RASI’s back-office restaurant solutions can help your summer promotions all season long…and beyond!Â
How to Plan Can’t-Miss Restaurant Summer Events and PromotionsÂ
The first step is to recognize and target your intended customers. What is the main demographic you’re targeting? Families? Couples? Location plays a big role as well. If your restaurant is near a stadium, perhaps a sports-themed happy hour might be the perfect restaurant promotion. Loyalty programs are a great low-cost route for restaurant event ideas; use this tool to bring in more customers, then have more promotions available once they sign up.
The key to proper planning, of course, is to have a budget and stick with it. Once your bottom line increases, you can tweak the budget accordingly. But starting out, stay disciplined and wait for those extra profits to roll in!Â
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Budget-Friendly Restaurant Promotion IdeasÂ
Here are some sure-fire ways to generate interest for your restaurant promotions – for both potential and loyal customers:Â
- Expand your network. Collaborate and network with nearby establishments on cross-promotions. This affordable tactic helps spread the wealth with promotional initiatives – and during the summer months, the entire promotional pot is usually bigger than other times during the year.
- Leverage social media. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, you name it…social media is the modern fuel for restaurant promotions. Best of all, it doesn’t take a large financial commitment to improve your online influence.
- Promote exclusive discounts, happy hours, etc. Happy hours are ideal for restaurant summer events and promotions. And by using the two methods above, you’ll have optimal exposure for all your restaurant event ideas.
Menu and Beverage Strategies
Without a menu to match your restaurant’s summer events and promotion schedule, you won’t have much to show for your efforts. With this in mind, invest some time and effort to offer fresh, locally sourced, cost-effective ingredients for new menu items.
The classic summer cocktails like mojitos and margaritas are always popular, so make sure you have some “summery sippers” available. Summer meal discounts are also perfect for summer restaurant promotions. A “prix fixe” menu of multiple courses combined for a slight discount is another useful strategy to complement your summer promotion ideas.
And don’t forget the dining experience! Summer-themed dĂ©cor, live entertainment, special contests (trivia, karaoke, etc.), and the like will ensure your customer service sizzles, right along with your menu!Â
Monitoring Results – How to Keep Your Restaurant Promotions on Track
Even the best planning and execution can use a little analytical boost. Are your restaurant summer events and promotions actually driving more revenue? Where can you improve? Should you change your restaurant event ideas mid-stream?
By setting realistic, measurable goals with key performance indicators (KPIs), you’ll know exactly where your summer promotions stand. Our recommendation is to have some key performance evaluations ready to go late spring, even before your summer events go live.
Another helpful idea is to have constant customer feedback and reviews, either on your own site or through social media apps.
Once you have information on KPIs and customer feedback, you can utilize financial reporting, purchasing tools, and data analytics to make any adjustments in scale, scope, and planning. With RASI’s restaurant software in your corner, it’s easy to plan and implement your restaurant event ideas!
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Give us a call today at (720) 826-9900 or drop us a line to see how we can help. Or, simply schedule a free demo today with our restaurant software specialists!
