Diners seek quality food at competitive prices. Large companies and third-party services continuously distribute coupons and deals to drive orders and boost sales. Restaurant owners must strategically leverage offers to increase revenue.
Offers acquire new customers and re-engage inactive ones. Research indicates “Loyal regulars spend 67% more at restaurants than new guests.” Keeping your brand memorable and encouraging repeat orders significantly impacts profitability.
However, poorly planned offers without clear objectives can reduce profit margins or overwhelm operations, harming customer experience — like Grubhub’s 2022 NYC promotion offering free lunch for 3 hours, resulting in “6,000 orders per minute” and chaos.
Identify your “why”
Before starting, clarify your goals. You might want to:
- Increase sales with limited-time lower prices
- Attract new customers
- Reward existing customers
- Clear excess inventory
- Drive foot traffic and seating
Know what success looks like (and how to measure it!)
Understand your restaurant’s break-even point — when total revenue equals total cost. Determine how many sales generate profit to inform your offer strategy.
Decide what you’re willing to offer
Effective promotional strategies include:
- Percentage discounts on individual items or menu sections
- Flat dollar discounts on individual items or menu sections
- Bundle offers featuring grouped items (“buy this, get that”)
- Loyalty rewards
- Seasonal discounts on holidays and special occasions
- Free delivery
- Stickers/mailers with QR codes driving direct orders
Choose methods based on goals: flat percentage/dollar/seasonal/bundled offers increase sales; seasonal or bundled strategies attract new customers; free delivery or loyalty rewards engage existing patrons; bundled discounts with minimum orders clear inventory.
Discount to drive behaviors
Offers work best when tied to specific guest behaviors — attracting new customers, engaging inactive ones, or driving upsells. Avoid discounting staple items; instead highlight different, high-margin items.
Consider:
- Targeting slowest ordering days
- Highlighting historically low-volume holidays
- Bundling discounted items with full-priced items
- Setting automatic loyalty rewards
Keep your guests informed
Promote offers through:
- Automated Emails: Triggered by guest behavior (loyalty emails after certain order counts)
- Email Blasts: Customized emails to guest segments
- Text Messages: 95% open rate within 3 minutes
- Social Media: Visual content drives cravings and engagement
Know your audience
Segment audiences for targeted offers. Send “Free Delivery” to previous online orderers; offer “Buy this, get that” promotions to in-premise focused guests.
Sharing success stories: Restaurant offer strategies that stick
Libby’s Neighborhood Brasserie launched 35% off online ordering Monday–Wednesday during COVID to fill slower days. Through consistent email and SMS marketing, the offer generated 724 redemptions, $42,166 in revenue, and $14,757 in offer value. Monday–Wednesday now remain their peak ordering days.