Restaurant Marketing Plan Template

Running a restaurant involves a whole lot more than simply offering great food and service. In order to continue bringing in new guests, you need a solid restaurant marketing plan.

A restaurant marketing plan is a detailed document that outlines the full marketing strategy for your restaurant. A good marketing plan usually covers topics such as who your competitors are, your ideal customer, current market research, and how you plan to spread the word about your restaurant.

While looking at another restaurant marketing plan example can help you brainstorm ideas for your own restaurant, the best way to start outlining your plan is to use a customizable restaurant marketing plan template. A restaurant marketing plan template can guide you through the process of creating your very own marketing strategy and ensure you’re covering all the key areas that investors may want to know about.

For instance, this free restaurant marketing plan template is carefully laid out to help you better understand your business and determine the best way to market your restaurant. The template starts with a Competitor Analysis section, which will help you understand who your competitors are and what strategies they are already using, like social media or print advertising. It can also help you figure out the weaknesses in your competitors’ strategy, allowing you to take advantage of untapped opportunities.

The next section in our restaurant marketing plan template is a SWOT Analysis for your own brand. SWOT refers to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats – all of which are important to pinpoint before creating a marketing plan for your restaurant. When filling out this section, it can be helpful to look at another restaurant marketing plan example to understand what characteristics fall into each category. Strengths and weaknesses are internal attributes that can either help or hinder your ability to meet your goals. As for opportunities and threats, these are external factors that can help or hurt your business.

The final section in our restaurant marketing plan template PDF is a Marketing Plan Overview. This is where you will take what you’ve learned by filling out the earlier sections in the marketing plan template, and put it to use. You’ll start by outlining a mission statement for your restaurant and then add an elevator pitch that allows you to explain your business plan in 60 seconds or less. 

After adding the high-level details, any great marketing plan template for restaurant will dive into the nitty-gritty. Here, you’ll outline your target audience (including the motivations behind where they choose to eat), your unique selling proposition, and your restaurant’s branding (your tone and voice).

Lastly, you’ll need to fill out your marketing goals and the channels you’ll use to achieve those goals. Our restaurant marketing plan template helps you cover both traditional and digital advertising channels. More traditional marketing channels include things like direct mail, print advertising, events, and more. On the other hand, digital marketing channels include social media, restaurant emails, search engine optimization, and more. Of course, you’ll also have to include your budget for each of these marketing channels.

After completely filling out each section of our free restaurant marketing plan template, you’ll be left with a comprehensive marketing plan and actionable next steps. It’s also wise to revisit this marketing plan template for restaurants and continue updating your plan over time, especially as your business evolves and grows.