While Christmas in July might be overkill for your customers, it’s important to get an early start on holiday promotions and plan ahead. Whether you’re doing a bit of creative packaging or planning the promotion of a new menu, you’ll want to make sure everything is ready well in advance
That way, if you hit any unexpected bumps, you’ll have more than enough time to find a workaround. You’ll have more time for purchasing so you’re not scrambling to find a supplier at the last minute. This is critical, especially if you’re doing anything creative with your packaging. You wouldn’t want to plan for an order, only to find out what you wanted is out of stock.
However, if you’re stuck on ideas on how to promote your seasonal items, here’s a mix of some online and in-person promotions to help you get started.
Social Media Campaign and Giveaway
Create a campaign to promote your seasonal products. Reminding customers about the holidays a month or two in advance can be a great way to get them thinking about gifts. Make some recommendations on gifts for friends and family, including a few of your products in the mix. (Gift cards, spiced drink mixes or coffee, and decorations all do well during the holidays.)
Towards the end of your campaign and closer to the holidays, host a giveaway for customers. Give them an entry for signing up for your mailing list, making a purchase over a certain amount, or visiting your restaurant a certain number of times. Be sure to include clear details on how to enter your giveaway and make it easy to sign up.
Share Holiday Food and Recipes
If you sell anything from your restaurant in a shop, such as pie filling, bread mix, drink mixes, or other menu items, post some modified recipes on social media. This way your customers can do some holiday cooking with your products or give them to others as gifts.
Consider soup mixes, spiced cake or cookie mixes, flavored coffees, and other food products that have a longer shelf life. These make great gifts for friends and family.
Videos are some of the most shared posts on social media. Consider doing videos of creative recipes for the holidays or a spin on some of your own menu items.
Alternatively, if you do catering, encourage customers to book you for holiday parties. Clearly state hours and what menu items are available for catering so there isn’t any confusion.
Open on Christmas? Leverage the Lack of Competition
While most restaurants close down for the Christmas holiday, those that stay open (particularly Chines restaurants) can leverage the unique opportunity and lack of regular competition. For many cultures of religious denominations that do not celebrate the traditional Christmas holiday, the ability to dine out on Christmas day is much appreciated. According to Z & Y Restaurant in San Francisco, Christmas is often the single busiest day of the year for business.
Advertise Special Deals on Catering
Many businesses like to plan parties for their employees around the holidays and look for great deals on catering. Make sure local businesses know where to find you by advertising on social media or your local radio stations and newspapers.
You might also get the attention of other organizations, such as schools and churches, that look for catering.
Host a Dinner Fundraiser
Sell tickets to a dinner at your restaurant and donate a portion of the funds to a school or nonprofit organization of your choice. Notify both customers and guests about the hours so no one else tries to book for the same date. Post your hours for the event on social media, send out flyers, and put up posters at your restaurant. Be sure that when you decide on an organization, everyone knows who it’s going to.
Don’t Forget to Decorate
Holiday decorations can be one of the best ways to catch attention, both online and in-person. Decorate the outside of your restaurant with lights, wreaths, and anything else that stands out. (Try decorations like pumpkins, wheat bundles and other harvest decorations if you’re decorating for autumn.)
Products can also be decorated. Adding custom printing or even just some ribbons and other decorations to your packaging can be a great way to feature specific items. Check with your packaging supplier in advance to see if they offer any special packaging or printing for the holidays.
Many businesses neglect the appearance of their website and social media during the holidays. Try adding some festive graphics to your website and social media pages during the holidays to make your pages stand out as well.
