How To Promote Your Food Truck & Get More Customers Without Spending A Penny

If you own a food truck, you know it's essential to get your mouth-watering food out there.

And although spending money on marketing is critical, there are free ways to market your food truck that doesn't involve cash.

Check out these easy tips for promoting your food truck for free!

Make Phone Calls

When you have a food truck, you can be out in public and interact with customers.
You must put yourself out there and let people know your business exists.

When you know the locations of your food truck on a specific day, *call local businesses like hotels, big offices, and other places in the area. Let them know your food truck will be in the area that day. Offer to provide a table-top poster for a counter that they can place in the office or business that day to let people know your food truck is nearby.

This serves two purposes:

It gets you noticed by people who might otherwise not see you, a
It allows them to interact with you and get more information about your food truck's schedule.

Spending time networking and interacting with other businesses in the area is a great way to create positive word-of-mouth to attract customers.

Give Out A Freebie on Next Order

When someone eats at your food truck, please give them a business card with a free side on their next order. This will incentivize customers to find your food truck and eat there again. It is a free way to earn repeat customers and grow your customer base for your food truck.

The best way to get people back is by giving them a deal they can't refuse. The best way to do this is by giving them a free side when they buy something else from you. This will help increase sales because it offers customers an incentive to come back again and again.

If you offer good food deals, people will want more than one meal from you each time they visit the food truck. This is how you grow your customer base and increase sales simultaneously.

There's a good chance they will bring a friend or family member with them the next time they come. Thus, you will keep organically expanding your customer base just by giving away a free side or drink with a meal purchase.

Create A Loyalty Program

Building a loyalty program can be a great way to attract repeat customers. It's also an excellent tool for building brand awareness.

Loyalty programs can help you find new customers and keep them coming back. If you're considering creating one for your food truck or restaurant, here are some tips:

Find out what works for your customers
Before designing any loyalty program, knowing what will make people want to participate is essential. Consider these questions:

What do people want from your business?
What would make them stay longer?
What would make them come back more often?

Know the goals of the program
A loyalty program is not just about getting people through the door — it's about making sure they'll come back again and again. The more times someone returns to your business, the more money they will spend each visit. Knowing how many visits each customer makes can help determine how many points are needed before earning something special from you. For example, suppose someone typically comes into your restaurant thrice a week and spends $20 each time (leaving a 20 percent tip). In that case, they might require 50 points or more to earn a free appetizer or dessert.

Don't Overthink It, Simple Loyalty Programs Work.

You may be a small business, but you can still offer your customers some of the best loyalty programs.

Create a loyalty program for your food truck. This can be as easy as using a punch card. Every time someone eats at your food truck, they get a punch. They earn a free meal when they have eaten with you ten times!

Offer discounts to regular customers who are part of your loyalty program too. On certain days of the week (your slow days), offer a 10% discount to loyal customers. For instance, perhaps every Monday loyalty program, customers get 10% off their orders. This will encourage them to come back and tell their friends about the deal too!

Update Your Google Business Profile

Suppose your food truck is on the road. In that case, updating your Google Business Profile with current information is essential.

Here's how to do that:

Log into your Google Business Profile account.
Click "Edit" next to your business name.
Add photos of your food truck and menu items.
Update the hours of operation for each day of the week and any special events or promotions you might be running.
Update the location of where you're parked or traveling around town so customers can find you quickly and easily!

Create a Simple Website and Keep It Updated

You've got an excellent recipe for success, and now you need a website to sell it. Creating one for your food truck can seem daunting if you've never built a website before. But it doesn't have to be. If you have basic computer skills, you can create your website with just a few simple steps using Mighty Sites.

For example, a Mexican food truck could try our Simple Mexican Food Truck Website Template to create a website in just a few clicks.

The first step is to create a simple website for your food truck and keep it updated with information about your menu, deals, and where to find you. This makes it easy for potential customers to find you and will help attract new customers to your food truck.

If you already have a website, then be sure to keep it up to date! If your website is challenging to update or doesn't look very professional, try the simple food truck website builder available through Mighty Sites.

It's only $9/month!

Create A Memorable Name

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "food truck"? The answer may be: "I love food trucks!" or "I want to eat at a food truck."

A memorable name and brand are integral to attracting customers and getting them to return to your business. Here are some tips on how to come up with a perfect name for your food truck:

Make it easy to say. If customers have trouble pronouncing it, they'll have trouble remembering it, too.
Be unique and stand out from the crowd. You don't want someone else coming up with the same name as yours!
Make it catchy and fun! There are many ways to do this — try adding adjectives or nouns that describe what you do, such as "The Cheesy Grilled Cheese Truck" or "The Meatball Sub Truck."
A problematic name will make it hard for people to remember and find your truck. But, a catchy business name will have the opposite impact!

Stay Active on Instagram

You can use Instagram to create a buzz about your food truck, build brand awareness and drive more customers to your location.

Here's how:

Post photos of your food truck and the food you sell. This will help keep your business top of mind and encourage customers to return to your food truck again and again.
Share photos of people eating at your food truck. Anytime someone posts a picture of themselves enjoying your menu items, make sure that you tag them in the post. Hence, they see it and know that you appreciate their business.
Ask people to share their favorite pictures of your food truck on Instagram using the hashtag #favoritephotoforfoodtrucks. This will create an open conversation about what people like about your menu items, which helps other people decide where they want to eat next time they're hungry.

Find Strategic Partners & Locations

If you're considering starting a food truck business, there are many things to consider. You need to find a great location and build your truck, and you also have to find customers. This can be the most challenging part of starting your own food truck business.

Here are some tips for finding customers:

Find strategic partners who will refer people to your food truck. This can include local businesses, community centers, and bars. Cross-promote their business, too, and you will be attracting more customers for free just by getting the word out.
Look for events where people gather in one place, and food is served. Festivals, concerts, sporting events, and fairs are great places to find hungry customers looking for something new and exciting!
Try selling at local farmer's markets or outdoor markets on weekends so people can buy fresh produce and their meals from you!

Conclusion

Always remember that your potential customers don't know you. So it would be best if you promoted your food truck in a way so you can make them want to try your food over the competition.

There are dozens of ways to get more customers for your food truck, and not a single one will cost you a cent.

Food trucks aren't going anywhere. The next generation of street eats is here to stay. If you're in the food industry and want to venture into this new experience, it's a smart bet to take, but you need to be sure you have a plan to get the word out!