewing issues before they boil over.
For tracking brand mentions across the web, Mention is a handy free tool. It lets you set up custom alerts when key phrases are used so you can monitor reviews and social chatter.
We like the email digest feature for getting easy-to-scan reports. For a limited number of searches, Mention gets the job done on a tight budget.
If you already use Hootsuite to manage social media, Insights integrates nicely for social listening.
It tracks mentions, hashtags, and keywords, and gathers data around engagement and audience demographics.
The tool works best for listening on Facebook and Instagram, although Twitter support recently got boosted.
We’re fans of the easy-to-digest graphs and sentiment scoring from positive to negative. It saves us time when analyzing brand chatter each week before our team meetings!
No matter which tool you choose, listening provides valuable consumer feedback.
You can use these insights to improve customer service and address reputation issues. You can also offer promotions to detractors, identify new menu ideas customers are asking for, and much more.
Just remember that eavesdropping cuts both ways. So serve up five-star experiences!
Let’s explore the best SMS marketing tools for the restaurant industry.
A vast majority of people constantly check their phones. Now, what could be a better way to reach these people in real-time than the ting of an SMS?
Here are the top three SMS campaign platforms that have won us over:
SimpleTexting makes it a cinch for restaurants to design intelligent drip campaigns, collect customer opt-ins, and target promotions based on purchase history and behaviors.
You can also integrate your SMS campaigns with your restaurant website and social media channels for amplified impact.
We’re obsessed with SimpleTexting’s templatized content library covering occasions like birthdays and anniversaries.
Their pre-written gentle nudges are perfect for nudging casual weekday patrons into weekend reservations.
If global reach is important for your restaurant brand, TextMagic supports SMS messaging in over 200 countries.
Automatic number validation prevents errors and spam complaints. Furthermore, its dynamic templates make personalization effortless.
However, SMS campaign platforms are just the start of SMS marketing. Creating, managing, and optimizing SMS marketing tools requires expertise and knowledge of regulations.
Restaurant Growth’s SMS marketing services combine the capabilities of multiple platforms with strategic insight to captivate your customers.
Our battle-tested SMS nudges tantalize their tastebuds and fill your reservation book.
Just tell us what you want your campaign to achieve – our experts handle the rest.
SMS automation tools are a must for restaurants wanting to boost customer engagement without burning out staff.
They lighten the load so you can focus on serving up great experiences IRL, not just digitally. What’s not to love about that?
Give your SMS marketing some personal flair by setting up sequences tailored to VIPs or big spenders with this tool.
Or, get fancy with segmentation and wow guests every time with automation.
Here are our top picks for SMS automation tools we personally vouch for:
Zapier works behind the scenes to seamlessly connect the apps and tools you already use.
No code required!
Simply choose a trigger (“new online order”, “customer checked in on Facebook”), then set your “zap” to fire off a tailored SMS as the automated action.
*Poof* – SMS magic.
Integrations on steroids – that’s what Make® is!
This tool takes SMS automation to advanced levels. How? With features like customer segmentation, split testing, metrics, and more robust workflows!
We especially love that you can play around and take this tool for a spin with their forever-free plan.
From creating loyalty programs to managing customer relations, here are our top choices of tools for restaurants:
Customer loyalty programs are crucial for boosting repeat business for restaurants.
Research shows loyal patrons visit your business 67% more frequently and spend around 3 times as much money as new customers.
Rewards programs also create positive brand experiences and foster emotional connections.
The key is choosing the right platform to create and manage your loyalty initiatives. With that said, here are two loyalty program platforms we like:
Belly’s iPad-based loyalty solution streamlines in-store punch card programs. Customers link loyalty accounts to payment cards, earning points for each transaction.
The Belly app then curates special deals and rewards to keep patrons engaged.
Belly even integrates with social platforms to boost word-of-mouth marketing.
This full-service platform powers punch cards, tiered rewards programs, referral initiatives, and more.
FiveStars features flexible point systems and redemption options to incentivize return visits.
Their user-friendly interface enables restaurants to track crucial metrics like customer lifetime value and campaign performance.
Furthermore, integrations with POS systems also help customize rewards based on order history and preferences.
Customer relationship management (CRM) platforms help build strong relationships with diners. The result? Repeat business.
Whichever CRM system you choose, the goal is to link every touchpoint to create seamless customer experiences.
When a loyal patron books a table online for their anniversary, you’ll have the data to welcome them with their favorite wine.
That’s how you drive the repeats and rave reviews.
Got multiple locations? CRM gives visibility into how diners engage across your brand.
Spot opportunities to improve underperforming areas and duplicate what works. That way, guests get the same excellent service whether they’re in New York, San Fran, or Peoria.
So if chaotic spreadsheets are giving you heartburn, it’s time to get organized with CRM.
Managing customer data is a mammoth task, but the right tools empower you to focus on relationships, not paperwork. And that connection is what great hospitality is all about!
Let’s take a peek at our favorite CRM Systems for restaurants:
Salesforce has earned global acclaim as the Cadillac of CRM platforms. This cloud-based software helps you capture customer info and gain data-backed insights to refine your marketing.
The catch? Pricier plans make it better suited for enterprise-level restaurants.
We’re sure you’re thinking “I’m seeing too much of HubSpot everywhere. Is this sponsored?” We assure you – it’s not!
