Restaurant owners ask Henry Kaminski Jr. one question all the time: How much should I spend on marketing? The problem is that starting with the budget can put the entire conversation backward. In Episode 82 of the Brand To Table Podcast, Henry explains why the better starting point is identifying the specific gap between where the restaurant is today and where ownership wants it to be. If a restaurant wants an additional $10,000 in monthly sales, for example, the next question becomes where that revenue is realistically going to come from. More dinner guests? Catering? Private events? Another location? Once the opportunity is clear, ownership and marketing can work backward into the effort, resources, timeline, and budget required to pursue it. Henry also shares the planning ranges he uses when discussing restaurant marketing budgets. For an established restaurant, he may begin by looking at approximately 3%–5% of net sales for the total ongoing marketing investment, with 5%–8% potentially making sense during a more aggressive growth period — provided the restaurant's margins, cash flow, staffing, and capacity can support the additional business. But money alone doesn't create results. Successful restaurant marketing also requires access to information, timely decisions, operational follow-through, people responding to leads, accurate promotion details, content creation, and management involvement. The episode also explores how restaurants can better measure whether marketing is actually producing business. Rather than stopping at followers, impressions, likes, or email open rates, Henry discusses using tools such as Toast and OpenTable to better understand campaign-attributed sales, reservations, guest visits, party sizes, and spending. Just as importantly, generating $10,000 in new sales doesn't mean the restaurant made $10,000. Food, labor, transaction fees, discounts, additional staffing, and marketing expenses all need to be considered when determining whether the additional business made financial sense. And sometimes the best answer isn't spending more. Henry shares why he'll sometimes advise an owner to use existing resources more effectively before adding another agency or another monthly expense. The episode ends with one practical challenge: sit down with your manager or marketing person and establish one measurable goal for the next 90 days. Define where you are today, where you want to be, what you're prepared to invest, and exactly what result you'll evaluate. That creates a much better marketing conversation than simply asking whether an agency fee “feels expensive.” CONTACT & RESOURCES: Email: hk@brandtotable.com Website: www.brandtotable.com FOLLOW HENRY ON SOCIAL MEDIA: Instagram: instagram.com/h.kaminskijr Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@BrandToTable Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HenryKaminskiJr/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/henry-kaminski-jr/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@henrykaminskijr 📢 If you got value from this episode, subscribe to the channel, leave a comment or review, and share it with someone in hospitality who needs a smarter way to grow. 💥
