Article supplied courtesy of Ignite Marketing

"How To…" Guide to Promotions

Understanding your current and potential customers is critical if you are to create successful promotions. If you have thought through your marketing strategy properly you should have a very good idea of which customers you are trying to attract, when you would like to attract them and what their needs & wants are.

• If you are located in a busy office district and a little quiet at lunchtimes you should promote a high-value express menu and guarantee minimum serving times. 

• When planning special offers think carefully before cutting prices! A value added promotion involves giving away something extra with every purchase and avoids placing pressure on your pricing margins. 

• If you are discounting then take care to restrict the offer to the beginning of the week or early in the evening, when you are quieter. You should also restrict a discount offer to food as this generally results in a higher alcohol spend. 

• When running a promotion you can decide to make it available to all of your customers or you may prefer to limit it to a particular segment. Posters, A-boards and adverts are all good methods of reaching a wider audience. However, email newsletters or direct mail vouchers sent by post mean that you can reward regular customers or attract new ones without affecting your general price positioning. 

• An effective loyalty scheme is to give each customer a voucher with their bill that entitles them to a discount or value-added promotion if they visit on specified days of the week. This way you are only attempting to encourage current customers to try you on a different day. 

• Discounts for certain segments such as students and the over 60s can be promoted during early evening which have the added benefit of filling the restaurant early which in turn attracts more walk-in customers. 

• Promotion websites such as Toptable and Lastminute can be effective resources for running promotions without affecting your general market. These sites attract users who especially seek promotional deals and it is unlikely that your regular, full-price paying customers will take advantage of them. 

• Make sure all your promotions are clearly communicated and that your offers are clear and not misleading. Specify relevant times and make any clarifications necessary in the small print that may be required such as 'not to be used with any other offer'. It's no fun pacifying an irate customer who feels they have been tricked into visiting your restaurant.