About 30% of all restaurants fail within the first year of operation. This means that in the restaurant industry, roughly only one in three restaurants succeed.
A 70% success rate does not sound too bad, does it? However, when you consider the risk that is inherent to any investment and what are the actual consequences of failing, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to minimize it further.
Food quality and a solid restaurant business plan are, without a doubt, some of the most important parts of running a successful restaurant business.
Once you have those in check, you have to make sure to stay fresh with your marketing. In this article, we’re going to present you with the 20+ best pizza marketing ideas so you won’t have to reinvent the wheel and simply use these battle-tested ways to market your pizzeria.
Slice to Success: Why Does Your Pizza Restaurant Need Marketing?
Whether you’re running a small pizza shop or a massive restaurant chain, having a marketing strategy is absolutely essential to get ahead in the industry.
You can think of marketing as wide-scale sales. No matter how good a salesman you are, you can never reach the same amount of people simply by making calls or going door-to-door. In essence, marketing allows you to reach a far greater number of customers with far less effort.
20+ Pizza Marketing Ideas to Dominate With
To get the most out of the marketing ideas listed below, we highly recommend you first review your restaurant marketing plan. That way, you can avoid a lot of poor decision-making and bad investments. However, if you are simply looking for inspiration, we hope that you will find the below marketing ideas useful. Here are the 20 effective pizza marketing ideas to help you maximize your revenue.
1. Set up an Online Ordering System and Increase the Marketing Budget
Save over 30% in commissions and increase your marketing budget!
Building a pizza ordering system is a natural progression for anyone who’s looking to truly own their business. Food delivery apps like Uber Eats or GrubHub can charge you well over 30% in commissions. When you have a commission-free online ordering system, you’re looking to save thousands in revenue.
An online ordering system includes a website and a mobile app and makes it convenient for customers to place their orders ahead of time. This not only increases efficiency but also enhances customer satisfaction.
You can then use the money you save on commissions to promote your restaurant through various online and offline channels. You can also set up attractive last-minute SMS campaigns to attract existing and new customers.
Importantly, starting an ordering system in this day and age is really easy. There are dedicated platforms that do just that without any coding whatsoever.
- Save big: Slash commissions by over 30%!
- All-in-one solution: Restaurant website and app included
- Boost brand recognition: Your own branded, recognizable software
- Take control: Apply changes whenever you want
- Delight customers: Enhance the dining experience
- Seamless scalability: Effortlessly expand your business
2. Build a Pizza Website to Increase Your Online Visibility
Owning a pizza website is one of the best ways to put yourself on the map. In essence, your website is your internet business card. It allows your existing customers to easily find your location and win as many new customers as you need through SEO.
The key benefit is that once you’ve listed your website on Google, anyone who discovers your business on Google Maps can conveniently access your website and explore your menu. This streamlined process simplifies the customer’s search for your restaurant and facilitates online ordering.
Importantly, creating and maintaining a website comes at minimal cost, and the returns from being present online far exceed the initial investment required. And since (surprisingly) there aren’t that many good pizza websites in the market, you’ve got a lot of space to shine.
If you’re looking to build a website for your pizza business but don’t know where to start, check out the 20 best pizza websites. Also, when you’re ready to build the website, consider using a dedicated restaurant website builder. That way, you can scale your website by adding more restaurant marketing tools like restaurant analytics or a QR code menu.
- Boost online presence and visibility
- Seamless online ordering and reservations
- Gain valuable analytics and insights
- Execute effective marketing campaigns and promotions
- Enhance search engine optimization (SEO)
- Maximize returns from minimal investment
A restaurant loyalty program can foster customer loyalty and incentivize repeat business, leading to increased customer retention. They can drive higher customer spending as loyal customers are more likely to choose the pizza restaurant offering rewards or discounts.
Additionally, loyalty programs provide valuable customer data and insights that can be utilized for targeted marketing campaigns and personalized promotions, further enhancing the overall effectiveness of the pizza marketing strategy.
- Retain more customers
- Enhance customer satisfaction
- Encourage repeat business
- Leverage customer data and insights to refine marketing strategies
- Encourage word-of-mouth marketing
- Leverage a competitive advantage
4. Sell Your Pizza by the Slice to Increase Your Reach
A lot of people just want a tasty snack. Selling pizza by the slice gives your customers greater flexibility in their order size, making it ideal for individuals or smaller appetites. Additionally, it reduces waiting times as pre-prepared slices can be served quickly, improving customer satisfaction and allowing for higher turnover in busy periods.
