Does offline marketing work for restaurants?
Yes, it works. We have not published a Carto case with a restaurant yet, but we do have data from similar campaigns: between 3.3% and 4.8% response with hand to hand flyers, and 4.1% with door drops.
Those are the numbers we use as a reference until the first restaurant case is ready. Every campaign tracks the distributor GPS route, keeps photo proof of every block, and adds a QR code so you know who responded and from which zone.
By Selvin Raj, founder of Carto. Published .
Why there is no restaurant case yet
Carto has run campaigns for gyms, festivals, museums and other local businesses. We have not closed a restaurant campaign we can publish as a case study yet. Instead of inventing a number, we use real data from similar sectors, businesses that also depend on nearby customers, within a short radius, with a clear offer.
How to run a good campaign for your restaurant
These are the rules that work in hand to hand distribution and door drops, and they apply to a restaurant too.
Door drop the neighbourhood
Deliver to the mailboxes on streets five to ten minutes walk from your door. That is your real customer.
Peak hours
Lunch and dinner, near the restaurant, on the street or by the door. That is when people decide where to eat.
Offer with a code
A discount, a free dish, or a coupon with a deadline. The code tells you who came because of the flyer.
Measure by zone
Compare which streets and which shift bring more customers. Repeat what works and stop where it does not.
What we already know from hand to hand and door drops
In hand to hand distribution we measure between 3.3% and 4.8% response in event and leisure campaigns. In door drops we measure 4.1% response for a gym in Barcelona. It is not restaurant data yet, but it is the best starting point we have today. Every restaurant campaign we run will add to this list.
The minimum and the cost per customer
The minimum order is 25,000 mailboxes for door drops and 10,000 flyers for hand to hand distribution. We do not publish client campaign prices on this page, because every neighbourhood and every volume changes the number. Work out your estimated cost per customer in the simulator.
Frequently asked questions about offline marketing for restaurants
Do door drops work for a restaurant?
Yes. A door drop reaches nearby homes and sits on the kitchen table or the fridge, so people look at it later. A gym in Barcelona measured 4.1% response with a door drop, and a restaurant with a clear offer can expect a similar result.
Hand to hand or door drop for a restaurant?
Both, if you can. Hand to hand works best at lunch and dinner hours, near the restaurant, when people are already deciding where to eat. Door drops cover the whole neighbourhood and reach people who did not walk past that day.
How much does an offline marketing campaign for a restaurant cost?
We do not publish client campaign prices on this page, because cost depends on the neighbourhood, the volume and the method. The minimum order is 25,000 mailboxes for door drops and 10,000 flyers for hand to hand. Work out your estimated cost per customer in the simulator.
How do I know if the campaign worked?
Every flyer carries a QR code and every distributor carries GPS. You see how many responses came in, on which street, and at what time of day. That data tells you which zones bring real customers, so you repeat only what works.
Further reading: case studies · door drop distribution in Barcelona · flyer distribution in Barcelona
Ready to try offline marketing for your restaurant?
Work out your cost per customer in the simulator, from 10,000 hand to hand flyers or 25,000 mailboxes. We reply on WhatsApp right away.