How to Attract Customers With the Right Restaurant Promotions

In order for a restaurant to be a success, it must have a great marketing plan. Part of marketing a restaurant includes creating the right promotions. Restaurant promotions are a great way to attract and retain customers. There are many different types of promotions a restaurant can use to market their restaurant. The key is to pick the right promotion that reflects the quality of your restaurant.

The following are a number of tips to attracting customers with the right restaurant promotions:

1. Everyone loves to get free stuff. Give out such promotional items as mugs, T-shirts, key chains, baseball caps, and other inexpensive products to give out to your customers. Make sure your restaurant name and logo is on each item. This will give your restaurant free publicity.

2. Create an online presence. Build a website that educates and informs people. Link your website to social sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. You can keep people up-to-date about what is taking place at your restaurant such as when you have specials and events taking place. You can also provide discounts to people who sign up for a newsletter. The newsletter is an effective tool to promoting specials.

3. Every month hold a sampling social. You can provide a buffet style luncheon with samples of the foods that you serve. You can provide this free or charge a small fee to cover the costs of setting up the buffet. People will get to try all of your food, find food they love, and will want to return for a regular meal on another day.

4. Everyone loves to dine out on their birthdays. Offer a free meal for customers on their birthday. They will bring others to dine with them. You can also have special birthday promotions where if the customer calls ahead to book their birthday, you can give them a small birthday cake at the end of their meal. If you gather customer information through your website, you can send an email to a customer a few days before their birthday to remind them of their free meal.

5. Create a special menu for inexpensive meals. Some restaurants have referred to this type of menu as a 'recession' menu. You can offer one meal each day that is quite cheap.

6. During your slow periods, create a special where discounts are offered on certain dishes to draw in customers during off-peak times of the day. Offer coupons to give discounts on food during the slow time.

7. Support community events. This can include sponsoring sporting events, youth events, and charity events. This will help spread the word about your restaurant and that you are a strong supporter of the community. Make sure you have adequate displays of your restaurant name and logo at these events.

8. On a slow day, have a promotion where customers pay for their bill and then have a chance to win a discount on their meal or even a free meal. You can have bowl where a customer pulls out a ticket which states what discount they receive or if they get their meal for free. You can have a certain number of tickets with various discounts, and one ticket that states 'free meal.'

9. Make the most out of spreading the name of your restaurant. Advertise your restaurant's specials and events using text messaging, local newspaper, business fliers and other low cost methods of marketing.

Because the restaurant industry is becoming more competitive, restaurants have to implement creative and innovative promotions to attract and retain customers. One can promote their business professionally and successfully by adopting campaigns that target their customers in a way that differentiates the restaurant from the others in a positive way.