Running a promotion for your restaurant is a great way to attract new customers and let loyal patrons know you appreciate their business. From face-to-face interaction to social media outreach, there are many ways to go about a promotion, and which method works best is sometimes just good old fashioned trial and error. Here you’ll find some restaurant promotion ideas that have proven to be effective.
Neighbor Niceties
The other companies and businesses that surround your restaurant are prime prospects. Everyone needs to eat, and it’s important that your neighbors think of you as an option.
Create a promotion where you extend a discount to other businesses in your community. 20% is a good number that will get attention without sacrificing profit. A buy one get one entree offer also works well and is attractive to businesses where staff tends to place their lunch order as a group. Make this offer valid for thirty days. Position it as a “meet the neighbors month” where they can check out your space and explore the menu.
Whether it’s you or one of your employees, deliver this message in person so you have the opportunity to introduce your business and drop off some menus. Extending free delivery indefinitely is another way to form a bond with your neighbors. It’s inexpensive to provide because of the close proximity but shows that you value their business.
Alcohol Attractions
One of the most classic restaurant promotion ideas is using alcohol to attract customers. How does it work? Here are a couple of our favorites.
Happy Hour
The easiest and most common alcohol promotion is offering happy hour. You could run it on select days (Every Tuesday or Thursday, for example) or daily during a set time (5pm-7pm weekdays is pretty standard). Half off drinks gets people’s attention and good food (especially at a discount) keeps them coming back. Create a happy hour menu to go with your drink promotion. It could include some of your popular but less expensive appetizers (like a bruschetta or dip and chips) or smaller portions of top selling dinner entrees.
Wine or Beer Tasting
Hosting a wine or beer tasting creates excitement and can generate new interest in your restaurant. The steps to organizing this kind of event are easy and the majority of the responsibility will fall on your alcohol distributor. Reach out about putting together an event and see what they can offer. Many companies will send a representative to lead the event and answer any questions your attendees will have. If you want to show off your menu as well as your space, consider serving bite size samples of your most popular dishes served as hors d’oeuvres. This will create conversation about your menu and entice people to come back for a full course.
Social Savviness
Utilizing the multiple digital channels and social media networks is imperative to driving a successful business. Review and menu sites (like Yelp), Instagram, and Facebook are a few of the main ways millennials seek information about dining options. Not having a digital presence is a mistake, no matter how old school your marketing philosophy may be.
If you need some convincing, consider this — social media is FREE. Besides word of mouth, there aren’t many restaurant promotion ideas that don’t cost a thing to try. Sure, there are ways to pay for ads online but we’re talking about the basics. That includes creating accounts on the major social media sites, completing your profile and posting regularly.
Enjoyable Entertainment
Serve dinner with a side of music or laughs. When a restaurant has an active calendar and weekly entertainment, people pay attention.
Live Music
Hire a local cover band to provide live music on weekend nights. Guests will come for dinner, but the enticement of drinks and dancing will extend their stay. On top of pleasing your current guests, you’ll also grab some new visitors from promotion the band will put out to fans. Even if the crowd comes in later, the extra money you’ll make on bar sales will cover the band’s fees and create some organic buzz around your location.
Theme Night
Turn a slow night into a theme night by starting a weekly trivia challenge, karaoke contest, or bingo game. If your night pulls a good crowd after just a few weeks, go with it and keep that night constant. If you want to get an idea of what theme your community has the most interest in, switch it up until you find a schedule that sticks. If events become a staple at your restaurant, be sure to include them on your company’s website and social media. It’s important to let people know which events are weekly happenings and what is just a one-time thing so there’s no confusion or disappointment.
