You don’t typically think of restaurants to be seasonal businesses but the holidays are typically the busiest time of year for some of them. This is the time of year where everyone is out shopping, dining out, having holiday parties, and gatherings. The key is to get these customers into your restaurant or choose your restaurant to cater or host their holiday party. You want to make sure these customers share their holiday festivities in your establishment, and in order to do this you need to kick the holiday marketing into high gear and you need to start today! It is never too early to start your holiday marketing campaigns.
Boosting Holiday Marketing For Your Fine Dining Restaurant
Fine dining restaurants can already have a hard time marketing to customers because it’s not for everybody or for every occasion, add in seasonal marketing and it can become very specific.
However, seasonal marketing is very similar to traditional marketing. The big difference is that you want to get your customers into the holiday spirit as well as get your restaurant and team motivated. Now this doesn’t have to require tacky decor, or gimmicky promotions, you can still achieve holiday cheer in an elegant way that fits in with your fine dining establishment.
First you want to consider your promotions. This could include discounts to local or small businesses who choose your restaurant for their holiday party venue or catering services. You might waive a room fee for any private parties or get togethers with a minimum spend amount or head count. This could even just be a bar and beverage minimum. This is also a great time to explore menu options and offer an exclusive food and beverage choices. Offer different holiday foods like prime rib, specialty roasts, unique side dishes, holiday desserts, specialty bar drinks, etc. that are exclusive to the holiday season. This can entice customers to come and try these holiday exclusives before they are gone. Also if you make this a yearly exclusive it can help bring customers back every year who have waited for these special items and want to indulge before they’re gone.
Second you want to tie in all of your direct mail collateral with the holidays by way of plastic postcards and other collateral. At DynamiCard, we offer a very popular holiday ornament mailer that includes a promotional pop-out card, which doubles as an effective piece of marketing AND as something that your customers can display on their tree during the holiday season. This will help your customers associate your restaurant with the holidays. You want them to think of your restaurant when they think of their Christmas, holiday dinners, and gatherings.
One great thing about the holidays is are of gift giving. One quick and easy gift for people to purchase is a gift card.We can offer you products like gift cards, with optional magnetic striping and variable barcoding. A gift card is the gift that keeps on giving. This can ensure business in the future, especially during the post holiday slow down. Also an easy and fairly inexpensive marketing tactic is to offer a gift card promotion. This can be as simple as a complimentary promo card for every $100 worth of gift card sales. You will want to advertise a limited gift card promotion to your existing, satisfied customers. This will not only incentivize them jump on the promo quickly, but will also give them a reason to share their love of your fine dining restaurant with their friends and family. This is a perfect opportunity to not only spread the holiday spirit, but to also reach future customers or make existing customers happy. Your customers will not only equate your restaurant with holiday gatherings, but also as a gift giving option.
If you’d like to find out more information about holiday marketing ideas for your fine dining restaurant, or if you have any additional questions you’d like to discuss with someone in a bit more detail, please don’t delay – contact us today.