How do you build a restaurant marketing plan?
A marketing plan is not a fifty-page agency document. For an independent restaurant, it is one sheet that answers a simple question: “What do I say, to whom, where and when, to fill my dining room?”.
Without a plan, marketing follows your mood and your free time: lots of posts when things are going well, nothing when the restaurant is empty, which is exactly when you should be talking. A plan turns this around: you prepare ahead, calmly.
This guide is part of our Grow a restaurant series.
Which goals and target customers should you choose?
A good goal can be measured. “Be more visible” cannot; “20 more covers on Tuesday lunchtime” or “15 bookings for New Year’s Eve by the end of November” can.
| Problem | Measurable goal | How to track it |
|---|---|---|
| Weekday lunches too quiet | +15 covers per lunch in 3 months | Covers recorded in the till |
| Few new customers | +10 Google reviews a month | Review count on your listing |
| Too many phone bookings | Half of bookings made online | Your booking tool’s statistics |
| Few groups and private hires | 2 private hires a month | Requests received and confirmed |
The figures in this table are examples: set your own based on where you are today.
Your target customers in three lines
Describe two or three types of customer, simply. For example: “local office workers, in a hurry at lunchtime, tight budget”; “local couples, Friday night, coming for an occasion”; “summer tourists, searching Google Maps in English”. Each type of customer has its own channels and messages: you do not talk about the quick weekday lunch the way you talk about a romantic dinner.
Free tool, no sign-up
Free marketing calendar
All the useful dates of the year for a local business, with message ideas: enough to fill your 12-month plan in a few minutes.
Which marketing channels work for a restaurant?
Two channels kept up all year beat six abandoned after a month. Here are the main ones, with what they take.
| Channel | What it is for | Suggested pace |
|---|---|---|
| Google listing | Being found and chosen at the moment of search | 1 update a week, photos every month |
| Google reviews | Reassuring new customers | Ask every day, reply every week |
| Website | Menu, hours, bookings, events | Updated with every change |
| Instagram and Facebook | Showing dishes, the team, the atmosphere | 2 to 3 posts a week |
| Customer emails | Bringing regulars back | 1 to 2 a month at most |
| Window, chalkboard, flyers | Reaching passers-by and neighbours | With every new thing |
| Local press and partners | Getting known in the area | For big occasions |
For most restaurants, the starting trio is: Google listing + reviews, Instagram, emails to regulars. The basics are in our guides to the Google Business Profile, social media for local businesses and email newsletters.
What should a 12-month marketing calendar look like?
Here is a sample calendar for a restaurant in France. Adapt it to your town (tourist season, markets, local events) and your closures. Prepare each key date about six weeks ahead: that is when customers start searching.
| Month | Main theme | Message ideas |
|---|---|---|
| January | Restart after the holidays | Lunch menu, comfort food, thanking the year’s customers |
| February | Valentine’s Day (14 February) | Special menu announced in January, online booking highlighted |
| March | Spring produce returns | New menu, behind the scenes in the kitchen, producers |
| April | Getting the terrace ready | Terrace opening, summer hours on your Google listing |
| May | Groups and family meals | Private hire, group menus, bookings for celebration meals |
| June | Terrace and evenings (France’s Fête de la musique on 21 June) | Events, aperitifs, lighter menus |
| July | Tourists and holidaymakers | Translated menu, Google listing in English, dish photos |
| August | Summer and holidays | Closure message or summer hours, reopening date |
| September | Back to work | Lunch menu, regulars returning, new autumn menu |
| October | Autumn produce, first end-of-year bookings | Group menus for office parties |
| November | Preparing the holidays | New Year’s Eve menus, gift vouchers, special opening hours |
| December | End-of-year holidays | Booking reminders, atmosphere, thank-yous |
For every date of the year and ideas for each, see our guide to preparing seasonal promotions and the free marketing calendar. For the holidays, read Christmas marketing and our Valentine’s Day ideas.
How much time should you spend each week?
Allow about one to two hours a week, in one fixed slot (for example Monday after lunch service). Preparing in one go is far faster than posting as you go.
The weekly routine
- 2 to 3 posts on Instagram and Facebook: a dish, a team member, a moment in the dining room.
- 1 update on your Google listing (dish of the day, event, special hours).
- A reply to every review received that week.
- 5 photos taken during service, saved for the coming weeks.
The monthly routine
- 1 email to customers who agreed to receive it (new menu, event, upcoming holiday).
- Fresh photos on your Google listing.
- A 15-minute review: covers, online bookings, new reviews.
If you run out of ideas, our list of Instagram post ideas for restaurants has dozens. And AI for restaurants can write captions from your photos and notes.
Which rules apply to emails and photos in France?
Two rules come up often in restaurant marketing in France.
