How to Create Restaurant Branding Strategies
A well-thought restaurant branding helps to create an emotional connection with distinguished customers and makes your restaurant distinctive from others.
Recently, millions of restaurants, pubs, and coffees from small-scale properties to large ones are doing their business in the world. Regarding the hospitality industry, the number of restaurants may cross your imagination. So how to differentiate your restaurant from others? It is a challenging question. The answer lies in restaurant branding and marketing strategies.
Restaurant branding seems not simple as you might think of choosing a catchy name and its impressive logo. The restaurant branding tends to resonate with your end-users, creating value and persuading them to return to your property. Thus, restaurant branding is a detailed and complex process, especially during the covid-19 outbreak. While great food and service quality is essential, nothing drives restaurant growth effectively rather than successful restaurant branding. Before going into a specific restaurant branding strategy, we need to understand the concept of restaurant branding and how it works.
What is restaurant branding?
A brand is how you want clients to perceive your products/services when they interact with your business. In particular, restaurant branding is the process of creating an eye-catching brand name and image for your restaurant in the dinner minds. Thanks to the restaurant branding strategy, your business would be differentiated from competitors from customer views.
The unique brand identity will not only distinguish you from others but also print your restaurant to customers’ brains. That helps to gain the restaurant brand awareness of customers in terms of their trust, and brand image, thus creating loyal customers. If you want your restaurant to stand out from others, creating a recognizable brand is one of the most effective ways.
Some research has shown that firms with a strong brand will have the highest customer retention rate compared to others. However, a brand should not be confused with branding. In detail, branding is an expression of a brand via its activities and creation. Several restaurant branding strategies can create restaurant brand awareness. They can be via logo, menu design, restaurant decor concept, food, specialties, restaurant name, etc.
Discover restaurant branding strategy’s values
Restaurant branding strategy is one of the fundamental principles of marketing strategy. Establishing the value of restaurant branding would help to distinguish from other restaurants while crystalizing what you want to attract potential customers. Branding’s values will be a foundation for restaurant branding strategy, so it should:
- Be clear and sincere: Restaurant branding strategy should clarify what you want to deliver and what part of the restaurant they apply.
- Create connections: You can build connections by sharing brands’ values with customers.
- Set your restaurant apart: You should set your restaurant branding outstanding with unique combinations of delivered values.
Why does your business need to develop a restaurant branding strategy?
Each restaurant needs a brand identity that defines its products, and restaurant branding is a great way to achieve it. The restaurant branding strategy may include recall values, brand identity, and credibility.
Recall Values: When customers recognize you as a brand, they might perceive the right place to enjoy gastronomical and memorable experiences. With a restaurant branding strategy, you can create an image for audiences to think about it. This image conveys specific actions and values to reflect what your restaurant stands for.
In short, creating a restaurant brand strategy is about telling a story. For instance, McDonald’s brand is the most valuable fast-food restaurant globally, with an estimated value of nearly $88.65 billion.
Brand Identity: A brand identity ensures that delivered messages are suitable to your potential customers via marketing campaigns and other marketing channels. For example, Starbucks shows customers the same logo, colors, and front-store design wherever you are around the world.
This brand identity helps only sends valued information but also remember your restaurant. It can enhance customer loyalty to your brand since they feel great about your brand identity. Moreover, food industry software now can help your restaurant to run business automatically, in terms of taking orders and controlling inventory. It would be a competitive advantage in leveraging the advantage of software development services in the operation.
Credibility: If you want to expand your restaurant brand, developing the right brand identity means a lot. Customers will value your brand and are willing to venture into tested products.
Let’s talk about an example of BBQ Nation with its “live on the table grill’’ concept. That restaurant created a unique brand image of casual, fun, and lively. Recently, it has had over 70 outlets in India and continues opening its outlet in Dubai, etc.
How to make a restaurant branding plan properly
A brand can neither be created in one day nor does it have one component. It takes years of developing the restaurant brand awareness in customers’ minds via various components. Before building a great restaurant branding, you should create a specific restaurant branding plan. This restaurant branding plan might include defining, positioning, being consistent, and telling the story.
Define your restaurant branding plan
The first thing you need to do in a restaurant branding plan is define your brand. It will build a foundation for your restaurant branding strategy. Whenever you put the above-discussed components, you will be done with classifying your restaurant branding. It is important to define every element of your restaurant branding plan regardless of purposes, beliefs, and values.
Position your restaurant branding properly
The next step is to position your brand correctly. Positioning is a mental area for your expectation of setting in customers’ minds. It’s a unique value proposition and the thing you want clients to remember about your restaurant.
