Restaurant marketing can feel like chaos: a post here, a promotion there, a review to answer, a discount someone suggested. You are busy all week and still not sure any of it adds up. What is usually missing is a simple model to hang it all on.
The three corners
Picture your marketing as a triangle:
- Attract: people discover you and try you for the first time.
- Retain: they come back, again and again.
- Spread: satisfied customers bring others.
If one corner is missing, the triangle doesn't close. A restaurant that only attracts is always starting from zero, paying again and again for faces it then loses.
Attract: being found
The goal is to reach people who don't know you yet. Typical tools:
- A complete Google profile with good photos and recent reviews.
- Social media with appetising content and clear reasons to order.
- Paid ads aimed at people nearby, if you choose to use them.
- Marketplaces as a shop window for new customers, alongside your own channel.
The rule: attracting tends to cost the most, in money or in time. So every new customer you win should have an easy way to come back to you directly.
Retain: bringing them back
This is where many restaurants leak money. A loyal customer is worth every order they place over months or years, not just the first one. Keeping them is usually far cheaper than finding someone new.
Retention tools:
- A loyalty reward, such as cashback, that gives customers a reason to return.
- Direct communication, by email or push notification, with the right offer at the right time.
- Messages to customers who haven't ordered in a while.
- A consistent experience, so they trust you every time.
Spread: turning customers into promoters
A happy customer is your best salesperson, but most need a small nudge. The spread stage feeds the attract stage again:
- Ask for a Google review after a good experience.
- Let good reviews do their work as social proof for new visitors.
- Give customers a referral link so a friend can try you with a discount.
Spread isn't the end of the journey. It is the engine. Each customer who recommends you brings new people into the attract corner, and the triangle turns again.
A worked example
Say a pizzeria gets 40 new customers a month through social posts and a marketplace. If nobody is invited to order directly or given a reason to return, most of them are gone by next month, and the owner has to win another 40.
Now imagine the same pizzeria asks every new customer to order next time on its own site, gives a little cashback that expires in a few weeks, and sends a referral link after the second order. Some of those 40 become regulars, and a few bring friends. The numbers here are only an illustration, but the shape is what matters: the same effort in attract now builds something that lasts.
Try it this week
- Draw three columns: attract, retain, spread.
- List everything you already do in each one.
- Circle the emptiest column. It is usually retain or spread.
- Choose one action for that column and start it this week, for example a review request after each order or an email to customers who haven't ordered in a month.
How GetFoodies covers all three
GetFoodies brings the three corners together. Your own ordering site and Google profile help you attract. Cashback, email marketing and push notifications help you retain. Google review requests, dish reviews and a referral link help you spread. Everything is in one dashboard, so you can see the triangle turn. If you would like to try it, create your free site.