There are an unlimited number of ways to market your business. Thinking out of the box has enebale many small delivery services with limited budgets to become very successfull. We are in a service business, and the best marketing tool you have is your reputation. By providing quality service as a reasonable price. you will retain yoru customers -- and repeat customers are vitally necessary.
We have found some marketing methods work better than others, although what works in one market may not work that well in another.
By far the most effective advertsing method we have seen in twenty years is the printed menu guide. Print up 25,000 to 50,000 and mail them out to your customer base. That's it. But it is also one of the most expensive forms of advertsing that is used in our industry.
In today's on-line world, it is very important that you are visible. Proper search engine optimization will help your website appear at or near the top of the list when people search for meal delivery in your town. There are a lot of business out there that specialize in helping you get proper optimization, and their costs vary widly. Keep in mind that no service can guarantee you top placement in the search rankings.
Having literature available at the restaurants for customers to pick up is very helpful as well.
Email campaigns are a very inexpensive, but effective way to market to your existing customers. Most email services require that your customers opt-in for receiving emails. Sending mass-emails to people who have not requested to be on your list is spamming, and can be counter-productive, if not illegal. Two email services that we recommend are Constant Contact and Mail Chimp.