Celebrating Valentine’s Day in a restaurant apparently continues to be the go-to choice for customers, which presents a remarkable opportunity to increase sales.
How to do it ? Here we present some ideas:
Prepare the restaurant so that love is in the spotlight
It is a special day: it is therefore necessary to make some changes in the daily operation of the restaurant so that everything runs smoothly and to avoid unforeseen events as much as possible. Some examples :
- Organize the room by setting up more tables for two than usual .
- Organize today’s reservations in double service , the best solution to limit overbooking. TheFork Manager software makes it possible to organize the occupancy of tables in a simple and practical way. Click here to test it on Valentine’s Day.
- Hire extra staff if needed to be able to properly respond to all requests. Remember, this is one of the most profitable days of the year.
- Decorate the restaurant for the occasion. It all depends on the style of your establishment, but the ideal is to create a thematic atmosphere inspired by Valentine’s Day: decoration, design of the card, and even exterior signage. Red must undoubtedly be the flagship color.
- Hire a group of live musicians to add an even more romantic touch to the evening. A jazz group, for example, can be a perfect complement to the atmosphere and be a decisive asset for lovers.
Create a special gastronomic offer
It is essential that the gastronomic offer adapts to this celebration. The two basic propositions are as follows:
- Special fixed price menu. Example: welcome cocktail, various starters, main course, dessert and champagne.
- Fixed price tasting menu . Various special dishes planned for the occasion, with drinks included.
In any case, it is recommended to always have an exclusive offer for Valentine’s Day and thus to avoid the chaos in the kitchen, since on this day the restaurant will be at 100% of its capacity.
Here are some creative ideas to complement your menus:
Think about the accompaniment of the dishes of the menu by proposing the wines or the beers marrying the best with.
Offer desserts that will dazzle your customers because they mark the magical moment of the evening. Recipes made with chocolate, cinnamon, exotic fruits and other ingredients considered “aphrodisiacs” are good ideas for this occasion.
Create themed cocktails whose names and ingredients evoke love and sensuality.
Even single-product restaurants like hamburger restaurants can adapt their offering, for example by offering heart-shaped pieces of meat, sauces with creative ingredients and special combinations, available only to celebrate Valentine’s Day.
Marketing For Restaurants: 3 Strategies On Facebook
Promote your restaurant on Valentine’s Day
When everything is ready to provide a fantastic experience for your customers, all you have to do is market your event. As this is an extraordinary day, it is advisable to launch actions in all your promotion channels.
On the web: You can create a special design for your website homepage by inviting your customers to celebrate Valentine’s Day in your restaurant. You can also add a new page to your website where you will publish all the details of the offer, as well as a reservation button.
On specialty portals: Post your special Valentine’s Day menu on portals like TheFork to attract the attention of customers looking for a place to celebrate the occasion. If you don’t have a profile yet.
On Facebook: In your profile on this social network , you can launch endless actions to attract customers to your restaurant on Valentine’s Day. Here are some examples :
- Offer special promotions, like win a bottle of champagne or offer two desserts for the price of one, and post them on your wall to entice customers to come.
- Hold a contest to win a free dinner for two. Facebook’s platform makes it possible to organize sweepstakes, in which participants must enter valuable information such as their email address, which is essential for the restaurant’s database.
- Create ads with Facebook Ads. Valentine’s Day is a great time to create one or more ads, segmenting the customers your promotion is meant to reach. Using the marital status information provided by Facebook, you can create different ads with graphics and texts aimed at young couples, married couples, engaged couples, etc., inviting them to celebrate their love in your restaurant. .
- Promote your Valentine’s Day dishes. Rather than a simple post using a direct selling slogan (eg “Special Valentine’s Day Menu! Reserve your table!”), It is more effective to create the expectation among your subscribers , by posting photos or posters. videos announcing your preparations for the celebration.
On Instagram: This social network’s photo contests are perfect for this occasion. Invite your subscribed customers to post a romantic photo on their Instagram accounts, tag it with a hashtag specially created for the contest, for example #amournomdurestaurant. The author of the photo with the most “Likes” will receive a Valentine’s Day dinner. You can also apply the same principle to the most romantic commentary.
By Email: If you have a good database, you can promote your Valentine’s Day event by sending your customers emails that will grab their attention by inviting them to participate in your contests or book a table in your restaurant for that date. It is direct advertising that always gives good results.
Love and gastronomy are closely linked, and it is for this reason that on Valentine’s Day, millions of people go to restaurants to celebrate this holiday, which is a key moment for catering establishments . Since February is also a low sales month, this is the perfect opportunity to boost profits and capture more customers than on any other date. So, are you ready to open the doors of your establishment to love? We hope the answer is yes and that this year will bring you great success!
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