This all-in-one marketing solution offers landing pages, email campaigns, analytics, and more in one robust package.
The basic version is free too, allowing smaller restaurants to benefit.
Users tout the platform’s ease of use with drag-and-drop interfaces and built-in integrations.
Zoho CRM brings affordable pricing plans packed with features for restaurants of all sizes. From multi-channel communication tools to sales signal alerts when patrons are ready to order, this software aims to help you capture more revenue.
It’s time for a bonus roundup! Below we’re diving into the best marketing tools for restaurant events and content creation.
‘Cause why not?
When hosting special events at your restaurant, you need marketing tools that can spread the word far and wide.
We’ll explore two top platforms that help pack those seats.
Good ol’ Facebook. With billions of active users, this social media stalwart remains a go-to for promoting local happenings.
Creating a Facebook Event is free and easy. Simply include key details like the event name, date/time, location, imagery, and description.
Facebook Events appear on users’ feeds and get shared organically, expanding your reach exponentially.
You can also boost event posts to target specific demographics. This platform provides user-friendly analytics showing your event’s traction.
From launch parties to trivia nights, Facebook Events helps fill those bar stools and tables affordably.
Eventbrite allows restaurants to create professional event pages and sell tickets seamlessly. It also enables targeted email and social media promotions to drive awareness.
The platform simplifies logistics like check-in, name tags, attendee messaging, and contact collection.
From cooking classes to wine dinners, Eventbrite helps boost turnout for all types of restaurant happenings.
After extensive testing, we’ve selected three top-rated content creation platforms that provide exceptional value:
Canva allows restaurants to create professional graphics and visual content with drag-and-drop simplicity.
No design skills? No problem!
With a huge library of templates and assets, even the artistically challenged can create mouthwatering images for menus, posters, social posts, and more.
One of our fave features? Photo editing tools like background remover and color adjustments that make pics pop.
SEMrush’s AI-powered writing tool helps churn out on-brand blogs, menus, web copy, and social posts. With just a few clicks, it generates completely unique content with the right keywords wrapped in it. We especially love the different writing styles to match each restaurant’s vibe.
For custom content at scale, SEMrush cuts through writer’s block and gives us what we need to showcase our clients’ brands online. It’s an invaluable asset for any multi-location restaurant marketer.
Now, while the options seem endless, resist the temptation to adopt every new tool. Using a select few extremely well is better than fumbling through a bunch halfheartedly.
Here are our tips to help you cut through the noise and choose the best restaurant marketing tools for your business:
Stay ahead of the curve, and your restaurant stays relevant. Fall behind, and risk becoming irrelevant.
The bottom line? The right marketing is the difference between thriving restaurants and those left with empty tables and bad reviews.
With the best restaurant marketing tools in your lineup, you’ll waste less time guessing where your customers are – and more time serving them.
But here’s the thing – even the shiniest tools lose their sparkle without a solid strategy behind them. That’s why it helps to partner with a trusted restaurant marketing agency like Restaurant Growth.
Our team of restaurant marketing pros can help you see the big picture and put those tools to work. More importantly, you’ll be able to see results without having to wait 6 months for the needle to move.
With our fresh ideas and insider knowledge, we can have you frying up success in no time. Just ask the 2,000+ restaurants we’ve helped boost profits over the years.
So if you’re ready to take your restaurant marketing game to the next level, hit us up.
Let’s talk about how we can help you thrive, not just survive!
The Point of Sales (POS) system reigns as the most versatile marketing asset. It stores customer data, facilitates targeted email and text campaigns, enables loyalty programs, and provides sales insights to inform promotions.
Studies show POS marketing features help raise revenue up to 30%.
Email marketing boasts the highest ROI for restaurants. Segmented campaigns keep customers engaged, driving repeat visits and referrals.
Open rates exceeding 20% and click rates around 5% turbocharge growth. However, the best email marketing tool depends on your budget, preferences, and restaurant marketing goals.
The right tools help you stand out in a crowded market. Review management and social proof tools build trust and credibility.
Targeted ads and content tools reach defined audiences with relevant messaging. Loyalty programs and SMS marketing tools encourage first-time trials.
There are several great restaurant marketing tools for events. However, if we had to narrow down our choices, we would pick Eventbrite and Facebook.
Eventbrite helps manage ticket sales, RSVPs, and promotions for events like wine tastings or live music nights.
On the other hand, Facebook allows you to create event pages, target specific audiences with ads, and generate buzz through social media sharing.
When it comes to POS systems for restaurants, the marketing features can really vary. Toast and Square offer some good basic options for tracking customer data and creating email/SMS campaigns.
If you’re looking for more advanced loyalty and referral programs, Revel Systems and TouchBistro have some great tools. Upserve takes it a step further with its built-in CRM for understanding customer lifetime value.
Ultimately, it depends on your budget and just how targeted you want your marketing efforts to be.
Many marketing tools are free and even budget-friendly. Social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer free features to create ads and connect with patrons.
Many paid marketing tools also offer free trials or entry-level options at lower costs to test the tools before fully investing. Utilizing these can help drive local traffic and brand awareness even on a tight budget.
Uber Eats and DoorDash lead the pack in the US with their extensive reach and discovery features. DoorDash dominates the market with 67% market share while Uber Eats takes up 23% of the shares. GrubHub follows closely behind.
From strategic marketing planning to seamless execution, we’ve got you covered!
