Starting planning now for a profitable Christmas

The Caterer, 30th July 2009

It may seem very early to start thinking about Christmas but it’s going to be more competitive than ever this December. With more redundancies in businesses up and down the country and tighter budgets than in living memory – attracting those profitable office parties is going to be tough.
 
By starting now restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels are giving themselves the best possible chance to have a great end to what has been for many, a tough year. Normally it’s the larger restaurants that start marketing early to attract the big groups but the smart manager of any sized restaurant is starting to get their menus and promotional material designed.

Marketing budgets are also tighter for restaurants so every pound counts. Many restaurants won’t be spending any money on expensive advertising in local papers and magazines this year. Instead other marketing strategies will come to the fore. The following are 5 tips for restaurateurs that will help to attract office parties:

Website
Make sure your Christmas menu is live on your website as well as other important information such as booking policy (ie deposits etc).

Design
Get your Christmas menu and / or promotional leaflet professional designed (and written) for the best possible image.

Pay per click
Set up a Pay per Click campaign on Google and other search engines to target Christmas office parties in your area.

Contact local businesses
Phone or visit them in person. If phoning try and get an email address and send them menus and other promotional material. You could also include a 2 for 1 voucher for food or alternatively a free drink to encourage the party organiser to check out your establishment before booking. Also think about incentives for booking (and paying a deposit) early.

Database
Send out regular newsletters to your database focusing on different aspects of your Christmas offering.
At Captivate Restaurants we have also started to get enquiries about what restaurants can do to attract Christmas Parties now (they are also acutely aware that the deposits paid now are also a useful addition to the restaurant’s cash flow).