Why Thorough Discovery is Your Pricing Foundation

Many restaurant social media marketing agencies default to standard packages or hourly rates. While seemingly simple, this often fails to account for the vast differences between restaurants – a single-location cafe has vastly different needs than a multi-unit fine-dining chain.

Asking targeted discovery questions restaurant social media marketing prospects helps you:

• Understand the True Scope: Avoid assumptions about their challenges and resources.
• Identify Value Drivers: Pinpoint what success looks like to them, which is essential for value-based pricing.
• Uncover Potential Upsells/Add-ons: Discover needs they may not have articulated.
• Assess Fit: Determine if they are an ideal client for your agency.
• Justify Your Pricing: Clearly tie your services and costs back to their specific situation and desired outcomes.

Skipping this step is the fastest way to price yourself out of profit or take on nightmare clients.

Core Discovery Questions About the Restaurant Itself

Start by understanding the fundamental business you’ll be supporting. These questions provide essential context for tailoring your strategy and pricing.

• What is the name and exact location(s) of the restaurant?
• What type of cuisine or dining experience do you offer? (e.g., Fast Casual, Fine Dining, Pub, Bakery, Food Truck)
• How long have you been in business?
• What is your typical customer demographic? (Age, interests, lifestyle, when do they visit?)
• What are your business hours, including peak times?
• Do you have multiple locations? If so, how many, and what are their specific needs (are they all the same)?
• What are your primary business objectives right now? (e.g., Increase dine-in traffic, boost online orders, improve brand perception, launch a new menu item, hire staff)

Assessing Their Current Social Media Status

To build a path forward, you need to know where they are starting from. Dive into their existing online presence.

• Which social media platforms are you currently active on (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Google Business Profile, etc.)?
• How frequently are you currently posting on each platform?
• Who is currently managing your social media efforts?
• What types of content are you typically posting (photos, videos, Stories, Reels, text updates)?
• What kind of engagement are you seeing (likes, comments, shares, messages)?
• Have you ever run paid social media advertising before? If yes, what were the goals, budget, and results?
• Do you have brand guidelines, existing content libraries (photos/videos), or style preferences?
• How do you currently handle customer messages and comments on social media?

Understanding Their Goals and Measuring Success

This is where you connect your services to their desired outcomes. Your pricing should ultimately reflect the value you provide in achieving these goals. This aligns with value-based pricing principles.

• What are your specific, measurable goals for social media marketing over the next 6-12 months? (Be specific: “Increase online orders by 15%”, “Generate 50 reservation inquiries per month via Instagram”, “Increase followers by 10% per quarter”)
• How do you currently measure success for your marketing efforts?
• What Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are most important to you? (e.g., Foot traffic, online order volume, reservation numbers, engagement rate, website clicks, brand mentions)
• What challenges have you faced with social media in the past?
• What would achieving these goals mean for your business (e.g., Increased revenue, ability to expand, better staffing)? Understanding the business impact helps quantify the value.

Budget and Resource Questions

Discussing budget early helps manage expectations and determine the scope that’s feasible. It’s often best to ask for a range.

• Do you have a dedicated marketing budget, and if so, what range are you considering for social media marketing services?
• Are there any internal resources available to support social media (e.g., someone to take photos, someone to approve content)?
• Do you use any specific marketing or restaurant management software we would need to integrate with or understand (e.g., a specific POS system, online ordering platform, reservation system)?
• Are there specific busy periods or seasons you need to focus marketing efforts on?
• What is your timeline for hiring a social media marketing agency?

Practical & Logistics Discovery Questions

Don’t forget the operational details that can impact workflow and deliverables.

• Who will be our main point of contact?
• What is the process for content approval, and what is the typical turnaround time for feedback?
• How will we gain access to necessary platforms (social media accounts, photo libraries, etc.)?
• How often will you require reporting, and what metrics do you want to see?
• Do you have professional photos and videos available, or will content creation be part of the scope?
• How do you handle special promotions, daily specials, or last-minute changes to the menu/hours that need social media updates?

Connecting Discovery to Your Pricing Strategy

The answers to your discovery questions restaurant social media marketing calls reveal should directly inform your pricing model. Instead of a generic package, you can now propose a solution tailored to their specific needs, increasing perceived value and your potential revenue.

For example:

• A restaurant needing heavy content creation (photos/videos) requires a higher price than one providing assets.
• A client focused on online orders needs a strategy and tracking integration (potentially higher value) compared to one focused solely on basic brand awareness.
• A multi-location business requires a more complex strategy and execution, justifying a higher retainer.

Based on discovery, you can structure your pricing using:

• Tiered Packages: Offer ‘Basic’, ‘Growth’, ‘Premium’ tiers with varying levels of service based on the client’s goals and budget range.
• Project-Based Pricing: For specific campaigns (e.g., new menu launch, holiday push).
• Retainer Models: The most common for ongoing management, priced based on the scope of work determined during discovery.
• Add-ons: Offer optional services like paid ad management, influencer outreach, menu photography, or email marketing integration discovered during the call.

Presenting these options clearly is key. Moving beyond static PDF quotes or spreadsheets can significantly improve the client experience and your closing rate. This is where a tool like PricingLink (https://pricinglink.com) can be particularly useful. It allows you to create interactive, configurable pricing links that clients can explore, selecting options (like different service tiers or add-ons) and seeing the price update in real-time. This modernizes the quoting process and helps qualify leads.

While PricingLink is focused purely on the pricing presentation piece, doing that one thing very well, you might need other tools for the rest of your sales process. For comprehensive proposal software that includes e-signatures and contract features, consider options like PandaDoc (https://www.pandadoc.com) or Proposify (https://www.proposify.com). However, if your primary need is a dynamic, client-friendly way to present flexible pricing captured by your thorough discovery, PricingLink offers a powerful and affordable solution.