Money · straight answers
What restaurant marketing actually costs in Punjab.
Five agencies will give you five numbers, four of them vague. Here’s the honest map — every route, its real price, and the questions that expose a bad deal in two minutes.
By Aditya Vashistha, Performance & Search · 7 min read · more notes
Ask five agencies what restaurant marketing costs and you’ll get five numbers, four of them vague. Here’s the honest map — what each route actually costs in Punjab, what’s hiding inside the quotes, and the questions that expose a bad deal in two minutes. Our own prices are on the page like everyone’s should be; we’ll use them as reference points, not as the answer.
Doing it yourself — ₹0, plus the hours
Real cost: 8–15 hours a week of an owner’s time, spent at 11pm. It works while you have the energy, and dies the first busy season. If you go this route, spend money on exactly one thing — decent photos — and steal the 21-point checklist to aim your hours. The $29 Kit exists for the page itself.
A freelancer — ₹8,000–20,000 a month
Fine for one channel done steadily, usually posting. What it can’t give you: ads, SEO, a website and content that agree with each other — and cover when they’re ill, travelling, or gone. Ask who owns the accounts before you start; with freelancers it’s usually right, with cheap “agencies” it usually isn’t.
An agency — ₹25,000 to ₹1,00,000+ a month
The honest range for the full engine: social, content, ads and search from one team. Under ₹25,000, someone is cutting corners you can’t see yet — stock photos, junior handoffs, or your ad budget quietly padding their fee. For reference, our plans run ₹25,000 / ₹55,000 / ₹95,000, month-to-month.
The number nobody quotes: your ad budget
Whatever route you pick, ads cost extra — the budget goes to Google and Meta, not to the person running them. A sensible start for a single restaurant in Punjab is ₹15,000–30,000 a month. The trap to check: many agencies take a hidden 10–30% markup on that spend. Ask, in writing. (Ours is 0%, ever — the budget leaves your own ad account, so you can see it.)
The five questions that expose a bad deal
1. Who owns the accounts and files if we part ways? 2. Is there a lock-in? 3. Do you mark up ad spend? 4. Who actually does the work — the person pitching, or juniors? 5. What exactly is in this month’s report? Any flinching on the first three, walk. These questions are why our terms are written the way they are.
So what should you spend?
A working rule for a healthy restaurant: 3–6% of revenue on marketing, all-in. A place doing ₹8–10 lakh a month sensibly spends ₹30,000–50,000 total — fee plus ad budget. Below that, buy one thing done properly rather than everything done thinly: good photos and a working Google profile beat a thin version of everything.
Not sure which route you are? That’s literally what the free teardown is for — a founder tells you the three highest-leverage fixes, and if DIY is the honest answer for now, we say so.
Quick answers
Asked most often.
What does restaurant marketing cost in Punjab per month?
DIY costs your hours; a freelancer runs ₹8,000–20,000; a full agency engine runs ₹25,000–1,00,000+. Ad budget is separate — plan ₹15,000–30,000 to start, paid straight to the platforms.
Is a cheap agency (under ₹25,000) ever worth it?
Only if you know exactly which corner is being cut and you’re fine with it. Usually it’s stock content, junior handoffs, or a hidden markup on your ad spend — ask all three questions in writing.
What percentage of revenue should a restaurant spend on marketing?
3–6% all-in is the healthy band. New openings often run higher for the first two quarters; established places with strong word-of-mouth can run lower.
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