Building an effective sales funnel for restaurants is essential to stay ahead in the restaurant industry. It can help your business draw in new and returning customers. 

However, it’s hard to create a great tool if it’s your first time having a business and learning about this form of digital marketing. Don’t worry! This article will discuss steps to build it for more sales and revenue.

Let’s scroll down!

What Is A Sales Funnel For Restaurants? 

Before building a restaurant sales funnel, you must have an overall concept of this marketing tool. What is it? 

Simply put, a sales funnel is a preset procedure that automatically guides a prospect through the whole customer experience. 

Marketers also use the terms “lead funnel,” “purchase funnel,” or “marketing funnel” to refer to this marketing strategy. 

It generally serves as a tool for attracting new clients and encouraging existing ones to return. 

Are you a restaurant owner? Your primary responsibility is to figure out how to draw customers in. 

One effective way to achieve your goals is using coupons, online interviews, email marketing, or text messages. 

So, what does it mean when building a lead funnel for your restaurant business? It’s how you put your marketing strategies into one highly efficient process to maximize their effectiveness.

What Are The Stages Of The Marketing Funnel For Restaurants?

According to the YesDinner website, there are four main stages of sales funnels for restaurants.

Stage 1: Attract

Your restaurant must have potential clients before you want to attract new customers. There are many ways to help your business grab your diners’ attention, such as: 

• Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
• Email campaigns
• Blogging
• Responsive websites
• Google Maps local listing 

To put it simply, increase your restaurant’s visibility first and persuade your ideal clients why your restaurant is better than others in the competition. 

Stage 2: Capture

After attracting new diners, it’s time to capture their minds and hearts. You can offer your restaurant’s food pairings, special offers, promotions, and recommendations. 

In addition, you should have a live discussion with your diners, post engaging content on various social media channels, and show featured pages. 

As a result, you can effectively attract and persuade the drawn-in diners. Make your content compelling because it will increase your chances of winning over your competitors. 

Stage 3: Close

The next stage is closing a sale. It’s time you get your target audience to book your service in advance. You can achieve this goal by offering them some available digital tools, as shown below:

• Online ordering
• Push notifications on mobile phones
•  Online table booking 
• User Registration 
• Opt-in email campaigns
• Lead generation forms  

However, remember that your restaurant funnel does not end after this stage. It means you must have strategies to retain your customers to visit your restaurant. 

Stage 4: Retain

Patrons are the best business ambassadors. So if you notice them book a table, you should get them to dine to encourage repeat business customers. 

Do you seek ways to nurture loyal customers? Consider the following strategies to make them patronize your business: 

• Survey tools
• Review and feedback system
• Automated Ecard system 
• Loyalty programs

Why Do We Need A Sales Funnel For Restaurants?

There are many digital marketing methods in the market now, but why do you need to build a sales funnel for your restaurant? Here are the reasons: 

Capture Leads

It’s hard to build a great customer base for first-time restaurant owners. Using a sales funnel to let people know your business would be best. 

With a purchase funnel, you can build brand awareness and increase its visibility to capture new customers. 

A marketing funnel also helps you grab the attention of people visiting or passing through your niche. 

You can quickly build a detailed contact list using a lead funnel, including name, email address, and phone number. It’s a fast way to connect to your target audience and improve your brand conversion rate.

Attract New Clients

After building brand awareness, you can use a sales funnel to draw these people into your establishment. 

You can offer an incentive of some form to attract diners. For example, you can use the contact list to establish a connection with your target audience and retain them. 

Sales funnels help your business improve sales. That’s because they provide your ideal client with great content and direct them through every step of the purchasing process. 

Create a Loyal Customer Base

Using a purchase funnel enables you to track the progress of your restaurant better. That’s because it can figure out where you need to make improvements. 

Thanks to marketing funnels, you can retain and persuade your customers to visit your restaurant. So, it helps you create a loyal customer base for your restaurant. 

This marketing tool keeps your business afloat. In addition, your loyal customers also advertise your restaurant for free. A sincere recommendation from a satisfied client is the best kind of marketing.

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What Are The Best Platforms For Building A Sales Funnel For Restaurants? 

If it’s your first time building a restaurant sales funnel, consider the following platforms for an effective marketing tool!

ClickFunnels 2.0

This platform has everything you need to create a high-converting restaurant marketing funnel with a lead-generating workflow. 

If you are a beginner, don’t worry! This platform shows instruction templates. Moreover, it offers many types of sales funnels for you to choose from.

GoHighLevel

One of the best Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and marketing platforms is GoHighLevel. 

Its funnel builder is intuitive. You can flexibly combine email, web pages, SMS, and phone into the workflow. 

Kajabi

Another great marketing and course-building platform is Kajabi. It has modern and fresh templates so that you can choose your favorite. 

Thanks to its complex workflow tool to build a purchase funnel, this platform allows you to combine emails and web pages into a smooth flow. 

