There’s nothing better than watching people’s reactions to those first few warm days of the season. Suddenly, November’s here, and with it are those first few 28 degree plus days. The front deck of your local pub, host to only a couple throughout the cooler months, suddenly becomes prime real estate as people soak up the warm social evenings.
The short version? We’re done hibernating. Stuck inside is out, sparkling ales and dining in the warm evening air is in. So if you’re in the hospitality industry, this is super news.
First things first. You need to see the changing seasons as the spark to change your marketing tactics. Now that Daylight Savings has started, you should have not only changed your smoke alarm battery, but completely changed up your advertising plans. A little bit of Vitamin D does a lot to our state of mind – people are thinking differently, and if you want to reach them, you need to as well.
Start with your Pamphlet Insertion tactics. Throughout winter you’ve probably been focusing on your take away options – distributing menus, advertising your free delivery service and promoting the areas you distribute to. With summer on the horizon, that all needs to change. Change your flyer design to showcase your sun filled outdoor dining options. Promote the events or specials – such as live music, happy hour or food specials. While you can absolutely still send out your menu (there’s nothing like wetting people’s appetite to encourage them to pop in!), assume that people are in the mood to head out on the town, so tailor your brochure design or marketing collateral accordingly.
And make sure you’re doing your beer garden justice! Don’t just take a few happy snaps of your outdoor areas, head outside and do a bit of styling to make them look as inviting as possible before you take the shot. Bonus points if you can take the photo on a busy night when it’s full of people enjoying themselves. (Nothing like a bit of ‘fear of missing out’ to entice people in!) If you’ve got a little bit of budget to play with, you could even consider hiring a professional – and asking them to take a few photos of plated meals as well. When done well, menus that feature images of the meals are much more attractive to people than those that don’t.
Don’t forget to give people a reason to come in! If you’re planning a flyer distribution campaign, you could easily slip in a free drink or entrée coupon – or even a 2 for 1 meal offer. When presented with multiple, attractive options, many people look for any additional ‘what’s in it for me’ to help them make the decision – and a discount or special offer can be just the ticket to bringing extra clients through your doors.
There’s a local pizza place down the road from us that changes up the specials board every month, and does a local area flyer distribution to promote the latest concoction. We’re suckers for this place – they really do make amazing pizzas, and we usually hang around the Pamphlet Insertion for the first of the month in anticipation. But here’s the brilliant part. They encourage you to keep the flyer. Because if you can remember the name of the pizza special, they’ll make it for you, no matter how long it’s been since it was on the menu. This means that not only have we literally kept every menu that they’ve ever sent us, but it encourages loyalty – we feel a little bit special that we can get pizzas that no-one else can get, and we’re never in the situation where we’ve found a pizza we love, only to have it removed a few weeks later. While it might not be possible for your business to make one off meals on demand, it’s a great example of coming up with something a little bit unique to get your customer’s attention.
