4 Factors of Successful Restaurant Promotions
Date Published January 26th, 2022
A restaurant’s marketing budget is generally expected to equate to 3-6% of its total sales. This varies depending on multiple factors including, but not limited to: location, competition, business volume, and cash flow. This marketing budget expectation is just that, an expectation. There are certain times of the year when a venue will spend more than this on marketing, and rarely will they spend less.
How much capital is available for a restaurant’s marketing plan is a small element of achieving success with a promotion for a restaurant. What is more important is how that budget is applied to produce marketing materials for restaurant promos and how they fit into a restaurant’s marketing plan.
There are four factors of successful restaurant promoting that can be viewed as 4 simple questions: Who?, What?, When?, and Why? The answers to these four questions can underpin any and all marketing strategies for a restaurant, and can help to increase the success of individual promotions by better informing their intent during the concept and design processes. Before delving into the four factors of successful restaurant promotion it is important to first touch on business analytics.
Business Analytics
To have a better chance of success a restaurant promotion should rise from solid foundations, and those solid foundations are built out of data. When you involve business data to inform the promotion decision making process it can increase the efficiency of a marketing budget.
A venue’s owner or manager might have an intuitive sense of the What, When, Who, or Why for a specific restaurant promotion, but using data sourced from their POS system will allow them to inform their decision making in a much more accurate and confident way. Data that can be pulled from a POS system to better inform a restaurant’s marketing efforts include:
- COGs
- Sales volume/Menu item popularity
- Guest count by time period (be that hour, day, week, or month)
- Party size
- Average check size
Different data points pulled from a location’s POS will inform each of the factors below that can impact a promotion’s level of success.
To have a better chance of success a restaurant promotion should rise from solid foundations, and those solid foundations are built out of data. When you involve business data to inform the promotion decision making process it can increase the efficiency of a marketing budget.
A venue’s owner or manager might have an intuitive sense of the What, When, Who, or Why for a specific restaurant
promotion, but using data sourced from their POS system will allow them to inform their decision making in a much more accurate and confident way. Data that can be pulled from a POS system to better inform a restaurant’s marketing efforts include:
- COGs
- Sales volume/Menu item popularity
- Guest count by time period (be that hour, day, week, or month)
- Party size
- Average check size
Different data points pulled from a location’s POS will inform each of the factors below that can impact a promotion’s level of success.
To have a better chance of success a restaurant promotion should rise from solid foundations, and those solid foundations are built out of data. When you involve business data to inform the promotion decision making process it can increase the efficiency of a marketing budget.
A venue’s owner or manager might have an intuitive sense of the What, When, Who, or Why for a specific restaurant promotion, but using data sourced from their POS system will allow them to inform their decision making in a much more accurate and confident way. Data that can be pulled from a POS system to better inform a restaurant’s marketing efforts include:
- COGs
- Sales volume/Menu item popularity
- Guest count by time period (be that hour, day, week, or month)
- Party size
- Average check size
Different data points pulled from a location’s POS will inform each of the factors below that can impact a promotion’s level of success.
Who: Target Market
The vast majority of restaurant promotions will be aimed at a specific group of patrons, either existing patrons or new ones. New customer acquisition can cost five times more than focusing on keeping existing customers returning, and the cost of results can be a big factor in this decision.
Once a target customer group, new or existing, has been established the next step is to tailor the marketing material to better suit the venue’s target market. Both data analytics and a location’s general target market can influence this. If, for instance, a venue has seen a drop in the number of children’s meals sold over the past few months then it is possible that fewer families are visiting the location. This provides the venue with a clear potential target audience for their promotion. Knowing the target audience a promotion is aiming at can greatly inform the verbiage and visual content of said promotion.
The vast majority of restaurant promotions will be aimed at a specific group of patrons, either existing patrons or new ones. New customer acquisition can cost five times more than focusing on keeping existing customers returning, and the cost of results can be a big factor in this decision.
Once a target customer group, new or existing, has been established the next step is to tailor the marketing material to better suit the venue’s target market. Both data analytics and a location’s general target market can influence this. If, for instance, a venue has seen a drop in the number of children’s meals sold over the past few months then it is possible that fewer families are visiting the location. This provides the venue with a clear potential target audience for their promotion. Knowing the target audience a promotion is aiming at can greatly inform the verbiage and visual content of said promotion.