Selling pizza by the slice can minimize food waste by ensuring that slices are sold before they lose freshness, boosting the pizza profit margin. In the end, it’s just a great idea.
- Boost in profit margins
- Wider audience
- Flexibility in order size
- Reduced waiting times
- Minimized food waste
- Improved profitability
5. Distribute Exclusive Promotions Through SMS and Email Campaigns
SMS and email marketing provide a direct and immediate way to reach customers, allowing for timely communication and promoting time-sensitive offers. These channels enable personalized messaging, allowing businesses to tailor their content to specific customer segments, increasing engagement and conversion rates.
Additionally, SMS and email marketing campaigns are cost-effective compared to traditional advertising methods, making them accessible to businesses of all sizes.
The best way to carry out SMS and Email marketing campaigns is by using dedicated restaurant marketing software. This kind of software also allows you to set up push campaigns, giving you an opportunity to reach your customers directly from your restaurant mobile app.
- Restaurant sms marketing allows you to instantly reach your customers and is great for last-minute offers.
- Restaurant email marketing is a great way to reach your customers for free. Since most people have their email notifications on, it can be as effective as SMS marketing.
- Direct and immediate communication with customers.
- Personalized messaging for targeted marketing.
- Cost-effective compared to traditional advertising methods.
- Increased customer engagement and conversion rates.
6. Offer Special Deals for Groups to Increase Your Pizza Sales
If you’re looking to attract more customers and increase your sales volume, offering special deals for groups is the way to go. You can use group deals to encourage social gatherings and larger parties, and not only can it lead to higher average spending, but it also provides an excellent opportunity to showcase your menu and cater to diverse preferences and budgets.
Consider offering discounted group meal packages or customized options for different group sizes, such as a “Family Feast” or “Party Platter.” Your customers will appreciate the special treatment, and your business will reap the benefits of increased customer traffic and sales.
You can monitor how much traffic and revenue you gain by being present on those platforms through restaurant analytics software.
- Increase sales
- Entice customers to bring friends and family
- Increase customer volume
- Higher average spending
- Enhance customer satisfaction
- Increase word-of-mouth referrals
7. Offer Vegan, Vegetarian, and Other Niche Pizza Options
If you’re looking to win some of the most loyal customers, look no further. Offering niche options, like vegetarian or vegan pizza, is bound to land you some of the most devoted groups of followers. Good vegan options are not always available, and vegans are always searching for somebody who can make their vegan meals taste just like their non-vegan counterparts. If you can pull this off, your vegan customers will come back… and will bring a bunch of their friends along.
The same goes for tasty vegetarian, keto, and gluten-free options. If you can appease niche consumers, you’re going to win some of the most loyal customers. Make sure to understand all of their dietary restrictions, and don’t forget to offer a restaurant loyalty program to keep them coming back!
- Build a loyal customer base
- Diversify your audience
- Targeted customer base
- Differentiation and competitive advantage
- Expansion of customer reach
8. Hire a Professional Photographer and Take Your Menu to the Next Level
If you have a collection of high-quality photographs of your food and restaurant, you use them on your website as a hero image and as images for your menu. You can also reuse them as much as you want on your social media and various ad and promotion campaigns.
- Use high-quality photos to improve your branding
- Re-use photographs in your advertising and social media campaigns
- Improve your website by adding a mouthwatering header image
- Improve your menu by adding higher-quality images
- Make a deal with your photographer so that they share it on their social media
9. Visit Local Events With Pop-up Restaurants to Engage New Customers
Organizing a pop-up restaurant can be a great way to promote your restaurant during local events.
By participating in the events like music concerts or local sports events, you can increase your exposure to a diverse audience who may not have been aware of your place before. You can tailor your concept to the event’s theme or target demographic, which makes for better, targeted marketing.
By offering samples or small portions of your signature dishes or simply by selling your pizza by the slice, you can give attendees a taste of your food, leaving a lasting impression and enticing them to visit your restaurant in the future. It’s also a great opportunity to stand out from the competition and generate a lot of great social media content.
Additionally, engaging with event-goers and building relationships fosters customer loyalty and positive word-of-mouth recommendations.
- Diversify your audience and win new customers
- Sell pizza by the slice
- Build relationships with customers and other business owners
- Test the market
- Promote your brand
- Enhance creativity, innovation, and have fun!
10. Collaborate With Local Businesses to Diversify Your Customer Base
Collaborate with other local businesses, such as breweries, coffee shops, or farmers’ markets, to cross-promote each other. This can involve offering joint discounts, offering each other’s products, or hosting joint events to increase visibility for both parties.
