25 Oct, 2023
ChatGPT is the new buzzword taking over all industries and saving time on many tasks, particularly in a marketing strategy. As a busy restaurant owner, integrating tools to save time and boost the success of your restaurant is a necessity. So, how can a restaurant jump onto the ChatGPT trend and utilise the benefits?
In this article, we will cover:
- The benefits
- Factors to consider
- How to prompt ChatGPT
- 10 marketing ChatGPT prompts
- 3 Employee training ChatGPT prompts
Benefits for Restaurants to use ChatGPT prompts for marketing
Staying competitive in a saturated industry can be time-consuming and costly, which is why many are using AI tools as the go-to market strategy. Some of the benefits of using ChatGPT for restaurants include:
- Save time in marketing efforts
- Reduce the marketing budget
- Get clear on their target audience
- Help create a brand identity
- Generate unique ideas
- Captivate potential customers
- Stay competitive
Factors to consider when using ChatGPT
As with any software, there are considerations and limitations to manage with ChatGPT. Being aware of the risks will ensure you use ChatGPT optimally and enhance your marketing efforts.
- Old data - ChatGPT data cut-off is September 2021 which means you may not be gaining the most accurate responses. When using AI for content marketing, always ensure you fact-check before publishing any copy.
- AI Content Checkers - With any website content, like a blog post, search engines like Google will check its authenticity when deciding if it should display your page in its searches. A huge factor in the bots test is whether your content is AI-generated. Therefore, you should never use ChatGPT to write all of your marketing copy without human revision. Use ChatGPT prompts for marketing ideas and then redraft for search engine optimisation.
- Sharing Information with ChatGPT creates privacy risks - Sharing information with ChatGPT can create privacy risks, as the chatbot may collect and store sensitive user conversations. This can lead to data breaches and unauthorised access to personal information. Be mindful not to share any personal company or customer data in your ChatGPT prompts.
What is a ChatGPT prompt?
A ChatGPT prompt is how you communicate with the AI tool to generate the answer you need. A well-crafted and specific prompt will help the natural language processing tool to understand your requirement and strengthen the response it provides. Not only that, you can make your ChatGPT prompts for marketing unique to your business and ensure all ideas match your mission, vision and values.
Things to define before using ChatGPT prompts for marketing:
The more information you can provide in your ChatGPT prompt about your restaurant, the more unique and usable the response will be. Think about:
- Target Audience - Giving chatGPT a description of your target audience and typical customer personas will help the tool create effective content with a purpose of attracting the right diners.
- Mission, vision and values - Having a mission statement, vision for your restaurant and values in your operations will help you stand out in the crowd and have a unique selling point. Including these in your ChatGPT prompts for marketing will enhance the ideas it provides.
- Content Examples - If you have already established the tone of your business and how you like to describe your menu or communicate with your customers, ensure ChatGPT knows this by providing an example in quotations. The tool uses a perceptive natural language model and will be able to match your tone and language to generate effective responses.
- Word Count - With every prompt, always be specific with the answer length you need. ChatGPT standard responses are in-depth and so if you only need a short description, define this in your prompt.
Don't be afraid to ask follow-up questions and ask ChatGPT to keep refining until you are happy with the answers. You can keep the conversation going as long as you need.
10 Restaurant ChatGPT prompts for marketing strategy
One of the most useful ways a restaurant can use ChatGPT is in its marketing campaign to generate ideas and stay ahead of the competition. Use these ChatGPT prompt examples to help your restaurant thrive and attract more diners.
1. Create a restaurant business plan
Creating a business plan is an essential step for a successful restaurant but a very time-consuming project. Communicating your goals and roadmap to potential stakeholders and investors is hard to get right. ChatGPT can help you formulate your thoughts and ideas into a clear and succinct winning plan.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"My goal is to create an Italian restaurant which changes menus seasonally and works with an Italian family community of home chefs to craft homely dishes.