The vast majority of restaurant promotions will be aimed at a specific group of patrons, either existing patrons or new ones. New customer acquisition can cost five times more than focusing on keeping existing customers returning, and the cost of results can be a big factor in this decision.
Once a target customer group, new or existing, has been established the next step is to tailor the marketing material to better suit the venue’s target market. Both data analytics and a location’s general target market can influence this. If, for instance, a venue has seen a drop in the number of children’s meals sold over the past few months then it is possible that fewer families are visiting the location. This provides the venue with a clear potential target audience for their promotion. Knowing the target audience a promotion is aiming at can greatly inform the verbiage and visual content of said promotion.
What: COGs
If a restaurant promotion includes discounted or free menu items as a way of enticing people through the door then knowing and managing the COGs of these items is imperative to ensuring that the promotion doesn’t hurt the business as it tries to help it.
Completing a COGs analysis for a promotion, using the latest pricing data from suppliers, can provide “big picture” insights into the promotion and ensure that it provides value to the business, instead of taking value away from it. At a very minimum the promotion price should cover the COGs of the items in the promotion, and, ideally, a restaurant should breakeven on all of its promoted items.
<span class="s1">If a restaurant promotion includes discounted or free menu items as a way of enticing people through the door then knowing and managing the COGs of these items is imperative to ensuring that the promotion doesn’t hurt the business as it tries to help it.</span><span class="s1">Completing a COGs analysis for a promotion, using the latest pricing data from suppliers, can provide “big picture” insights into the promotion and ensure that it provides value to the business, instead of taking value away from it. At a very minimum the promotion price should cover the COGs of the items in the promotion, and, ideally, a restaurant should breakeven on all of its promoted items.</span>
If a restaurant promotion includes discounted or free menu items as a way of enticing people through the door then knowing and managing the COGs of these items is imperative to ensuring that the promotion doesn’t hurt the business as it tries to help it.
Completing a COGs analysis for a promotion, using the latest pricing data from suppliers, can provide “big picture” insights into the promotion and ensure that it provides value to the business, instead of taking value away from it. At a very minimum the promotion price should cover the COGs of the items in the promotion, and, ideally, a restaurant should breakeven on all of its promoted items.
When: Timing
The timing of when a restaurant promotion is released can seriously affect its effectiveness and the value it generates for a venue. The timing of a restaurant promotion is dependent on multiple factors, all of which will be unique to each restaurant, its clientele, and its location.
Seasonality can affect restaurant promotions in many ways. Colder and warmer periods of the year will affect the content of promotional materials, and seasonality is also an important factor for many restaurants located in resorts, towns, or districts where there is a seasonal fluctuation in business levels. If a restaurant or area has an off-season, when there are fewer potential customers in the area, then any marketing conducted during this period will largely be a waste of time, effort, and capital.
If sports are an element of a venue’s offerings then the coming and going of the region’s popular sports can impact the effectiveness of a venue’s sports based promotions; and general promotions. Combining promotions with the beginning of sports season can help to bring customers in through the door who may then become a regular for that season; and maybe for other seasons to come.
Time, in terms of restaurant promotion, can also define the scope of an individual promotion. When analyzing data from their restaurant an owner or manager may find that there is a particular day or time period where business numbers could be improved by bringing in more clientele. Time is also a factor in LTOs where a promotion, like a 2-4-1, only runs for a limited period of time.
The timing of when a restaurant promotion is released can seriously affect its effectiveness and the value it generates for a venue. The timing of a restaurant promotion is dependent on multiple factors, all of which will be unique to each restaurant, its clientele, and its location.
Seasonality can affect restaurant promotions in many ways. Colder and warmer periods of the year will affect the content of promotional materials, and seasonality is also an important factor for many restaurants located in resorts, towns, or districts where there is a seasonal fluctuation in business levels. If a restaurant or area has an off-season, when there are fewer potential customers in the area, then any marketing conducted during this period will largely be a waste of time, effort, and capital.
