With the holidays about to officially start, it’s possible you’re about to enjoy your busiest weeks of the year. But you can’t take that for granted. In our last blog, we encouraged restaurant owners to take steps to grow patronage at their eateries before the holidays hit. Our tips included offering a catering service, sprucing up decorations and contacting last year’s guests.
Here are three more holiday season marketing tips for restaurants:
1. Bring attention to your holiday menu.
Have you already spruced up your restaurant’s menu by offering such seasonal items as turkey with cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie and egg nog? Even if you’ve kept your menu items the same, it’s wise to redesign the menu so that it reflects the festive holiday season. Seasonal offerings, however, give restaurant guests all-new reasons to return to eateries they may have visited before. Of course, it also encourages new visitors to try your dishes.
“Starbucks is the pioneer of creating seasonal offerings,” informs the hiring platform, Workstream, “Not only do they set up in-store Christmas decorations right away, but they also offer special, festive beverages and takeaway cups exclusively for this time of year. This marketing strategy works by creating anticipation among customers who love their products.”
2. Film a promotional video.
There are few platforms that can attest to being as successful as Instagram. The sharing of photos and videos is a widespread activity that continues to grow in popularity. Film a promotional video showcasing the wonderful decor, delicious eats and friendly faces associated with your restaurant. Post it to Instagram and other social media platforms to entice your friends and followers to enjoy the holidays by dining out at your establishment.
“Video marketing is becoming increasingly popular,” writes Aida Behmen-Milicevic for restaurant management software company, POS Sector, “So many people are looking for recipes and additional information to prepare traditional holiday’s dishes…Let your chef demonstrates the preparation of dishes from holiday offers. People like to know what you will cook for them, what they could eat in your restaurant.”
3. Offer holiday gift cards.
Gift cards are extremely popular gifts each and every holiday season. They’re incredibly easy for consumers to buy and they are highly regarded by recipients. Why? It’s free money! Gift cards give people opportunities to buy whatever they want. Selling gift cards allows your happy guests to recommend your restaurant to others. What’s better than word of mouth promotion?
Research from Blackhawk Network says that 83% of consumers want to give gift cards instead of physical gifts, informs Workstream, “Plus, restaurant gift cards are a profitable and convenient way to expand your customer base,” says their website, “Include information about how customers can purchase gift cards in your online and offline holiday marketing campaigns. You should also train your staff to upsell holiday gift cards and vouchers to customers.”
Do you allow your customers to order food directly from your restaurant’s website?
Unity Payments can quickly set you up with your own online ordering system for your restaurant. It includes the creation of a website (if you don’t already have one) and an app! To get started, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
