Creating a Promotion Commotion
May/June, 2009
By Shira Miller, Shira Miller Communications
From martini Thursdays to loyalty cards and dating disaster contests, Blue Moon Pizza owners Mandy and Kelvin Slater know a thing or two about restaurant promotions and what makes them successful.
Last year alone, both of Blue Moon Pizza’s Atlanta locations have experienced more than a 20% growth in sales, and they plan to open a third location this spring. The two found that their constant and often quirky promotions have helped them develop a loyal customer base and repeat business – and they’re not alone. Restaurant owners across Georgia are coming up with a variety of clever promotions to help them succeed in today’s economy.
“Creating something unique for the customer, whether it’s a discounted meal or a night of trivia and martinis, tends to intrigue people,” says Mandy. “They’re experiencing something special, and if you provide great customer service on top of a great deal, it’s likely customers will keep coming back.”
Toasting Tips
Standing out in a crowded industry, especially in the current economy, can be tough. The restaurant owners behind these success stories have offered a few tips for creating promotions that are worth your time
- Keep it simple. Slater says that over complicating a promotion or deal tends to turn customers away.
- Take a risk. You don’t want to give your services away, but you have to be willing to jump out there and try something new if it has the potential to increase business.
- Stick to your roots. While Slater says she’s seen many restaurants lower their food quality and shrink their portions to cope with slow business, she urges restaurants to avoid this at all costs. “This is sort of a slow death,” Slater says. “Not only will new customers be less impressed, your regulars will notice and stop coming as often, too.”
Focus on creating a memorable experience
Atlanta’s Dogwood restaurant faced challenges from the beginning, after opening their doors in August in the middle of what owner Shane Touhy refers to as “the disaster that is the economy.” With pockets growing tighter, Touhy and his team spent the last six months coming up with a variety of promotions that have helped them experience tremendous growth despite the economic situation.
One of Dogwood’s most successful promotions has been their “all-you-can-eat mussels.” The upscale restaurant, which boasts a variety of southern culinary offerings, noticed a drop in sales in their bar area. In a direct response, they created the mussels promotion – $20 gets you endless mussels and a glass of wine – but only if you’re eating at the bar. Bar sales skyrocketed and a new group of “regulars” started dining at Dogwood.
“This really worked because it is centered on the entire restaurant experience our customers get for the value,” Touhy says. “Anyone can offer a cheap meal, but to give the customer a memorable night out at a trendy, fine-dining spot is what it’s really about.”
The same goes for the crowd at Blue Moon Pizza. Their lunch special, which stays in the $5 to $6 range, gets customers two slices of pizza, a salad and a drink. To keep the value high, the owners make portions the same size as dinner.
They also offer a loyalty card, where customers get one point for every dollar they spend. Once they reach 100 points, they get a $10 gift card. The combination has drawn an extremely large base of regular customers from local businesses, some of which have started dining there five days a week.
Be aware of your surroundings
It’s all about location. Whether your restaurant is located in the business district or the theater district, there’s always a way to leverage a successful promotion.
For Dogwood, this meant honing in on the theater crowd. Located just blocks from the Fox Theater, they’ve done everything from giving a free glass of wine to customers with a Fox ticket stub to offering a three-course meal for $35 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. to draw in the theater goers.
“The 5:30 time slot wasn’t a busy one for us. Tailoring our promotions to times when we need a boom in business has been great, and leveraging the Fox has been even better,” Touhy says.
Shira Miller Communications is a boutique public relations firm specializing in Atlanta restaurants and national food companies. It is based in Atlanta and is a member of the GRA. Shira Miller can be contacted at (678) 392-1795.