If sports are an element of a venue’s offerings then the coming and going of the region’s popular sports can impact the effectiveness of a venue’s sports based promotions; and general promotions. Combining promotions with the beginning of sports season can help to bring customers in through the door who may then become a regular for that season; and maybe for other seasons to come.
Time, in terms of restaurant promotion, can also define the scope of an individual promotion. When analyzing data from their restaurant an owner or manager may find that there is a particular day or time period where business numbers could be improved by bringing in more clientele. Time is also a factor in LTOs where a promotion, like a 2-4-1, only runs for a limited period of time.
The timing of when a restaurant promotion is released can seriously affect its effectiveness and the value it generates for a venue. The timing of a restaurant promotion is dependent on multiple factors, all of which will be unique to each restaurant, its clientele, and its location.
Seasonality can affect restaurant promotions in many ways. Colder and warmer periods of the year will affect the content of promotional materials, and seasonality is also an important factor for many restaurants located in resorts, towns, or districts where there is a seasonal fluctuation in business levels. If a restaurant or area has an off-season, when there are fewer potential customers in the area, then any marketing conducted during this period will largely be a waste of time, effort, and capital.
If sports are an element of a venue’s offerings then the coming and going of the region’s popular sports can impact the effectiveness of a venue’s sports based promotions; and general promotions. Combining promotions with the beginning of sports season can help to bring customers in through the door who may then become a regular for that season; and maybe for other seasons to come.
Time, in terms of restaurant promotion, can also define the scope of an individual promotion. When analyzing data from their restaurant an owner or manager may find that there is a particular day or time period where business numbers could be improved by bringing in more clientele. Time is also a factor in LTOs where a promotion, like a 2-4-1, only runs for a limited period of time.
Why: Press or Customers?
Press and customers are the goal of all promotions and marketing efforts, combining for the common goal of helping a venue increase its revenue. But each individual promotion will lean toward one over the other. Knowing whether press or customers is the overarching goal of a particular promotion helps to better inform marketing decision making.
If the purpose of the promotion is to bring attention to an existing menu item, part of a location, or a service offered, e.g. an award winning dish, a new app, a private dining room, or delivery service, then the goal of increased revenue is being reached through press. These types of promotional materials are often aimed more at existing customers than new customers.
Other marketing materials could contain an offer that is aiming to bring guests through the doors at a particular time of the day or season. Here the purpose of the promotion is more directly focused on customers, and can often be considered to be aiming more at new customers rather than existing ones.
Press and customers are the goal of all promotions and marketing efforts, combining for the common goal of helping a venue increase its revenue. But each individual promotion will lean toward one over the other. Knowing whether press or customers is the overarching goal of a particular promotion helps to better inform marketing decision making.
If the purpose of the promotion is to bring attention to an existing menu item, part of a location, or a service offered, e.g. an award winning dish, a new app, a private dining room, or delivery service, then the goal of increased revenue is being reached through press. These types of promotional materials are often aimed more at existing customers than new customers.
Other marketing materials could contain an offer that is aiming to bring guests through the doors at a particular time of the day or season. Here the purpose of the promotion is more directly focused on customers, and can often be considered to be aiming more at new customers rather than existing ones.
Press and customers are the goal of all promotions and marketing efforts, combining for the common goal of helping a venue increase its revenue. But each individual promotion will lean toward one over the other. Knowing whether press or customers is the overarching goal of a particular promotion helps to better inform marketing decision making.
If the purpose of the promotion is to bring attention to an existing menu item, part of a location, or a service offered, e.g. an award winning dish, a new app, a private dining room, or delivery service, then the goal of increased revenue is being reached through press. These types of promotional materials are often aimed more at existing customers than new customers.
Other marketing materials could contain an offer that is aiming to bring guests through the doors at a particular time of the day or season. Here the purpose of the promotion is more directly focused on customers, and can often be considered to be aiming more at new customers rather than existing ones.
The Takeaway
Marketing and promotions are a crucial element of a restaurant’s success, and well informed and thought out promotions and marketing material can substantially increase the chances of success with a marketing campaign. Taking the above four points into consideration when creating a marketing campaign can not only increase its chance of success but can also help to make a restaurant’s marketing budget much more efficient.
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