This forthcoming weekend is the Victoria Day long weekend! For many Canadians, “May 2-4” signifies the unofficial start of summer. As a result, restaurants tend to see increases in patronage. Who doesn’t like making use of an extra day off work to sit on the patio with friends and family?
Your restaurant has the opportunity to significantly boost revenue this Victoria Day long weekend. But you shouldn’t simply assume sales will grow. It’s wise to employ some marketing strategies that will help to lure customers into your eatery to enjoy the occasion.
Put out a press-worthy story.
While social media is all the rage, traditional media are still receiving a lot of attention. Of course, in many cases, the two are one and the same. So what can you do to get some media attention? Stephanie Schalow of SevenRooms suggests that you host a special event and pitch the story to news sources.
“Good restaurant marketing is all about driving awareness for your brand,” she insists, “Have an upcoming event, exciting promotion, soon-to-be opened restaurant, or a new chef? Share it with local publications and even some of the bigger players…You’d be surprised how much buzz they can generate, helping drum up excitement for your latest offering.”
Establish a loyalty program.
It’s a good time to promote a loyalty program for your restaurant since this forthcoming Victoria Day long weekend should be a busy one. By introducing a loyalty program, you will encourage continued patronage from a sizeable audience. As Mel Watson plainly puts it on GourmetMarketing.net, a loyalty program is a fantastic way to get your customers to come back again and again.
“The key here is to make the program feel rewarding whenever your customers use it,” Watson explains, “They should feel like they’ve joined an exclusive club when they sign up for it, and it should encourage them to visit again and again. It should also be interesting or unique enough to advertise about it on social media, yelp or with large posters inside of your restaurant.”
Repost customer pictures and posts.
The ways in which you interact with people through social media go a very long way. Today’s consumers place a lot of emphasis on customer experiences. When you engage with your online followers and friends, those interactions help to promote a positive brand image. To encourage hungry consumers to visit your restaurant, be sure to show those friends and followers some love. Reposting their posts is a great way to grow relationships.
“If a customer tags your restaurant in a picture of their beautiful meal, repost it to show some love,” agrees Schalow, “Make sure you give proper photo credit on the post, and be sure to reach out to them via direct message to thank them personally as well. This one-to-one form of restaurant marketing can help you build loyalty with your biggest brand advocates.”
Allow your customers to place their orders online.
Contact Unity Payments to quickly set up your own online ordering system for your restaurant! With it, you can easily set up your menu, make live menu updates, manage inventory, process takeout and delivery requests, schedule pick-ups, create promo codes and more! To get started, please don’t hesitate to call us at 1-800-661-3761 or email us at info@unitypayments.ca.