- Increased brand exposure
- Expanded customer reach
- Cost-effective marketing strategy
- Enhanced customer engagement
- Mutual business growth
11. Sponsor Local Events and Win Over the Community
Sponsoring local events helps boost brand visibility and fosters your relationship with the community. By associating pizzeria names with local activities such as sports games, festivals, or charity runs, you can attract a wider audience and create positive associations with potential customers.
- Enhanced brand visibility
- Community engagement and relationship building
- Direct customer interaction
- Immediate sales boost
- Reputation enhancement
- Fostering a loyal customer base
12. Leverage Google Ordering to Decrease Friction
Google Ordering reduces the friction in the conversion process, potentially increasing order volumes. What’s more, increased visibility on Google’s platforms can help attract new customers who are searching for local dining options or specific cuisine.
- Streamlined ordering process
- Improved accessibility for customers
- Increased order volumes
- Enhanced customer satisfaction and retention
- Valuable insights into customer behavior
13. Use QR Code Menus to Improve Customer Satisfaction
Implementing a QR code menu can speed up the ordering process, leading to better table turnover rates and increased sales. QR code menus can also be easily updated, allowing restaurants to promote daily specials or new items effectively. They provide an opportunity to collect valuable customer data for personalized marketing campaigns and can help reduce printing costs associated with traditional menus.
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Faster Ordering Process
- Easy Menu Updates
- Data Collection for Personalized Marketing
- Reduced Printing Costs
- Enhanced Technological Image
14. Try Paid Online Advertising for Quick Results
With precise demographic and behavioral targeting, paid online ads can significantly enhance campaign effectiveness and cost efficiency. Furthermore, measurable results from online advertising allow for quick strategy adjustments, improved local SEO, and increased direct online orders, ultimately boosting overall sales.
Make sure your ads are in line with your restaurant marketing plan!
- Wider audience reach
- Precise demographic and behavioral targeting
- Measurable results and strategy adjustments
- Improved local SEO
- Increased direct online orders
15. Introduce a Referral Program to Improve Customer Retention
Encourage word-of-mouth marketing by offering a referral program where customers get a discount or free items, such as vouchers, for referring new customers.
Rewarding customers for their referrals can help foster customer loyalty and increase overall sales. Furthermore, as word-of-mouth recommendations are considered highly credible, referral programs can enhance the restaurant’s reputation and trustworthiness.
- Customer acquisition
- Enhanced customer loyalty
- Increased sales
- Improved brand reputation
- High credibility marketing
16. Organize Charity Events to Build a Sense of Community
Organize or participate in charitable events where a portion of the proceeds are donated to a local cause. This can help build goodwill in your community.
Organizing charity events can significantly enhance your restaurant’s image, showcasing your commitment to social responsibility and community engagement. This can attract socially conscious customers and improve customer loyalty. Additionally, such events provide an opportunity for increased publicity and networking, potentially broadening the restaurant’s customer base.
- Enhanced business image
- Improved customer loyalty
- Increased publicity
- Community engagement
- Expanded networking opportunities
17. Start a Pizza of the Month Club to Ensure Steady Revenue
A Pizza of the Month initiative allows you to regularly engage your customer base, keep the menu exciting and diverse, and potentially increase sales through enticing, limited-time offerings. It’s also an excellent method to test out new flavors or toppings, gauging customer feedback for future permanent menu inclusions.
You can also start a subscription service where customers can try a new specialty pizza each month. This will allow you to easily differentiate yourself from the rest of the pizza shops in the industry.
- Steady and predictable revenue
- Enhanced customer loyalty
- Menu creativity showcase
- Direct customer feedback
- Word-of-mouth recommendations
18. Organize Themed Nights to Drive More Traffic
Host themed nights, such as ’80s night, movie night, or trivia night, to create a fun and unique dining experience.
Themed nights can significantly boost your brand visibility and attract a new customer base intrigued by the unique dining experience. It’s a good opportunity to create buzz-worthy content on social media, which can help generate word-of-mouth publicity and extend their reach.
Themed nights often result in increased footfall, leading to higher sales. Additionally, the introduction of special menu items or deals related to the theme can increase the average spend per customer. With effective promotion and execution, themed nights can be a significant revenue driver for the restaurant.
