Richard AgamaWinter is often the most challenging time of the year for restaurants. It’s natural for people to stay cooped up in their homes to stay warm in colder climates.
That’s why you need to double down on your marketing efforts during the colder months. You’ll need to get creative if you want to motivate people to venture out into the cold to dine at your restaurant.
That’s why we’re here to clue you in on the most common winter marketing mistakes restaurants make. Read on to learn how you can avoid the pitfalls of wintertime.
Not Offering Special Deals and Promotions
It’s challenging to motivate people to go outside during the winter. Yet, a discounted price is always a fantastic incentive to get people through your doors.
Winter is the time to roll out special deals and holiday promotions for your customers to bump up marketing during the winter season.
Do you want to increase ticket sizes or generate more sales? Before you go snipping all your prices, ensure you have a goal in mind for each promotion. Certain offers will align with specific goals.
An example would be a discounted price on a family meal to increase ticket sizes. Customers will likely bring more family members along for dinner if it’s less expensive to feed each person.
Not Promoting Delivery
Delivery orders hit peak volume in the winter. If your restaurant marketing doesn’t offer delivery, you’re missing out on a vast source of winter revenue. Since people don’t want to venture out into the cold, you need to bring your food to them. Don’t rely on delivery apps if you’d like to increase your profits. Instead, dedicate some of your staff to doing delivery runs.
Not Leveraging Social Media
Many restaurants make the mistake of not ramping up their social media efforts in the winter. Remember, your audience is snuggled up at home on the couch. What do they have in their hands? Phones, tablets, and computers, of course!
Since they’re consuming social media during the day, you need to make sure they see your restaurant. If you’re running special holiday discounts, for example, advertise them on your social media.
Now that you know the most common winter marketing mistakes restaurants make, you can work to avoid them. You can focus on what you should do. As long as you roll out promotions, use delivery, and advertise on social media, your restaurant will have no problem thriving during the winter.
