How to Tell Your Restaurant’s Story Through Branding: A Guide to Captivating Diners

Captivate your diners with a unique story and consistent branding.

According to one industry expert, 54% of diners visit the same restaurant over and over. There are several reasons for this, including your food, your pricing, and your customer service. Yet, they also frequent your restaurant because of your story and your unique identity.

The restaurant industry is wildly competitive, and you want to give diners a reason to visit your restaurant. You want to make them feel like they’re part of something bigger. You can do this through your story and your branding.

In this article, we look at how to tell your restaurant’s story through branding. Consider this your guide to captivating diners and setting your restaurant apart from the competition.

Why Tell a Story?

You may wonder about the importance of your restaurant’s story. Your brand is more than just a color scheme and a logo. Your brand is the whole experience you offer. It includes what people experience and feel when they’re in your restaurant. (tweet this)

Your story and your brand are what lift your restaurant above others and make it a destination for customers.

Your story encompasses the most enticing history and mission of your restaurant.

What is Your Story?

First, you want to make sure you and your staff understand your story. Every restaurant has one, and the first step is to identify it. Think about some of the following things when crafting your story:

• Why did you start your restaurant?
• Do you use family recipes that have been passed down through the generations?
• Is there a specific cuisine or cooking style you and your chef employ? Why?
• What are your goals? Do you want to create a community gathering place? Is your restaurant designed for families or nine to fivers? Or is it something else?
• What are your values?
• Who helped you start your restaurant?
• Is there a long history? For example, has it been around for decades?
• Are there any challenges you overcame to open your doors?
• What makes your restaurant unique? For example, are you a farm to table restaurant? Do you offer an extra special chef that entices customers?
• Do you have a distinctive ambiance? For example, do you offer food from a specific country and decorate your restaurant so people feel like they have traveled there?

Take some time to write down your answers to these questions. This will give you the framework you need to tell your story.

Now, let’s look at how to craft and tell your story through branding to captivate diners and cultivate loyalty.

Tell Your Restaurant’s Story Through Your Branding

Now that you know your story, you can craft your brand identity to help tell it. This includes your logo, color scheme, typography, overall tone, and much more.

Restaurant branding shapes the very identity of your restaurant, so it’s very important and should work seamlessly with your story. (tweet this)

Your brand identity is how your current and future customers see and experience your restaurant. For example, if Susie tries to explain your restaurant to her coworker, James, what is she going to say?

Branding encompasses everything that a person feels about your restaurant, and if they’ve eaten there, it involves their memories, too.

The Important Aspects of Branding

When thinking about your brand identity, think about the following:

• Your visual identity includes your logo, your color scheme, the style of your restaurant, your fonts, and your brand voice.
• The atmosphere and ambiance of your restaurant – this includes things like your lighting, your background music choices, the décor, the style of furniture, your place settings and cutlery, and even how your restaurant smells.
• The dishes you offer, their presentation, where you get your ingredients, and how you lay out your menu.
• The style of customer service you offer, the uniforms your staff wear, and how your team interacts with your customers.
• All of your marketing – how do you communicate with people? What is your brand voice, the graphic style of your imagery and video, and the text on your menu, website, email marketing, and social media accounts?
• Your website – this is often the first point of contact for potential customers. So, it’s crucial that your website effectively communicates your brand story. Your website design should be an extension of your restaurant’s branding. Use your chosen colors, fonts, and imagery to create an inviting online atmosphere. High-quality images of your dishes and the ambiance of your restaurant should be included. Consider posting behind-the-scenes shots to tell a powerful story and engage visitors. In addition, make sure your “about us” page tells your restaurant’s story. Use your blog to deepen your relationships with your customers further by sharing more of your brand narrative.
• The social media accounts you use should also continue to tell your restaurant’s story by staying true to your branding.

You can use all of these things to tell a brand story and evoke a specific feeling for your customers. It’s important for people to remember what your restaurant looks, smells, and feels like. You want them to have an emotional bond that starts with your cohesive story and consistent branding.

Final Thoughts on Captivating Diners

According to one branding expert, “80% of consumers say consistent branding increases their trust in a business.” When diners trust your restaurant, they become loyal repeat customers and brand ambassadors.

With this statistic in mind, along with what you learned in this article, you are ready to tell your restaurant’s story through branding.

Combining your story and letting it tell itself through your branding can help you captivate your diners and foster lasting connections with them. It can also help turn them into brand ambassadors, sharing their experiences with an even wider audience.

Your restaurant’s story is a powerful tool to differentiate your restaurant in a crowded market.

By thoughtfully communicating your narrative through your brand identity, website, social media, and dining experience, you create a rich tapestry that invites people to engage more deeply with your restaurant.

Finally, you can ensure every customer who dines with you walks away with a story to tell. So, ensure that your restaurant’s story leaves a lasting impression and brings them back time after time.

Is your website ready to tell your restaurant’s story? Is your branding strong enough to set you apart? At Restaurant Engine, we can create a website for you that tells your restaurant’s story through branding and sets it apart in your community. Your website is the centerpiece of your online marketing, and it needs to look and perform well, too. You can count on us to create an amazing website that presents a unified brand for your restaurant and works across all digital platforms. Let us help you make the perfect site that draws customers in, improves customer engagement and your conversion rate, and enables you to grow your new business using website data! 

Are you ready to take your restaurant to the next level with a new website?

Get your free website consultation today!

Images: Patrik Michalicka and Caroline Attwood on Unsplash