How to create a restaurant promotion strategy based on clear marketing objectives
Not every customer you have will be the same or want the same things. Customers have different reasons for choosing and sticking to a restaurant.
For some it’s the food, for others the prices, quality of the service, atmosphere, online ordering, and so on.
When brainstorming restaurant strategies to attract customers, you need to come up with the right promotions for the right audience and for what you’re trying to achieve.
Below, we present a number of promo ideas that will make your restaurant promotion strategy profitable.
The benefits of a hyper-focused restaurant promotion strategy
You might be wondering, why you need different promotions for different customers. Promos are a powerful restaurant marketing tool, but only if they’re relevant to the group you’re targeting.
Here's what you’re missing out on if you don’t carefully target your promotions:
- Higher conversion rate and return on investment;
- Increased customer engagement and satisfaction;
- Reduced marketing costs;
- Increased customer acquisition and retention;
- Enhanced ability to follow changing customer preferences and trends.
How to run your promotions based on clear restaurant marketing objectives
Let’s look at some common business objectives and some small-budget restaurant ideas for each of them.
Sell to more people than those sitting at the tables by promoting your online ordering system
If you want to expand your business to pickup and delivery, the first thing you need to do is make sure your clients know that you offer these services.
Print some promo cards that highlight your website and the online ordering service. Leave these cards on the tables and distribute them along with takeout orders.
Increase traffic on slow days with happy hour and lunch menus
Happy hours are perfect for days and time intervals when business is low.
Test different discount levels and do the math to see which one works best for you. There’s no fixed recipe you can apply. You just need to try.
Don’t forget to promote happy hour on your website, so customers are able to easily spot it.
Do you have office buildings close to your restaurant? Create an appealing lunch menu and distribute some flyers in those buildings to let people know they can order from you at lunch.
Acquire new customers with first-order promos and traditional marketing for restaurants
54% of customers say that coupons and discounts encourage them to try out a new restaurant. Moreover, the same number says they will spend more when they have a coupon.
Create a first-order promo targeting new customers exclusively with the Kickstarter module built into our online ordering system:
Then, do some old-fashioned offline marketing and print it on flyers that you distribute in the neighborhood:
You can also distribute these flyers in areas where you want to increase popularity (areas where you have little to no business), which you can check using our delivery heatmaps:
Promote pickup during rush hours
Take some of the pressure off your drivers’ shoulders by motivating customers to collect the orders themselves. How? By offering a promo that is available only for pickup orders.
The incentive you offer could be the cost you would have anyway because of delivery, but overall, your clients will be served faster and happier.
Increase order value with online food order deals
A classic restaurant promotion strategy is offering free delivery or other discounts and freebies for a minimum order value.
This motivates customers to add more to their cart to benefit from the promotion. Make sure customers see when they’re close to reaching a promo deal so they don’t miss it.
Get more pre-paid orders by promoting online payments
Giving customers the option to pay for their orders online is convenient for both parties. It helps you prevent fake orders or miscommunications that can happen when people pay with cash.
Motivate your clients to pay when they order by creating a promo that’s exclusive for orders paid online.
Reward loyalty with consistent discounts and promotions
It is six to seven times cheaper to maintain a customer than to acquire a new one. Thus, your restaurant promotion strategy has to also focus on rewarding loyalty.
You can start with simple things like rewards or incentives. In your online ordering system, set up a promotion like “10% off on every 5th order.” That way, customers will feel motivated to order more often.
Accelerate your restaurant promotion strategy with this handy video tutorial
You can create all the restaurant promotions mentioned above, as well as many more, using the promotions module built into our online ordering system.
Check out this video tutorial to learn how to create a promo from scratch: