Spring is quickly approaching and bringing with it a series of holidays and events that restaurants can capitalize on to drive an immediate boost in business. Read on to learn how you can leverage ideas from other restaurants’ promotions to drive sales this spring.

Attract sports fans to your restaurant

Spring brings a wave of exciting sporting events, making it the perfect opportunity to establish your restaurant as the go-to destination for guests who want to root for their favorite teams. 

Gracie O’Malley’s, an Irish pub in Chicago, capitalized on this trend by hosting March Madness watch parties. They invited guests to reserve tables in advance through email and saw a boost in business throughout the entire tournament.

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Looking to rope in business from other sports offerings? This year, Spaghetti Western Italian Cafe focused on the attendees of the nearby Houston Rodeo, encouraging the huge crowds to stop by the restaurant on their way to or from the event. Positioning your restaurant as the best stop for post-game grub can help your business see a massive uptick in dine-in customers!

Capitalizing on holidays

There are several food-centric spring holidays that present an excellent opportunity for restaurants to attract guests. While not as prominent as the holidays at the end of the year, they can still help drive significant business.

For instance, St. Patrick’s Day is a popular early spring celebration that many restaurants take advantage of.  D Z Akins’ in San Diego does an exceptional job of keeping it top of mind with their guests by sending out multiple messages and posts to customers through email and social media. Their messaging mentioned special dishes and customized catering offerings to entice guests to celebrate the holiday with their food.

Mother’s Day is one of the most significant restaurant holidays of the year, punctuated by special brunches, dinners, and takeout menus. Clay Hill Farm served a special menu for the holiday so their guests had an easy way to show their moms some love.

‍You don’t have to limit yourself to just the big holidays. There is a wide range of national food and beverage holidays you can tap into during the spring, such as National Burrito Day, National Hamburger Week, or American Craft Beer Week. These are perfect excuses to message guests and ask them to visit your restaurant. Check out this calendar and plan fun email or social campaigns to drive more business.

Effective marketing tools to keep your guests informed

Website

Your website should serve as an information hub for guests to find the most up-to-date menus, make reservations, and learn about upcoming events. Using tools like dynamic menus, website announcements, blogs, and event calendars are great ways to provide guests with the information they need while improving your website’s performance. 

Email campaigns

Email is an effective way to connect with your guests and keep them informed about everything happening at your restaurant. Develop custom email campaigns that describe your seasonal offerings and remind guests how to dine in or order takeout from your restaurant. You can also include special discounts to increase revenue.

SMS/Text

Text message marketing  is a perfect method if you want to connect with your customers in a more immediate way. The industry standard open rate on SMS messages is 98%, and most of those customers will look at the text within 3 minutes of its delivery! For extra clicks, add a special offer to the message!

Offers

Offers  can be included in emails or texts to incentivize guests to place an order. Something as simple as a code for 10% off the customer’s next online order can add thousands in sales revenue with just one message. 

Social media

Sharing your seasonal specials, limited-time offers, and upcoming events on social media is a fantastic way to keep your restaurant top-of-mind. By promoting your irresistible menu items across social channels, you’ll encourage guests to engage with your restaurant and inspire them to try your latest dishes. Want to be more hands-off with your social media, but still want a consistent presence? AI tools are available if you want to self-generate marketing content with ease!

Spring provides a wealth of opportunities for restaurants to connect with their guests while driving sales. Need help getting the most out of your spring plans? Popmenu can help! Our platform features marketing tools and services designed for restaurants that make managing marketing and growing sales easy. Schedule a free demo with one of our experts to learn more.