Promotional emails
According to the CNIL, the French data protection authority, sending a promotional email to a consumer requires their prior consent, given with a tick box (never pre-ticked). Exception: you may email customers who actually bought from you about similar offers, if they could say no when you took their address. Every message must offer a simple way to unsubscribe, and your restaurant must be clearly identified as the sender.
Photos of customers
According to Service-public.gouv.fr, publishing a photo of a recognisable person, on a website or social network, requires their consent. This consent must be written and specific: where the photo will appear, why, for how long. For a child, you need the parents’ written permission. The simplest approach: photograph the dishes, the empty room, the team (with their agreement), or customers from behind.
Photo publication consent
I, [full name], authorise [restaurant name] to publish the photo taken on [date] in which I appear, on [Instagram, Facebook, the restaurant’s website], to present the restaurant, for [period, for example 2 years]. I may withdraw my consent at any time by writing to [email address].
Date and signature:
How do you know if your marketing is working?
Each month, write down four numbers in a notebook or spreadsheet. They are enough to tell whether the plan is working.
| Number | Where to find it | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Covers per service | Your till | The end result, the one that counts |
| Calls and direction requests from Google | Your Google listing statistics | Whether you are found and chosen |
| Online bookings | Your booking tool | Whether your website and listing convert |
| New reviews and rating | Your Google listing | Whether customers talk about you |
Our guide to Google Business Profile insights explains how to read these numbers. After three months, keep what moves your covers and stop the rest: a channel that brings nothing after a well-run quarter is probably not the right one for you.
The one-page plan template
Marketing plan for [restaurant name], year [year]
Goal for the quarter: [e.g. +15 covers at weekday lunch]
Target customers: 1) [e.g. local office workers] 2) [e.g. Friday couples] 3) [e.g. summer tourists]
Channels: [Google listing + reviews], [Instagram], [monthly email]
Preparation slot: [day and time, every week]
Key dates this quarter: [dates and themes]
Numbers to track: covers, Google calls, online bookings, reviews
The restaurant owner’s guide
Open, run, grow: each stage has its full guide and detailed guides, with their reading time.
Full guide · 11 min · 13 detailed guides
- Restaurant business plan: a step-by-step template with a worked example 10 min
- Restaurant startup costs: what to budget for and how to fund it 7 min
- Restaurant market research: a step-by-step method with sheets to fill in 7 min
- Which legal structure for a restaurant in France? 8 min
- How to choose a restaurant name: the method and the checks 7 min
- Permits and formalities to open a restaurant in France, in order 8 min
- Restaurant alcohol licence in France: which one you need 8 min
- Restaurant VAT in France: which rate applies, with examples 8 min
- Restaurant terrace permits in France: the process and the rules 7 min
- Mandatory signs and notices for a restaurant in France 7 min
- Buying a restaurant in France: the checks, the steps and the costs 7 min
- How to promote a new business opening: a plan from 60 days before to 30 days after 11 min
- Restaurant website examples: 9 layouts for every kind of venue 8 min
Full guide · 11 min · 14 detailed guides
- Restaurant profitability: find your break-even point and improve it 9 min
- Food cost and menu pricing: how to price a dish 13 min
- Restaurant menu design: method, mandatory information and layout 8 min
- How to choose and negotiate your restaurant suppliers 8 min
- Restaurant inventory management: stock counts, rotation and ordering 7 min
- Reduce restaurant food waste: rules, measurement and practical steps 7 min
- Food hygiene and HACCP in a French restaurant: the rules and the daily routine 8 min
- Allergen matrix template for restaurants and cafés (UK and Ireland) 9 min
- How to hire restaurant staff in France: find, choose and keep the right person 9 min
- Restaurant staff scheduling: a simple rota that follows the rules 7 min
- Restaurant till and POS in France: rules, features and choice 8 min
- Restaurant customer loyalty: 12 ideas that bring guests back 7 min
- Booking cancellation policy: what to write and how to enforce it 11 min
- How to get more Google reviews for your restaurant 14 min
Full guide · 10 min · 11 detailed guides
- How to get more customers to your restaurant: find the cause, then fill the room 9 min
- How to increase your restaurant’s average spend without pushy selling 8 min
- The lunch set menu: build it to fill tables and pay 8 min
- How to make your restaurant stand out: find what makes it unique 8 min
- Restaurant marketing plan: the method and a 12-month template 8 min
- Restaurant takeaway and click and collect: how to set it up 8 min
- Extra revenue for your restaurant: 8 ideas and the rules to know 8 min
- Restaurant digital tools: where to start, and in what order 10 min
- AI for restaurants: what it really does for you 8 min
- Valentine’s Day restaurant ideas: menus, bookings and promotion 8 min
- Christmas marketing for shops and restaurants: the week-by-week plan 8 min
This guide for your trade
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Sources
The rules quoted in this guide come from these official pages, checked on October 28, 2026.