You don’t need to use third-party software when using Kajabi. So it’s easy to master workflow. Also, you can automate your sales funnel, including sending emails.

Systeme.io

If you need another platform with user-friendly features and automation capabilities, consider Systeme.io. 

Unlike other platforms, Systeme.io is entirely free. If you are starting your own business and your budget is low, Systeme.io is a go-to option.

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How To Build A Sales Funnel For Restaurants?

You may find some ways to create a sales funnel for a restaurant, but here is the most comprehensive guide for the most effective marketing tool. Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Identify Strategies for Attracting Audiences

How to make your brand name famous so people can know your service and type of food? It isn’t too complicated! 

Many strategies do not require a huge marketing budget, as shown below: 

Local SEO

Using local SEO on your web pages is essential to attract local organizations and engage your audience. 

You can create blog posts or websites focusing on your niche. This way, it helps to increase your restaurant’s visibility in many web searches. 

Local Influencers And Bloggers

If you choose this strategy, you may have to pay money. If you want a free marketing form, offering freebies for local influencers or bloggers is a good idea. 

They will create local content to promote your business to more local customers. 

Social Media

You must have an account before being active on a social media platform. After that, you can join local community groups and businesses. Try to work actively, and your restaurant will get noticed. 

Online Directories

You can consider some online directories like Google Maps or Yelp to make your restaurant visible. Ensure that you update your business information on these websites regularly. 

Geofencing

This targeted advertising strategy concentrates on a specific area, like a single town or zip code. 

When visitors enter the geolocated region, it will show relevant ads. So this strategy is the best to target ideal clients near your restaurant. 

Step 2: Collect Customer Data

After consistently attracting people to notice your brand’s name, you need to incentivize them to contact you and share their personal contact information. 

Here’s your chance to be creative and create unique methods. If you are a beginner, check more ideas below:

Contests

Holding contests is one of the great marketing strategies because they are mutually beneficial. The participants have chances of receiving rewards, like a gift card or a free dinner. 

On the other hand, these people are willing to sign up. Hence, you quickly have customer profiles effortlessly. 

Coupons

Another highly effective method is offering coupons because people of all ages and backgrounds like to earn discounts. 

Creating an online form and asking potential customers to complete it is a good idea. When finished, they will get a coupon code immediately. 

However, remember to mention the expiry date on all coupons to make them seem more urgent. This tip encourages your diners to return to your restaurant more quickly. 

Website Form 

It’s a good idea to have an online form on your site’s homepage so potential customers can complete it whenever they visit. 

That way, you will have the information of your ideal clients without spending a dime. However, never spam your audience!

Capturing

At the time of sale, you may collect customer information on diners at your restaurant. Consider offering your customers a card. After that, ask them to complete it. It can be a lunch deal or some discounts.

Step 3: Market Your Offers

After conducting marketing strategies, you have a contact list. The next step is to sell your restaurant’s offers. It means you need to convert your new customers into long-term ones. 

Do you have your client’s phone numbers or email addresses? Whatever you collect, you can utilize SMS or email marketing to deliver the things below:

• Freebies: Do you want to create more sales? Consider offering a free meal or item. These things do not need to be huge. They can be a dessert, drink, or side.
• Time-limited deals: You can provide any service of your restaurant. For example, it can be a discount on specific menu items or a weeklong discount. 
• Time-limited coupons: These items encourage people to return to your restaurant immediately due to their urgency. 
• Birthday promotions: If you want to deliver a discount or gift card to retain your customers for their next visit, consider birthday promotions. 
• Exclusive events: People prefer to be treated as a VIP. So, holding exclusive events for a specific group of clients with special privileges encourages them to join.

Step 4: Promote Repeat Business

Your food is excellent, but you must compete with other local restaurants. Hence, it’s essential to have a plan to attract repeat customers to come back to your establishment. 

Give your clients a reason why they should choose your service over others. Check the following proven tactics: 

Request reviews

Your loyal customers will be delighted to write a review on your website if your dishes and services are excellent. 

Giving your patrons an incentive like a discount is a good idea. This marketing method encourages repeat business because it helps you get your ideal customers to return.  

Launch A Loyalty Campaign

Coffee shops and chain restaurants often apply this marketing program. And you can use it for your business. 

Customers will get a stamp or star on their card whenever they visit. They will receive a freebie or discount off the next meal when it’s complete.  

Make Personalized Offers

Customizing offers according to your loyal customer’s preferences or behaviors would be best. You can collect and gather their data via feedback forms or surveys. 

In addition, it would be best to utilize the purchasing information of your existing customers. After that, create personalized offers for each to get a repeat visit.

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Conclusion

Building a sales funnel for restaurants is a great marketing strategy to attract and retain customers in the industry. 

If you want to make your business get more business and improve revenue, it’s essential to understand the concept and main stages of purchase funnels. 

With the four simple steps mentioned in this post, you can build a loyal customer base and enhance your restaurant’s profitability. 

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