Blog / August 22, 2018
Restaurant Marketing in 2019: What You Need To Know


Elise Musumano
Today’s state of restaurant marketing is this, according to our customers: 1 in 4 hospitality groups and independent venues are doing it all on their own. It’s what we learned when we polled hospitality companies that we work with across the globe. What job titles did we hear from? Over 25% of respondents are General Managers at their venue. Here’s the full breakdown:

Finding 1: 9 Out Of 10 Restaurants Are Using Instagram.
We asked restaurants which marketing channels they were using to promote themselves — and here’s what we found: The majority of restaurants have a presence on Instagram, Facebook, Yelp, and Google.
Finding 2: Over 40% of Restaurants Outsource Their PR.
We wanted to know what restaurant marketing was being done internally versus by freelancers or agencies. Here’s what we found: Many restaurants are hiring externally for public relations as well as website development and management. But 27% of restaurants aren’t hiring outside help for any marketing.
Finding 3: More Than 1 in 4 Restaurants Uses MailChimp.
For the restaurants that we surveyed, MailChimp is the leading email service provider (ESP).
Finding 4: 29% of Restaurant Marketing Emails Are Sent From Outlook, Gmail, or Personal Email Addresses.
We took the “Other” category above and drilled down into it. It turns out that out of all of the respondents who fell into this category, many specified Outlook, Gmail, or “not yet” as in they aren’t using a system right now. (Other providers were Zenreach, Rackspace, Venga, and Squareup.) Adding up the Gmail, Outlook, and “not yet” responses to the total responses for the official “We don’t use a provider” category, that makes 29% of all total responses. The Takeaway: About 1 in 3 restaurants has not yet invested in an email service provider to send dedicated marketing emails to their guests. They may not have the budget, not want to learn a new system, or prefer to send emails one-on-one to guests. Either way, they are likely spending more time on sending emails than restaurants that automate personalized messaging and send emails at scale.Finding 5: >50% Restaurants Are Sending Event Invites, Holiday Promos, and Newsletters.
Your dentist’s office might be sending you happy birthday emails, but chances are that your favorite restaurants aren’t. It’s the least used type of email that we polled restaurants about. In addition to event invites, over 50% of restaurants are also sending regular newsletters and holiday greetings:

Finding 6: If You Use a Platform To Aggregate Reviews, You’re In The Lead; Most Restaurants Don’t.
We asked restaurants what platforms they were using to do any of the following:- Manage your online reputation
- Aggregate reviews
- Manage menus
- Maintain site listings

Finding 7: Almost Half Of Restaurants Built Their Websites From Scratch.
Here’s how customers answered “What platform does your website run on?”
Finding 8: Tripleseat Is Taking Over The Event Management Scene.
Concord, MA-based Tripleseat is the #1 software that restaurants are using right now to book private dining rooms (PDRs) at their venue. Here are the exact numbers:
Finding 9: The Vast Majority (87%) of Restaurants View Marketing Automation Positively.
We asked restaurants what three words came to mind when they thought about the phrase “marketing automation” Here’s what we got back:
- “Not our style”
- “It takes away from the personal connection of speaking to someone”
- “Could be annoying, would need to be relevant”