Starting a Chinese restaurant is no easy feat.
From sourcing the freshest ingredients to creating a menu that appeals to your customers, there are countless challenges that restaurant owners like you must overcome.
Add to the fact that you’ve had to battle stereotypes about Chinese food being ‘fast’ and ‘unworthy’ of being labeled high-class.
Worries about the MSG myth and the pandemic which still affects the perception of Chinese Restaurants for many.
Despite all that, with the right marketing strategies in place, you can set your restaurant apart from the rest and drive business through the door.
In this blog post, we’ll be discussing a variety of ways to promote your Chinese restaurant, including understanding your market and location, leveraging social media, and creative ideas for rewarding your most loyal customers.
We you get the inspiration you need to take your restaurant to the next level.
Table of Contents
Understanding the Market & Your Location
When it comes to promoting a Chinese restaurant, it’s important to first understand the market and location.
For example, if the restaurant is located in a predominantly Chinese neighborhood, it’s likely that word of mouth will be the most effective form of advertising.
For example if you’re in San Gabriel Valley, you can definitely make great use of the SGV Eats group on Facebook.
People share the latest openings, deals and it’s a group that’s eager and willing to help out struggling businesses in the area.
However, if the restaurant is located in a more diverse area, it may be necessary to get creative with marketing strategies.
In any case, it would be a good practice to always ask your customers how they heard about you.
Make It Short & Sweet On Social Media
One way to promote a Chinese restaurant is to leverage social media with short form content.
This can include creating a Facebook page for the restaurant, where customers can see pictures of the food, read reviews, and learn about upcoming events or specials.
Additionally, Instagram is a great platform for showcasing the restaurant’s dishes and creating a visually appealing feed.
Reward Loyalty
Another way to promote a Chinese restaurant is by offering rewards to the most loyal customers.
This can be as simple as a punch card that offers a free meal after a certain number of visits, or a loyalty program that rewards customers with discounts or free items.
It’s always good to give them a punch card with stamps already on them. That way they feel that they’ve made some progress and will be looking forward to completing their card.
Tap Into Partnerships
Another way to promote a Chinese restaurant is to reach out to local food bloggers, food critics, and social media influencers.
Offer them a complimentary meal in exchange for a mention on their website or social media platforms.
Another idea is to host events like Chinese New Year celebration at the restaurant, which can attract a large number of people and create buzz.
Partner with other local businesses to cross-promote the event.
If you do have some budget to spend, you could always get some help from the influencer platform ‘Collabstr‘.
In this example, I typed in ‘Chinese Food’ and set it to the United States for the location.
Most platforms require you to pay a platform fee just to see the influencer list but Collabstr doesn’t.
It’s a big help for smaller businesses like yours so you don’t have to make a commitment to a platform you might only need to use once in a while.
Overall, the key to promoting a Chinese restaurant is to be creative.
By understanding the market and location, leveraging social media, offering rewards to loyal customers, reaching out to local food critics, hosting events, and making it easy for customers to enjoy your food, you can successfully promote your Chinese restaurant.
