Ideas

Restaurant Marketing Ideas: 12 Practical Ways to Get More Orders

By Bruno Vasconcellos, founder of Beatus Mídias
October 2, 2026 · 7 min read

Direct answer: The best restaurant marketing ideas are the ones you can tie to an order. Run one ad per hero dish, move app customers to your own ordering page, give every slow night its own offer, answer every message in seconds, win back customers who stopped ordering and track each idea by orders and cost, so you keep what sells and drop what only looks good.

Which restaurant marketing ideas actually bring orders?

Dish of the week ad. One short video of one craveable item, in your delivery or driving area, linked straight to that item.
First direct order offer. A small perk for ordering on your own page instead of an app, so the customer relationship stays with you.
Package insert for app orders. A card in every marketplace bag inviting the customer to order direct next time.
Reply in seconds. An AI assistant answers menu, hours and delivery questions instantly, so hungry people do not leave for a competitor.
A hook for each slow night. A weekly special or event that gives people a reason to choose that night.
Win-back message. A message with consent to customers who have not ordered in a while, with a reason to return.
Limited-time item. A dish with a real end date gives regulars news and urgency without a discount.
Group and office order page. Bigger tickets, one decision maker and a natural repeat cycle.
Review request after the order. A short message asking happy customers to leave a review on Google.
Fresh photos on Google. Keep your profile alive with new dishes, the room and the team.
Birthday club. Collect birthdays with consent and send an offer that brings a whole group.
Behind the kitchen door. Short videos of prep, the team and sourcing build trust and give ads new creative.

How do you know which ideas are working?

Every idea above has a clear path from seeing something to ordering. Start with two or three that fit your biggest problem instead of trying all of them at once. Give each idea its own link, code or campaign, so orders can be traced back to it. Check results weekly on a dashboard that shows spend, orders, average ticket and new versus returning customers. An idea that gets attention but no orders should be fixed or dropped.

Matching ideas to the problem you have
Your problem	Ideas to start with	What to measure
Not enough new customers	Dish of the week ad, Google photos, limited-time item	Cost per new customer
Too much paid to delivery apps	First direct order offer, package insert	Share of orders that come in direct
Customers order once and vanish	Win-back message, birthday club, fast replies	Repeat order rate
Empty weeknights	A hook for each slow night, group order page	Orders on target nights

How much should you spend on these ideas?

Several ideas cost almost nothing: package inserts, review requests, Google photos and win-back messages to an existing list. Paid ads need a budget sized to your delivery area and kitchen capacity. Our restaurant marketing budget guide explains how to size it, and our customer retention guide covers the ideas that bring people back.

The bottom line

A good idea is one you can trace to an order. Pick the ideas that match your biggest problem, measure them every week and keep only what sells.

Frequently asked questions

What are some cheap restaurant marketing ideas?

Low-cost ideas include package inserts that invite app customers to order direct, review requests after each order, fresh photos on your Google profile, win-back messages to customers who already gave consent and a birthday club. These use assets you already have. Pair them with a small, focused ad campaign for one hero dish to bring in new customers.

What is the most effective restaurant marketing idea?

There is no single best idea for every restaurant, but moving customers to your own ordering channel is usually among the most valuable, because every repeat order then comes without marketplace commission. Combine it with fast replies and follow-up messages so first-time customers return. The right choice depends on whether your biggest problem is new customers, repeat orders or slow nights.

How do I market my restaurant on a small budget?

Start with what costs little: a complete Google profile with fresh photos, fast replies to every message, review requests and messages to past customers who gave consent. Then put a modest ad budget behind one hero dish in your delivery or driving area, sending clicks to your own ordering page. Measure orders weekly and move money to what works.

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