Make the Most of Your Holiday Season!
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- Published on Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The start of the holiday season means people will be going out to celebrate with family and friends, and there are plenty of ways you can make sure your restaurant gets the busines.
Here are a few tips for the holidays:
- Facebook is a great place to interact with your customers and expose your name to their friends, too. Start connecting with more and more people on Facebook so you can get a larger audience for your holiday promotions. Make your posts interesting and you’ll be the first place they think of next time they go out to eat.
- Remember, the goal of Facebook and Twitter is to start a two-way conversation with your customers. Instead of just telling them about a special promotion you have going on, give them a chance to respond to you. This can be as easy as asking them about their holiday traditions or what their favorite dish on the menu is.
- Email is a useful tool if used correctly. To build an email list, offer your customers some incentive for signing up (maybe a free appetizer) and make sure they know you won’t be bombarding their inboxes with hourly updates. Wednesday is when most people start thinking about weekend plans, so it’s the best day to send out emails about upcoming events.
- Gift cards make perfect last minute holiday gifts. Use table tents to promote them in your restaurant and be sure to mention them in your emails and Facebook posts.
- Give out a gift card when customers spend a certain amount of money. Giving away $20 gift card for every $100 spent is better than giving 20% off because it makes the customer more likely to come back. Even better, it gives them the option of giving it away to a friend, who can be transformed into a new regular at your restaurant.
- While the day after Thanksgiving is generally the busiest day of the year for retail centers, it can be a slow day for restaurants. Make a profit on Black Friday by offering to cater lunch to local stores so their employees can spend more time with customers.
- Be sure to mention the holidays on your website so that your restaurant will show up in online search results when people are planning holiday parties.
