And They Will Come: Picking and Choosing Media Advertising for Your Success

The term "build it and they will come" certainly applies to the media advertising sales representatives. They are the eager folks who want to sell you space in their magazines, time on their radio programs, ads in their newspapers, bigger-than-your-competition telephone book display ads, opportunities in billboards, directories, card packs, and advertising circulars.

When you open a restaurant, media advertising is perhaps the most critical component of your marketing mix, which can also include direct mailing, store signage, and sponsoring events (such as offering free catering of a chamber of commerce social). In fact, for a new business, you will likely be spending more money on advertising in the startup phase than when your restaurant is several years old.

As a rule of thumb, you could expect to spend 3% to 6% of annual gross sales on marketing. That means if you anticipate $500,000 in sales your first year, you should plan to spend $15,000 to $30,000 on marketing efforts. The better part of your marketing budget can easily be spent on media advertising; you want to make sure that you're getting as much proverbial "bang for your buck."