How much time should a food truck owner spend each day on marketing and sales building activities for their food truck business? Some will say 50 percent; the problem is that most food truck owners just don’t have the time to meet this number.

Food truck marketing is not about handing out coupons. It is about ensuring the continued patronage and loyalty of your guests — bringing them to your truck and keeping them happy, and turning them into word-of-mouth ambassadors. This is the essence of marketing. Nearly everything you do on a daily basis should revolve around this purpose.

Beginning with a new mindset. Create a daily marketing discipline. Incorporate some of the following activities, and you’ll begin to see results.

Marketing programs

A portion of the daily marketing discipline should be dedicated to guest frequency programs — the easiest and most cost-effective marketing. Visit one or two businesses in your market and introduce yourself, deliver a menu, and invite them to visit your truck when you are in the area. A simple marketing program like this is almost always guaranteed to boost sales and customer loyalty.

Community relations

When it comes to promoting your business, the most effective external marketing happens in your area. Look for ways to be involved in local activities or grassroots organizations and get some press in the local media. This will help create brand awareness and keep your food truck top-of-mind.

Keep track of your marketing

Keep a journal or log of each day’s marketing activities. Look back at the end of each month and analyze the time you spent. Did you dedicate 50% of your time? Did it make an impact on sales? Not only will this help to validate your efforts, but you’ll have a record of which marketing programs have been most and least successful for you. We’ve created a simple marketing log that you can print, three-hole punch, and start using today.

The hardest part of starting a marketing discipline such as this is just getting started. But we guarantee that if you make it a priority, you will see results within 30 days.