Marketing
How To Offset Slow Days At Your Restaurant
Every restaurant will have a slow day or two throughout its lifetime. The trick to offsetting these days is to have a plan in place. While some restaurants may close early, your restaurant stands above the fray.
Find Out How A Cloud-Based POS System Can Streamline Your Restaurant
To offset slow days at your restaurant, there are many strategies you can implement to attract customers:
Time Your Marketing Emails & Social Media Carefully
People love to get a good deal.
Timing your email and social media marketing to target people duri
ng your slow days by offering exclusive offers is an excellent strategy to attract customers. Deals could include children eating free, half-off appetizers, or bonus loyalty points.
Whatever deal you decide to use, be sure that it will fit into your budget.
Ramp Up Your Online Ordering
Online ordering can help offset slow days at your restaurant by targeting customers who may not be able to come in for one reason or another. Ramp up your online ordering by advertising hard-to-resist deals such as “free delivery on orders over$20”, or “buy one, get one free when you order online”. Be sure to add restrictions so you control when a discount can be used and when.
Partner With Local Businesses & Charities
Partnering with local businesses and charities and allowing them to rent out space in your restaurant free of charge is another strategy to offset slow days, as well as give back to the community. Split the proceeds between you and the charity so you both benefit.
Host An Event
Food and wine tasting, comedy night, ladies’ night, and more—hosting an event at your restaurant can offset those slow days. Use your cloud POS like Toast or Mobilebytes to track your slowest days and budget to find out what works best for you without overextending yourself.
Host Deals On “Holidays”
Talk like a pirate day, April Fools, May the 4th, and other “holidays” are a great time to promote deals and get customers in the door. Many restaurants like Dunkin’ Donuts offered a free donut on Talk Like A Pirate Day if you dressed up and talked like a pirate.
Remember that there are many “holidays” throughout the year, so be sure to pick a relevant few.