For instance, Chipotle, a favorite American tacos restaurant, has placed itself as providing food with integrity. It focuses on Chipotle’s offer to provide naturally-raised pork and beef, along with free antibiotics. Those who prefer naturally-raised meat will come to Chipotle restaurants. Your restaurant can position itself as a high-tech restaurant using food industry software such as food ordering apps, online food delivery, etc.
Be consistent with your restaurant branding ideas
If your restaurant brand lacks consistency, that can be fatal to your restaurant branding. It also will prevent customers from coming back to your property. Your restaurant branding strategy should reflect any aspect of your restaurant from logo to staff’ appearances, music, decor, and menu as well.
This consistency can also be maintained through all stores and communication channels regarding social media, brochures, etc. When you have any new restaurant branding ideas, ensure that these ideas will be consistent with what you’ve done before.
Storytelling — a great restaurant branding idea
Storytelling gives uniqueness to your restaurant and creates an emotional connection to your customers. If you have a story to tell, please use it to brand your restaurant.
The story about Colonel Sanders is a great example of storytelling. After being retired, he came up with the chicken recipes of 11 herbs and spices. That made him become one of the most well-known chefs in the world.
If you have done all the things to attract clients; however, it doesn’t work much. Whether you can do something that makes your restaurant become a good brand in the market. The answer is branding. The restaurant branding ideas will take initiatives that help you to build a strong image. For example, a renowned restaurant in Kerala, Pappadavada, puts a fridge outside its restaurant. At the end of the day, the restaurant brings all leftovers in the fridge to needy people nearby.
Thus, the restaurant branding idea can be a story to tell or a strong and great image that is positive. Restaurant branding can evolve when your restaurant grows. It takes a long time to build a reputation; however, restaurant branding can work effectively if your food and service are excellent.
What can create a restaurant branding awareness
The restaurant name, logo, colors
First of all, creating a great restaurant branding awareness, you should focus on the restaurant name, its logo, and colors. Keep your restaurant name short, simple, unique, and easier to remember. The logo should sync with your philosophy reading a visual identity. For example, if your restaurant wants to enhance the off-premise model or online food delivery, your logo might be highlighted with online food delivery services.
In terms of color, have you wondered why McDonald’s uses red in its logo or branding? Warm colors like red for stimulating hunger, orange for innovation and youth, green for nature and ethics. So choosing colors for your restaurant decor, its ogo is extremely important since it helps reflect the features of your restaurant. With the name, logo, and colors, you will go the first step to enhance your restaurant branding awareness.
Slogan/Tagline
If you want to make restaurant branding, setting a slogan or tagline is one of the most essential steps. A good slogan will deliver your brand vision and mission. This slogan/tagline sets the standard that how your restaurant will present itself in the customers’ minds.
For instance, KFC presents itself with a slogan of KFC’s finger-licking good. So a slogan or tagline is also essential for you to build restaurant branding.
Physical design
How does your restaurant appear regarding layout, location, interior designs, or hygiene? All elements put together will create a restaurant branding. Let’s take a look at the example of Black Pearl in Bangalore. This restaurant introduces the design of a pirate ship and describes its lifestyle. Moreover, staff in the restaurant dress as pirates and play live music and more. They also introduce the brand image as a cool, state-of-the-art, or out-of-box dining experience. Thus, physical design plays an essential part in creating restaurant branding awareness.
Website
When building a restaurant branding, a website is an element that you can not miss. Before coming to your restaurant, they are likely to check your website. So ensure that you work with a skilled web developer and designer who helps translate your brand identity onto the web. Many software development service firms introduce software solutions for ordering and controlling inventory. These software development service companies can develop for your restaurant a fitting website that can attract many customers.
Your website might include core components such as your story, menu, interior photos, food photos, locations, and reservations. Besides websites, you can use mobile apps to force business operations via some custom software development services.
Social media
Last but not least, social media is a significant element to build good restaurant branding. Social media channels help with engaging in conversations and communication with customers. It is a place where your brand voice can make a sound with frequency, a unique tone, and a sense of humor.
Wondering whether social media channels are engaging with direct feedback from customers? Or maybe your restaurant branding is more innovative rather than providing comfort. Besides, social media also helps restaurants test customer reactions regarding your new menu or any specialties. Many people use social media via their smartphones, so mobile apps for online food delivery or ordering food online help you handily reach target customers. Therefore, active social media is one of the most effective ways for you to enhance restaurant branding awareness.
Final words
With lots of little details going into restaurant branding, you will have some restaurant branding ideas for your business. Whenever you create a restaurant branding, remember: always be consistent with your brand values, receptive to customers feedback, and take advantage of technology.
