Let’s face it: 2024 has been a challenging year for hospitality companies, and many are facing tough headwinds in 2025.
When times are tough businesses often look to reduce expenses and sadly the marketing budget can be one of those items that is cut or reduced. Unfortunately, reducing your marketing can have long-term effects on your business and it can cost up to four times as much to recover your position.
So how can you make the most of your marketing efforts?
Here are some tips to set you up for success in 2025 and a helpful guide to Make your marketing work harder
- Gather all of your audience in one application – if you have customer data sitting in multiple systems it’s time to rationalise. When all your customers are in one place hopefully you may reduce some costs but you will certainly reduce the time and effort it takes to execute your marketing communications.
- Focus on first-party data – if you have built a customer database, loyalty program or have permission to market to customers who have purchased from you this is considered first-party data. The value in this data is that these customers have already experienced your brand and are happy to be marketed to. They should form the basis of your marketing activity.
- Not all segments of your market are feeling the pinch – cost of living increases are hitting some segments more acutely than others. Can you focus your marketing effort to talk to different segments differently and suggest different offers and promotions?
- Build sales in slow periods – whenever you are open your overheads are relatively fixed so make the most of promoting those slower periods with discount deals.
- 2 for 1 is a great way to go. By giving your existing customers a 2 for 1 they will hopefully be bringing a new customer in to experience your offering.
- Functions – coming into the holiday season and key occasions lots of people gather to celebrate so take advantage of that opportunity by communicating regularly about your function spaces and menus.
- Catering can be a winner – why not let your customers take home your fantastic food for their at home or work celebrations. Keeping customers up to date with your catering offering during the year is important as you never know when someone might have an event to plan.
- Gift Cards – Having a gift card option is a great way introduce new customers to your business and generate cash flow. Take advantage of key gifting and shopping occasions like EOFY and Black Friday to promote an offer around your gift cards.
- Surprise and Delight – know who your high spending customers are? Why not send them an email or SMS offering a free bottle of wine on their next visit. It will build sales, loyalty and you might even get a sneaky social post or two.
- Get inspired by your team – chances are they might have a brilliant idea or two and would love the opportunity to be heard. Why not run a marketing suggestion box to ask the staff what they would do? Then if you implement it make sure you make them the hero of your marketing campaign.
- Tell your story – one of the most important elements of a successful marketing campaign is authenticity. Make your story about your passion for the business the centre piece of your marketing efforts and messages.
Plus our last tip to DOWNLOAD is our Ultimate Marketing Guide for Tough Times.