Bearing this in mind, please give me ideas for all the elements I need to include in my business plan and the information I need to provide.
Please also help me write an inspiring mission statement in 1-3 sentences."
2. Translate content into multiple languages
Restaurants in multicultural cities or with multiple locations may see the benefit of translating content into various languages and expanding their reach to a diverse customer base. By using ChatGPT language capabilities to translate menu descriptions and website content, restaurants can break language barriers and cater to a global audience.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our Restaurant mission and values are <insert short description> and our target audience is <insert short description>. Our tone of voice is enthusiastic, conversational and humorous.
Please help us by translating the menu items and descriptions accurately and fluently. The languages we require are <list of languages>. Ensure that the translations capture the essence of each dish, convey the same level of appeal and clarity as the original content and are written in the same tones. Feel free to ask for any clarifications or context if needed."
3. Generate ideas for a new dish or cocktail
Sometimes it can be hard to come up with new dishes to beat the competition. Rather than scrolling recipe websites for inspiration, ChatGPT can help with that! Give it prompts including key ingredients or cuisines and see what creative dishes it can design for you.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our Restaurant mission and values are <insert short description> and target audience is <insert short description>.
This is an example of our previous dish <insert>.
Bearing that in mind, please create 5 modern <Thai> dishes using <prawns> and <coriander> that can be cooked in a wood-fired oven."
4. Create dish names
Revamping dish names can be to attract a new prospective customer or a marketing strategy to sell more of the high-profit items. Creative and unique dish names can be visually appealing and add to the overall customer experience. However, having a unique dish name to stand out as a menu item can be a challenge.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our Restaurant mission and values are <insert short description> and we want to attract the following target audience <insert short description>.
This is an example of our previous dish names. Our tone is humorous and enthusiastic, we love puns!
Bearing all of that in mind, please give me ideas for an exciting dish name for the following:
<insert dish>
Please keep them under 5 words"
5. Ideas for menu descriptions
Beyond listing ingredients, a menu description should really entice and encourage customers to order. When analysing menu design, we found that most customers will look at a menu before even deciding to dine at a venue.
Not only that, search engines can read your online content and pick out relevant keywords so it understands how to display you in a search. If your menu descriptions are published on your website with keywords people are searching for, you will display higher in a search and attract more potential customers.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description> and we want to target customers such as <insert description>.
Our tone of voice is pensive and enthusiastic, we create a homely atmosphere in our restaurant.
Here is an example of our descriptions <insert>.
Please match our restaurant values and tone to create a unique and descriptive summary of this dish in no more than 25 words:
<insert dish ingredients, how it is made and any other relevant information>.
6. Ask it for unique marketing ideas
ChatGPT takes in new information from every single chat. Therefore, it has the ability to draw upon thousands of ideas and create unique responses. Without AI, this could take hours of market research and brainstorming.
A restaurant marketing campaign should always be revisited to keep up with new trends and customer expectations. Regularly ask chatGPT for ideas which could include an upcoming event, promotions, social media posts or a relevant blog post to name a few.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description>. Our values are <insert>. Overall, we want to target customers such as <insert description>.
Previous successful marketing campaigns have included <insert>.
We have the following goals for this year:
<Insert goals>
Please give me 10 unique marketing ideas to achieve these goals in <year>."
7. Creative social media posts
Social media marketing is one of the fastest ways a restaurant can increase brand awareness and new customers. However, sometimes social media management can be a full-time job with many pain points. ChatGPT prompts for social media posts can help with:
- Creative post descriptions
- Unique ideas
- Relevant hashtags
- Replying to customers
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description> and our tone of voice online is <insert>.
Here is an example of our previous post descriptions.
Take all of this information and enhance our post description for the following video:
<video description>
Please write a maximum of 30 words and include 5 relevant hashtags."
