The battle for the restaurant dollar is escalating, as family household budgets tighten and restaurants employ more competitive pricing postures.  Local restaurants are fighting for survival, and even national chains are closing less profitable units in a temporary belt-tightening.   At Gleason PR, we use our quarter century on gained experience to generate successful promotion for clients.  We realize that not every restaurant can take advantage of our personal service, but you can abide by several helpful keys when selecting your agency or devising your strategy.

1.  Know Your Audience
The media or promotion vehicles you choose must essentially reach either your current target audience, or a new audience you find desirable to attract.  YOU ARE NOT NECESSARILY THAT AUDIENCE!  Often, I've found that business owners and managers advertise in media they view or listen, rather than targeting the actual people who will buy their food or products.  Accurate targeting is step one.  Once you find the media that reaches the eyes, ears and pocketbooks of your target — OWN IT!

2.  Stay Up To Date
Today's consumers are better informed than ever, yet local newspaper readership and local radio audiences are shrinking due to competition with alternative media, Ipods, CDs and satellite radio.  Where are people getting their information? Television and internet media are posting gains.  Social media reaches customers on their phones and multi-purpose devices.  Email newsletters are more cost-efficient than direct mail — if you can develop a list.

3. Understand the Mission
If you are promoting food, you better have people involved with you who know and love food!  They are best able to articulate your business to customers who will appreciate and love your restaurant or products.  The restaurant business is unique.  The majority of entrants fail.  The ones who succeed are the ones who define their audiences and intertwine quality products and quality promotions, not the ones who come up with short-term gimmicks. Likewise, it is important for the proprietor to understand the niche or need his product and venue satisfies.  Is it more important to show, rather than tell?  Should you confine your presence to a five-mile radius, or a regional presence? Too often, busy entrepreneurs go with the last shining face and gleaming smile to walk through the door, instead of the marketing approach that makes the most sense.

4. Create Word of Mouth
How do you get people talking about you favorably?  Certainly, your media, sponsorships and promotion selections can get people talking. Treat your customers like gold.  Better than gold, because they are living, breathing decision-making machines.  One of my restaurant clients serves each table a little gnosh, a small marinated veggie serving that helps fill the space between that first greeting and when the first drink order arrives.  People remember that, and talk about it, even if they don't partake.  The cost is pennies.  In fact, most of the neat customer service amenities cost you nothing but a little bit of staff training.  Aside from that, the outrageous PR ideas and the heartfelt charity sponsorships can also go a long way.  Obviously, if you can create refer-a-friend promotions, you will bring in new customers. Your initial inventment may seem like a lot, but when that patron becomes a regular, it's well worth the up-front cost.

5.  Inform Your Customers
Use your website, email lists, menus and in-store signage to let your customers know about deals, seasonal novelties, events and promotions.  Oh, and don't forget to use Facebook, MySpace and Twitter.

Kerry Gleason is a restaurant marketing specialist with 25 years' experience in fine dining, quick service restaurant, pizza and catering promotion.  Gleason PR provides counsel for traditional media and internet marketing, as well asn promotion.