A cafe or restaurant marketing plan will vary from organization to organization and from situation to situation. However, the common elements of all restaurant marketing plans are:

A product mix plan: This indicates product deletions, product modifications and product additions, when they are to occur, and the volume, turnover and profit objectives, broken down by product groups and even product items.

A sales plan: This spells out desired servicing levels for existing accounts together with targets relating to the obtaining of new accounts. Targets are further broken down by area and by individual representative.

An advertising plan: This would specify the timing, nature, media mix and advertising budget of the restaurant marketing plan.

The sales promotion plan: Similar to the advertising plan, except that this would have events/promo focus outlining all of the restaurant marketing information.

The Components of a Restaurant Marketing Plan

Broadly, a restaurant marketing plan incorporates the following components:

• Corporate objectives --- What the marketing plan hopes to accomplish in measurable, quantifiable and actionable terms
• Marketing audit --- this includes past performance audit, background and situational analysis, besides a consideration of why is it necessary to change your existing plan
• SWOT – entails a detailed opportunity-threat and strength-weakness analysis
• Assumptions --- e.g., relating to changes in the restaurant market, the customer preferences or technological advancements; or projections of profit and loss situations
• Restaurant Marketing objectives – a consideration of RoI aspirations, net profits and cash flow figures
• Strategic options --- devising a plan of action, i.e. what will be done? Who will do it? When will be done? And how much will it cost the business?
• Appraisal of strategic options --- Can this plan be implemented? What could be the hurdles? Can we prepare fro those hurdles?
• Recommendation of the restaurant marketing strategy --- The plan will be implemented in such and such a fashion
• Contingency plans --- what if this plan does not work? Do we have an alternate, back-up plan?
• Implementation --- who will do what for the execution of this restaurant marketing plan?
• Feedback/control --- What external help, controls would be needed to put this plan into action and monitor its progress?
• The Executive Summary --- explained below

Generally, the Executive Summary points to:

• The anticipated level of sales and profits in the planning period as compared with the same figures for the previous period
• The planned changes in the marketing mix which are intended to facilitate the achievement of the planned levels of sales and profits
• The level of the restaurant marketing budget, compared with that for the previous period, which will be required to achieve the planned levels of sales and profits

Other Considerations There are a few other factors that you also need to consider before finalizing your marketing plan for the current fiscal.

Positioning

This is the key to any plan. It identifies in concise terms what is being marketed, who the competition is, who the target is, and why a customer should purchase the product or service.

Strategies and Tactics

The restaurant marketing Strategies and Tactics define how the plan will go into action, in terms of say advertising, promotion, publicity, packaging, research, etc. Each of these must have clear linkages back to the Situation Analysis, Objectives and Positioning. If these linkages are weak, even the best-laid plan won’t work.

Budgets and Timetable Predictions

Everything must be quantifiable, measurable and actionable. The budget needs to be linked to the corporate financial objectives, showing how the new restaurant marketing plan will increase sales and productivity

Final Evaluation of the restaurant marketing plan

This must be done based upon pre-set, agreed upon goals.

Internal Marketing of the Plan

The key to effecting implementation of a marketing plan is to first secure an internal “buy in” for it. This requires a deep understanding of the culture and internal values of the business. Commitment to new strategies can be enhanced manifold with effective internal marketing. Top-down plans seldom, if ever work, because finally execution happens at the ground level. Often people resist change and this resistance can only be overcome with information.

Putting Strategies into Practice

A plan that just sits on your desk is of no real use to anybody.

Putting strategies into practice usually requires

• An ability to get people to accept ideas
• An ability to cope with difficult obstacles
• An ability to plan and manage time in an effective manner
• An ability to create the enthusiasm and motivation to follow through strategies

Post Implementation

Feedback about new strategies generally takes the form of

Errors of detail—aspects of detail may have been overlooked.

Major errors—Where the problem is real then the implementation of the whole project may actually be at risk

Finally, restaurant marketing strategies must be workable and reliable. Thinking through and testing out strategies before they are rolled out on the road is a critical part of the process.

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