- Enhance brand visibility
- Attract a new customer base
- Increase social media engagement
- Higher footfall and sales
- Opportunity for special menu items and deals
19. Win New Customers with Live Music Events
Music Nights can significantly elevate a pizza restaurant’s appeal, attracting a diverse crowd looking for a combination of good food and entertainment. It allows you to stand out in a competitive market and create a vibrant social media presence with event promotions and live updates.
Music Nights can increase footfall, leading to higher sales. Moreover, these events can encourage customers to stay longer, potentially increasing their total spending on food and drinks.
- Enhance restaurant appeal
- Attract a diverse crowd
- Increase social media presence
- Higher footfall and sales
- Encourage longer customer stay
20. Combine Cross-Selling and Up-Selling Techniques to Increase Sales
Cross-selling and up-selling techniques can significantly enhance customer experience by offering value-added options, thus improving customer satisfaction and loyalty. They also provide an opportunity to showcase a broader range of products, promoting different aspects of the menu that customers might not have been aware of.
Cross-selling and up-selling strategies can lead to higher average transaction values, boosting overall sales and profits.
- Enhanced customer experience
- Increased customer satisfaction and loyalty
- Broader product showcasing
- Higher average transaction values
- Increased sales efficiency
21. Build a Blog Based on Your Food Niche
From a marketing standpoint, building a blog based on a pizza restaurant’s food niche can significantly increase the brand’s online visibility, improve SEO, and position the restaurant as an authority in its culinary space. It provides a platform to engage customers, share the restaurant’s story, and share insightful content like recipes, cooking tips, or behind-the-scenes looks.
- Increase online visibility and SEO
- Position as a food authority
- Customer engagement and connection
- Attract new customers
- One of the best organic traffic tools
Key Takeaways
- Only about one in three restaurants succeed. You can massively increase your chances of success by preparing a restaurant business plan.
- By setting up your own online ordering system, you can save a lot of money on third-party delivery app fees and use it to fuel your marketing.
- Online presence is key in the era of digital marketing. By owning a pizza website and social media, you can greatly increase your brand’s visibility, ultimately reaching more pizza customers.
- Nowadays, restaurateurs have a lot of novel tools at their disposal. You can now use dedicated restaurant marketing software to automate your pizza marketing for maximum efficiency.
- It’s best to use a dedicated restaurant website builder to build your pizzeria website. That way, you can easily automate your online ordering and marketing.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How Do You Attract Customers to Your Pizza Shop?
To attract customers to your pizza shop, focus on creating a strong online presence through a well-designed website and active social media channels. Utilize targeted online advertising and local search optimization to increase visibility. Additionally, consider offering special promotions, discounts, or loyalty programs to entice new customers and encourage repeat business.
You can start by developing a restaurant marketing plan, which can greatly increase the efficiency of your promotional efforts.
How Do I Make My Pizza Business Successful?
A good way to start is to develop a comprehensive restaurant marketing plan. Begin by identifying your target market, understanding their preferences, and creating a unique value proposition. Implement a range of marketing strategies, such as online advertising, social media engagement, local partnerships, and customer loyalty programs, to increase brand visibility, attract new customers, and foster repeat business. Regularly monitor and analyze the effectiveness of your marketing efforts, making necessary adjustments to optimize results and ensure long-term success.
Who Is the Target Market for Pizza?
The target market for a pizza business can be broad, encompassing a wide range of demographics. However, key target segments often include families, young adults, and college students who appreciate the convenience, affordability and social aspects of pizza dining.
Conducting market research, analyzing customer data, and understanding their preferences, behaviors, and needs will help tailor marketing strategies and messages to resonate with the target market. This includes identifying preferred communication channels, such as social media platforms, local advertising, or partnerships with community organizations, to effectively reach and engage the target market. Prepare a restaurant marketing plan to boost the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
How Do I Get More People to Buy My Food?
The surest way to attract more customers and increase food sales is to develop a comprehensive restaurant marketing plan. Start by defining your target audience, understanding their preferences, and crafting compelling messaging to communicate the unique value of your food offerings. Utilize a mix of online and offline marketing channels, such as social media, email marketing, local partnerships, and customer referral programs, to reach a wider audience and drive engagement. Continuously monitor and analyze the results of your marketing efforts, making adjustments as needed to optimize your strategies and maximize food sales.
Which Pizza Type Do Most People Prefer?
The preference for pizza types can vary greatly among individuals and regions. However, classic options like Margherita, Pepperoni, and Cheese pizzas tend to be popular choices for many people due to their simplicity and broad appeal. Ultimately, personal taste and preferences play a significant role in determining which pizza type an individual prefers.
