There is something exciting about food trucks, somehow food tastes better when it is handed down to you through a window. Maybe it is the anticipation from waiting in line, or maybe it is eating specialty foods in the open air, but everyone seems to love a food truck. However, food trucks have one real disadvantage. It is hard to get the word out, and people won’t go looking for you unless they know exactly where you will be. For this reason, food trucks need a great reputation, and they also need to have a good marketing plan. Running a successful food truck business means accessing all types of marketing and creating an exciting image.
- Digital Marketing: Fortunately for the food truck industry, it is not necessary to do physical marketing, except while you are serving guests. The internet has levelled the playing field, and now you can go toe to toe with any size competitor. Especially if you have a well-constructed digital marketing campaign. Hiring a professional digital marketing firm can not only get you a great website, but they will be able to start you up with a Google Ads advertising strategy, that will maximize returns in your favour on search engines and through Pay Per Click advertising. The longer you run your campaign the better and better your results will be until you have your customer base well informed about your chili, and where you will be at 2 PM Tuesday.
- Know Your Image: Just like any type of marketing, you need to develop your brand, but this is more than just a clever graphics package on your truck and a name. Your image comes into play at every level of customer interaction. Your uniforms, your packaging, your menu board, and your personality. If you got the best Texas chili in Brisbane, then your truck has got to say Texas, and heat, and longhorns and ten-gallon hats. And that imagery must make its way into every part of the business.
- Digital Reviews: Assuming that your Texas Chili really is the best anyone ever had, you are going to start generating reviews. But if you want to cash in on those reviews, you want something to tantalize your potential clients. An absolute must in this age, is to get the best quality food photography you can afford. And the next step is to get that sexy stuff all over your website and on Instagram and Facebook. Yelp is another place that is going to generate a lot of traffic, but you have to make sure you setup an account, and once again you need to have the eye candy and the testimonials too.
The food truck business can be tough to get rolling (pun intended) but if you have a master plan and you are consistent with your image and quality, there should be no reason why you can’t get yourself a following and find your crowds lining up before you even arrive. Most likely you entered the business because you had a unique approach and a great recipe. This is the sort of thing the internet loves, but you must be consistent, and you need to use all the advantages of the new media.
