The festive season is here and it's time to make the most of it - Increase your restaurant sales by putting in the best of your efforts throughout the festive season. Be it Christmas, NYE or Diwali - Put an extra effort to get into the festive spirit to engage your customers in a celebratory mood.
1. Festive Based Menus
It's time to highlight your festive menu dishes or even curate a separate menu for a specific festival - one should definitely for Navratre Special Menu or Christmas/NYE Brunches. It helps to engage your customer's attention. But remember to keep in mind the niche cuisine of your restaurant as it will require proper training in advance to educate your chefs regarding the special menu which would include different cuisines. It's certainly one of the best ways to increase restaurant sales - but keep in mind that the strength of your restaurant lies on the menu. Pre-plan, talk to the chef, get the raw material & get going!
Hint: Keep a Christmas Brunch- Always catches everybody's attention.
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2. Meal For Two Contests
Who doesn't like contests? If you know the art of engaging your customers well then there's no way you can skip contests to engage more traffic. Remember your customers love getting freebies and winning contests. Take every festival as an opportunity to give back to your customers and show them that you value them. Hold contests that would offer discount coupons, a meal for two vouchers or an invite to exciting events happening in your restaurant (if any). If your contests are rewarding then the footfall of participation would also be great which will help in engaging more audiences leading to more people knowing about your restaurant.
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3. Hosting Events & Brunches
Take important festivals as an opportunity to host exciting events that can include musical Sufi/Bollywood/rock nights or Christmas Brunches. It entirely depends on the budget and pre-planning to come up with happening events to captivate your customers. Remember a festive ambiance encourages customers to visit the restaurant more. You would definitely want your customers to celebrate important festivals at your restaurant - so make sure you do host events at least once in a month or once in three months for sure to keep your customers engaged. Make sure your restaurant is ready to face the holiday rush! - All The Best.
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4. Special Deals
Keeping competition asides, come up with exciting offers and vouchers during the festive season as everybody likes something extra - It also keeps your customers engaged. How about giving your customers with loyalty programs extra vouchers or weekly discounts during the festive season? Remember it's important to value your loyal customers and keep them intact by rewarding them back equally. You can offer dining coupons, gift cards, and special loyalty programmers if a customer spends over a certain amount of money at the restaurant during a festive season. As a secondary option, you can also give freebies if it fits the budget of your restaurant - gifts can be offered at the time of billing. For example, one can offer a free set of candles on the occasion of Diwali while bidding their customers goodbye.
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5. Experiment With The Decor
Festivals call for celebration and the majority of us love to head out of our houses and celebrate them with our loved ones. That's exactly when restaurants need to take a step forward and work on the ambiance to engage their customers in the spirit of festivity. Pre-plan the festivities you need to work on and decide a budget for the same. Shop for decorative materials to make the restaurant ambiance more festive. It definitely makes the customers happy and gets them in a celebratory mood. Wouldn't you love to have a memorable Christmas or NYE at your favorite restaurant? How about having carols as your background music and a Christmas tree at your restaurant this X-Mas.
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6. Involve The Staff - Flash Mob
The key point to draw more customers to your restaurant to develop a reputation with them by being one of the most friendly staff. The restaurant staff and menu are the integral keys to your restaurant. The way the staff treats their customers and provide them with the best of their service is what ends up making your restaurant special. Pre-plan and involve your staff in festive celebration - how about holding a small flash mob or carols session at the restaurant this Christmas week? Your customers would definitely be glad to see the restaurant feeling the festive vibe too.
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7. Digital Marketing On Point
Now that you've already read the points above, if you're planning to come up with a new festive menu, events or special discounts & offers make sure their visibility is high to the audience. Marketing will be your key to increase sales - make sure you advertise your contests, special deals, and events on social media. Promote them through every social media channel your restaurant is on - Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and if you own a website. The point is to create a buzz and increase your sales by getting the attention of your audience and customers who follow you on a regular basis. You can also promote the festive buzz through pamphlets and word of mouth as your offline mode of marketing.
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8. Special Packaging
It's all about the budget if your restaurant budget allows then how about having a special packaging for the festive season. A perfect brand example would be Starbucks - it's worth acknowledging their festive spirit. Do look up for their last X-Mas customized glasses depicting Christmas special theme. A restaurant can also change their takeaway packaging for a change.
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9. Festive Merchandise
Again we'll focus on the budget aspect if the restaurant budget allows then you can increase restaurant sales by selling festive merchandise to your customers. Most of us want to gift something special to our loved ones - what if we find something worth gifting at our favorite restaurants? sounds convenient right. People often end up gifting Starbucks Coffee Mugs to their friends and family. You can also come up with a different idea to increase sales through unique festive merchandise.
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10. Use Your CRM Well
Lastly, use your CRM well - make good use of your loyalty programs if you have any. Send texts or approach your loyal customers through a call to invite them to festive events. Update them through texts regarding special festive menus or festive discounts offers. It's an amazing way to upgrade customer relationship management and also helps in creating a rapport with your existing loyal customer.
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Remember the key to increase sales lies with customer retention and getting them in the festive mood so they also think about having a memorable dining experience at your restaurant.
FAQ
Q: Which are the best social media platforms to promote your restaurant on?
A: Twitter, Snapchat, Medium, Instagram, Facebook & Pinterest
Q: What is the importance of having a social presence for your restaurant?
A: In this 21st century when everything is online, even the people are making restaurant choices online. A lot of customers discover and explore new restaurants through online sources, like on facebook, twitter, Instagram and so forth. So, providing the customers to give feedback on your online portals is very beneficiary. A good and healthy customer feedback history helps your restaurant solidify its name in the online space. And, listening to what your customers are saying about you on social media further allows you to keep your customers engaged.
