Call to Action (CTA) Examples for Restaurants and Venues

Calls to action (CTAs) are an important tool you need to use in your restaurant or venue’s digital marketing strategy. If you are already using CTAs in your marketing, you know that it’s important. They help you build success for your restaurant, events business, and catering business. If you want to get the most out of CTAs, we can help you. We’ll show you how to write clear and engaging CTAs to make the most out of your marketing efforts.

What Is a Call to Action?

A call to action (CTA) is a specific prompt you put in front of your audience that clearly directs action. It guides your audience along a journey from discovering you, to becoming a customer, and finally to the ultimate advocate for your brand.

What Does a Call to Action Look Like?

First, we’ll cover the basics of CTAs. Often, they are button images or text hyperlinks. They usually are brief and include an action-oriented word. These buttons or links are placed within your website, advertisements, emails, and other online content. Common CTAs you might see include “Read More,” “Sign Up,” and “Order Now.” 

When your audience clicks on a CTA, they are brought to your webpage or landing page where they can take further action. This landing page can simply provide more information on your restaurant or venue, or it can request information from the audience, such as an email address. A successful CTA will move your audience further along towards becoming your consumer.

Why Is a Call to Action Important?

Using CTAs will help you improve your entire digital marketing strategy and improve your bottom line. By guiding your audience to engage with your restaurant and venue’s brand, you’ll gain additional new leads and your existing customer base will become larger and more loyal. As you convert interested people into customers, and customers into repeat customers and influencers, you ultimately grow your events and restaurant business.

An additional benefit of using specific CTAs for marketing outreach is that you will be able to track successes. As you learn which CTAs are effective in bringing in business, you can implement these CTAs and placements more. 

Where Can I Use CTAs for My Restaurant or Venue? Understanding the Funnel

When you think about where to place CTAs and which ones to use, consider your sales funnel (also known as your pipeline). Your sales funnel is simply a way of understanding all of your in-process sales and the stages that your potential customers and customers are at. CTAs allow you to move potential audiences through your funnel to ultimately convert to loyal customers and brand advocates. 

An aware and interested person starts at the top of the funnel. Then, they move down to become an interested lead. This is when your personalization should increase. Finally, you close a sale and gain a loyal customer, at the bottom of your funnel. Continue to engage with these brand advocates to increase repeat business and to have them help you develop new leads.

Image courtesy of HubSpot

Awareness Stage CTAs = Top of Funnel

First, make people aware of your amazing restaurant and venue! To gain leads for new customers at your establishment, you will need to locate and leverage targeted audiences. Lead generation is the process of attracting new potential customers.

There are many ways to generate new leads via CTAs by placing them on your website, ads, blogs, social media (Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok), online listings, email messages, and review sites. Consider places online to place CTAs that your target audience is found.

QR codes can be used for an in-person CTA at your restaurant, venue, etc. Use these directives to entice potential customers and event guests for promotions, contests, valuable content, and email subscriptions.

You can use Facebook’s CTA “Contact Us” button.

Consideration Stage CTAs = Middle of Funnel

Once you have captured email addresses by using CTAs, you have more qualified leads. These are the people that are considering your restaurant or venue. You are now in the process of lead nurturing or building a more personal relationship with these potential customers over time.

Send them no-pressure, helpful information. Use engaging CTAs to have them interact with your brand via promo pages, menus, image galleries, blog posts, recipes and demonstrations, short-form video tours, and more.

Decision Stage CTAs/Closing the Sale = Bottom of Funnel

Lastly, after someone becomes a customer, you want to leverage this success and continue to build brand loyalty. Keep in mind that you still want your CTAs to remain under no pressure.

Through these CTAs, you can conduct satisfaction surveys, re-engage for repeat business, enroll in loyalty programs, and encourage social media sharing of your business. Were you aware that customers who have already visited your business are even more likely to respond to marketing messages and CTAs? 

What Makes a Good Call to Action for Restaurants & Venues?

Finally, here is a reference for creating CTAs that work for your business. 

1. Give your audience a high value that is low risk and has no pressure. Provide clear and direct instructions and make sure these are visually appealing. 
2. Consider where you are placing your CTAs. General CTAs are better used within your emails. On your website, it’s best to be as clear as possible where you are directing your audience.
3. Create unique landing pages to help keep track of your CTAs. You can learn a lot from the CTAs your audience is clicking on.

CTAs you need to use General CTAs

• Discover [How/Why]
• Explore [Topic/Videos/Photos]
• Learn [About/How]
• Read [More/About]
• See [Menus/Seating/Features/Specials/Photos]
• Tour [Topic/Videos]
• Watch [Topic/Videos]
• Why [Restaurant’s Name]

Communication CTAs

• Call Now
• Contact [Restaurant/Person/Role]
• Ask About [Private Parties/Events/Catering]
• Email [Restaurant/Person/Role]
• Join [Community/Newsletter]
• Subscribe to Our Newsletter
• Sign [Me Up/Up]
• Join [Program’s Name]
• Enroll Now
• Send Me [Updates/Promos/Discounts]
• Register Now

Purchase CTAs

• [Buy/Purchase] Gift Card
• [Buy/Purchase] Merchandise
• Shop [Now/Online/Restaurant’s Name]
• Order [Lunch/Dinner/Takeout/Catering]
• Order [Now]
• Place Order
• Book [Private Party/Event]

Location CTAs

• Find Closest Location
• Look for a Location
• Locate My [Restaurant’s Name]
• Get [Directions/Map]
• [See/View] Locations

Reservation and Booking CTAs

• Book [Now/Online/Table]
• Book [Private Party/Event]
• Find a Table
• Reserve [Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner]
• Reserve a Table [Now]

Do You Have a Preferred Call to Action That You’d Like to Try for Your Restaurant or Venue?

Your Tripleseat lead form link is the most powerful tool you can use to drive event bookings, catering orders, or interest in your restaurant or venue. If you are asking customers to book with you, always include your lead form link. It’s the fastest, easiest way for customers to make an inquiry.

Tripleseat’s lead form captures all details for the event a prospective client is inquiring to host with your venue. It filters these leads into your Tripleseat dashboard, where you can reply to them in just a few steps. 

Get the Right Software in Place to Leverage CTAs, Drive Booking Leads, & Increase Revenue

Here at Tripleseat, we are industry leaders and want to help you succeed! If you’re not a Tripleseat customer and you’re interested in learning more about Tripleseat’s event management tools and CRM features, schedule a demo at your convenience to take a closer look.

Heather Apse

Heather is a Content Specialist at Tripleseat. Connect with Heather on LinkedIn.