Holiday Quick Tips for Restaurants

While emails should be a necessary factor in a restaurant’s marketing strategy all year round, sending emails during the holidays is perhaps the most important time of all. With 71% of in-store shoppers saying email offers influence them to buy, it’s time to make sure that your holiday email campaign has the perfect strategy to bring in customers and create sales for your restaurant (HubSpot.) Here are three holiday quick tips to keep in mind this busy shopping season.

Sell, sell, sell – Restaurant gift cards make easy, enjoyable gifts and are especially enticing to consumers when they offer a follow up incentive. Depending on the price point of your restaurant, give customers a free gift card for every gift card purchase they make that meets a minimum amount. For example, for every $100 that a customer spends in gift cards, offer them a $25 gift card that they can keep for themselves. Just be sure to have an expiration date on the reward gift card. Make sure that it is used by the end of March at the latest. You want to ensure that your restaurant has business coming in, especially during the cold winter months. Also make sure that all servers are also telling each table about your restaurant’s gift card special along with having it advertised on a sign or poster in your restaurant.

Think Like a Shopper – It’s not necessarily how many emails your restaurant sends out as much as knowing when to send out emails for the optimal response. As a general rule, restaurants shouldn’t get in the habit of sending emails out more than once a week at the most. Sending out emails more than once a week has the danger of increasing your unsubscribe rate by annoying your customers. Give your customers time to plan for your restaurant event by giving them plenty of advance notice. Never wait until the day before an event to send out an email. Try to condense as much as you can into one email without being too wordy. Also, make sure that your emails are able to be viewed on a mobile device as well as linked to a mobile-friendly website. If your restaurant needs help creating effective email campaigns, contactDining Dialog.

For more email tips, read our Email Frequency Tips For Restaurants blog post.

Utilize Social Media Channels – Keeping in mind that 74% of shoppers search online to get ideas for their holiday wish lists, don’t forget to advertise all restaurant holiday specials on social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter pages as well. Post gift card promotions at least once a week during the holiday shopping season. With a whopping 81% of retailers planning to use Facebook to promote in-store offers, make sure your restaurant doesn’t get forgotten about once a customer starts looking for holiday ideas on Facebook and Twitter. You can simultaneously post all of your restaurant/bar information now with eateria.

By being consistent and smart in emailing and social media posting efforts this holiday season, restaurants should be able to enjoy an increase in sales as well as renewed business in the cold winter months.