8. Optimise email subject lines
Email marketing is a great way for restaurants to get email subscribers, engage with customers and encourage them to return. The most challenging element is getting the reader to click into the email with a captivating email subject line. Let ChatGPT summarise your email and give you awesome ideas to engage your potential customers.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description> and our tone of voice online is <insert>.
We need a captivating email subject line for the following email:
<Insert email>
The goals of this email marketing campaign are:
<insert goals>
Bearing all of this in mind, please give 10 email subject lines ideas to ensure our readers want to click and read. Please keep them to a maximum of 5 words"
9. Generate a blog post outline
It is not the best practice to 100% use AI content for an online blog post as it can be checked for originality and authenticity. However, ChatGPT is a great tool to help with blog post ideation, summarising an introduction and writing killer titles and meta descriptions. A restaurant may include blog posts to attract website visitors and ultimately, turn them into diners.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description> and our tone of voice online is <insert>.
We would like to write a blog post on <why restaurants should have partnerships with local farmers>.
The goal of the content is to highlight our work with <x farm>, and the quality of our food and ultimately attract more diners with this value.
This is an example of our previous content <insert>.
Please match this tone, give me the top headings I should talk about and include a 100-word description underneath."
10. Create a promotional Linkedin post
A restaurant promotional Linkedin post can highlight the venue as an industry leader, build brand trust and attract journalists to mention the location in articles. Any new staff announcements, changes to business operations or initiatives can be written with the help of ChatGPT.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description> and our tone of voice online is <insert>.
We would like to write a Linkedin post <to announce our new head chef>. Their experience matches our values <insert> and their aims for the business are <insert>.
Please write an engaging Linkedin post in 500 words to convey the expertise of the chef, our excitement and why diners will have a better experience."
How can ChatGPT be used to improve employee training and performance in restaurants?
Beyond marketing ChatGPT prompts, a restaurant can also utilise AI tools to save time on training and enhance their results. Creating and maintaining training material whilst also managing the day-to-day of a restaurant can present multiple pain points. However, getting your training processes right can lead to effective teamwork and excellent customer service. Restaurant owners can use ChatGPT as a personal assistant to help formulate their requirements into effective material.
1. Create training material
Training material needs to have an intuitive flow and provide detailed step-by-step explanations to simplify complex responsibilities. ChatGPT can assist in compiling the relevant information you need for food preparation techniques, safety protocols, POS systems etc. By using the chat, a restaurant can ensure their material is organised in a coherent and straightforward manner.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description> and our mission is <insert>.
The aim of our training manual is to have everyone understand their role in achieving our mission through every restaurant task.
Please provide a list and explanation of what I should include in the training manual and how to simplify these into straightforward step-by-step plans."
2. Employee handbooks
Writing simplified instructions on employee code of conduct, dress code, policies and regulations can be tedious. ChatGPT can be prompted to provide detailed and clear descriptions for restaurants to edit for their specific business.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"Our restaurant is <insert description> and our mission is <insert>.
Please provide a detailed employee handbook with the essential topics I need to cover. Include clear and simplified step-by-step instructions a restaurant employee may need to understand the policies."
3. Performance reviews
Formulating performance reviews to give clear and constructive feedback is key to motivating employees. ChatGPT can compile all of your feedback from customer reviews, colleagues and manages to provide comprehensive overviews of strengths, weaknesses and action points.
ChapGPT Prompt example
"This employee received the following customer reviews:
<insert customer reviews from their shifts>
Their colleagues have informed me of the following:
<insert any colleague comments>
I would like them to improve in the following areas going forward:
<Insert tasks>
Please provide a detailed and effective performance review, summarising all this feedback into an overview and detailed goals."
Helping Restaurants Beyond AI Tools
Automation can help a restaurant succeed in a digital age and help streamline processes. Integrate restaurant reservation management software to aid you in managing your time more effectively.
Watch our exclusive on-demand webinar, where we delve into the cutting-edge technology trends that will shape the future of the hospitality industry in 2024.
