2023 Marketing Strategy

October is here which means Q4 is upon us. As we finish this year off strong, NOW is actually the best time to start planning and brainstorming your marketing strategy for 2023. Here are some tips on how to get started planning for another successful year.

• Schedule a meeting with your team and make sure everyone comes prepared! Have your team research and bring some fresh new ideas.

• Review 2022’s Q1 and discuss your goals for this coming year’s Q1. Here are some questions to get you started:

  • What worked?

  • What didn’t work? Can it be improved or should it be completely eliminated?

  • Were there things you never got to last year that you want to make a priority to do this year?

  • Ask staff for their feedback on how they felt things went last year.

  • What have your competitors done that worked well for them

• Use a simple spreadsheet to set up your 2023 themes, holidays, and special events. Here is one to get you started, compliments of LASK! Download your copy by clicking here then select file and make a copy. List out all of the different platforms that the business currently uses to promote its products and services and make a column for each. For example, a restaurant might have Facebook & Instagram Newsfeed, Facebook & Instagram Stories, Email Marketing, Blog, Point of Sale Flyers, In-store Promotions (tables tents, etc). This will enable you to make notes on what content you’ll need for what date.

  • Tip: Don’t completely disregard all of the smaller unofficial holidays (like National French Fry Day, National Dog Day, etc), especially the ones that tie directly into your business. These allow you to invite your customers to come “celebrate with you” or casually remind them that you are still there without being super salesy.

• Once you have all of the big holidays and events mapped out, go back and focus on Q1 specifically. Choose the events/holidays that are essential to your business (which ones bring you the most business) and begin to build campaigns around those. Here is a simple example of how a campaign plan can look:

  • Event: Valentine Day

  • Time Frame on Promotion: 30 days (January 14-February 14)

  • Promotion items need:

  • Menu (preset, limited, a la carte, specials)

  • Images for special dishes and cocktails

  • Check presenters and table tent promotion cards

  • Emails (designed and scheduled)

  • Social media content (reminder: promotion begins in January!)

  • Social media ads

  • Staff meeting to debrief for table side promotion

  • Inhouse flyers for the menu board

  • Contact press or local website that allows for promotions

  • Update website and reservation platforms with specials, pricing, and reservation availability

Getting all the details down on paper makes it that much easier for you and your team to launch the campaign and keep everyone on the same page.

Taking the time to plan ahead for the upcoming quarter allows you to launch well thought out (and likely less stressful) campaigns rather than reactively throwing something together for the holiday that snuck up on you. Likewise, planning out marketing campaigns gives you something to look back on the following year and to see exactly what you did and look for ways to replicate and/or improve what has already worked for you.

Cheers to you and your business having the most successful (and organized) year yet! 🎉 And, of course, LASK is always here to help you with marketing strategy, just shoot us an email.