Food promotion is the key to increasing sales in the restaurant business. More promotion means more awareness. This, in turn, means more customers. Finally, more customers mean more profit. It's all part of an essential chain.There is a flip side to this though. Running promotions takes time and effort that you could be dedicated to other elements of your business. So what can a company do to run promotions without neglecting the business? Bring in assistance to save on a great deal of work.That's where Snappmeal comes in. Snappmeal offers restaurants a way to create effective and successful, time-based food promotions. Our Snappmeal app can enable you to tailor promotions to your business needs so you can increase your sales. Some advantages of a time-bound food promotion are:
- Attracting business during traditionally quiet trading hours
- Encouraging customers to visit before the offer expires
- Providing customers with a sense of value and urgency
- Pushing notifications to a customer's smartphone so you're never far from their mind
Want to know more? Then read on! We’ll lay out five suggestions for effective food promotions. All of these options are available as part of the Snappmeal app.
Loyalty Programs
New customers are important to any business, but don’t neglect your regulars customers. Regular, loyal visitors are the lifeblood of any restaurant.It costs five times as much to attract new customers as it does to retain existing business.Existing customers can account for 80% of your future income.The other reasons you should focus on customer loyalty include:
- Your chances of upselling a loyal customer are as high at 70%. New customers can be as low as 5%.
- Existing customers that trust your brand are 50% likelier to try new products.
- On average, existing customers spend 31% more than first-timers.
Loyalty cards can be essential for this. The MyStarbucks program is a great example. Upon launching MyStarbucks, business soared in arguably the most competitive catering field of all.Loyalty cards appeal for a number of reasons. They encourage the human desire to collect and achieve goals, so the customer keeps returning. They make the customer feel valued, providing a sense of community.Loyalty cards also allow you to gather information about your customers. This makes it easier to tailor your future food promotions. You can offer discounts on the products that your customers enjoy most.
Discount Vouchers
Entice new customers and increase sales by offering discount vouchers. Almost 80% of consumers admit that they'll try something for the first time if they are offered a discount.Pushing discounts vouchers can be a useful tool. By pushing your food promotion on a customer's smartphone, they can make an impulse decision. The customer may be hungry, and, as if by magic, you offer them a discounted meal.Discount vouchers are particularly important to smaller businesses. You may not have the marketing budget or brand awareness of larger chains. Discounts can make up this shortfall.It is believed that 17.7% of small business income comes from consumers using discount vouchers. These visitors can then be turned into regular customers.Even if this is not enough to convince you, consider science. Discounts make consumers happier and more relaxed. These are two traits that you want anybody to associate with your business.
Happy Hours
If you sell alcohol on your business premises, Happy Hours are an alternative to food promotions. Happy Hours account for 60.5% of all trade in American bars and resultants.Choose your Happy Hour carefully. The best time is between 5 and 8pm, when office workers finish their working day. Colleagues will share a drink to celebrate a job well done or commiserate on a tough day.Other than Friday, Wednesday is the most successful weekday for Happy Hours. You can focus your promotions to this day. Monday and Tuesday is typically slower.Attempt to bring in more business on these days with further discounts. Buy One Get One Free deals on cocktails could be a great way to appeal to visitors.Happy Hours do not just need to focus on drinks, either. If you offer food promotions during Happy Hour, you will enjoy the best of both worlds.Customers will arrive planning to enjoy a drink and leave. When they see the mouth-watering food you offer, they'll be encouraged to stay.
Discounts at Specific Prices
A great way to add value is adding a discount to a particular price. You could offer a discount of 10% to a customer that runs up a bill of €50, for example.This will convince customers to spend more with your restaurant. They may have ordinarily only spent €35. If they decided the discount was too good to pass up, they may spend a little more money.The customer feels like they have had a great deal, and you are still turning a larger profit than you would have without the discount. Everybody walks away happy!These discounts will also attract groups to your restaurant. Couples and groups of friends will choose you over a competitor. After all, they know they will be generating a larger bill. If they can gain a discount on that, it's considerably more palatable.
Discounts for Particular Products
Particular products will always sell better at particular times. Very few people order an espresso at 9 p.m., or a steak at 8 a.m.Think about when your products sell. You can add a discount to them at popular times. For example:
- A discount on coffee between 6 and 8am for the early risers
- A discount on salad at lunchtime for health-conscious diners
- A discount on light bites between 5 and 7pm, ahead of the peak dinner rush
On paper, this potentially means losing money. After all, these are the products that will sell at these times. Think of this practice as speculating to accumulate.Someone may come in for a coffee early in the morning, choosing your business because of the discount. While they're waiting in line, their stomach may start to rumble, so they order a breakfast pastry at the same time.Suddenly you have made an additional, unexpected sale. You have turned a potential loss into an unexpected profit.In addition, there are aesthetic considerations. If there is a long line for coffee in the morning, people will notice. If they have time to spare, they'll join in.After all, if so many people get their coffee from you, there must be a reason. You clearly have the best coffee in town!If you’re ready to start turning food promotion to your advantage, download the Snappmeal app. Together, we can turn your restaurant into the hottest ticket in town!Share on facebookShareShare on twitterTweet it
