Pizza is a fantastic way to bring a community of people together. From family dinners to local sporting events, pizza is literally baked into our sense of community (pun intended). So how can your restaurant leverage pizza's natural community-building abilities? Here are five of our top ideas just for you:
1.Participate in a Community Event
Holidays, food festivals, and other community events are excellent ways to raise brand awareness, inject some teamwork into your workforce, reach new potential customers, and sell samples of your product. In addition to being a great in-the-moment promotion strategy, it's also an excellent way to drive future foot traffic. As your brand continues to host fundraisers, people will remember your presence and are more likely to return to your restaurant for more of that yummy local pizza.
2.Contribute to a Charity
Contributing to a charity is an excellent way to promote your branding in the community while supporting a worthy cause. This can take many forms, so it's important to aside some time to plan what works best for your business. Depending on your staffing, time, and budget, you can:
- Make a one-time or recurring donation to a local food bank
- Advertise that a certain percentage of every order goes to a designated charity on a particular day
- Host a food drive at your restaurant to help gather non-perishables to donate to a local food bank
- Designate a specific menu item to have proceeds go to charity
- Sponsor a charity event
- Deliver meals to low-income communities
In addition to promotion within the community, it’s also a fantastic strategy to appeal to a younger workforce. In fact, 77% of Americans judge the corporate citizenship of prospective companies before applying for a job with that business.
3. Host a Pizza-Making Class
These classes can be held right in your restaurant, a local food festival, or anywhere else you'll likely catch potential customers' interest. Don't be afraid to get creative; the goal is to draw attention to your food and restaurant while building a positive brand reputation and offering great service. After a few classes, you can even kick it up a notch and host contests or events with prizes—all excellent ways to promote your business making people invested in getting another taste of your menu.
4. Partner with Another Local Business
Partnering with local shops is a perfect way to build on each other's strengths, while nurturing valuable relationships and showcasing the importance of shopping local. These partnerships can take many forms, but some of the most popular are featuring each other's products, hosting a community event, or collaborating on a charity program. Just imagine: a locally-owned movie theatre is having a midnight viewing of this summer's biggest blockbuster hit, and you have the opportunity to serve your most popular pizzas to all those hungry movie goers.
5. Stay Involved in Between Events
Participating in events, partnerships, classes, and charities are all excellent ways to get more involved in your community, but you can't stop there. Use social media to actively participate in the conversation, and keep a finger on the pulse of what existing and potential customers are saying. If someone opens up a new restaurant a few blocks away, try posting a congratulatory tweet on their profile. Stay involved in conversations about local events and other topics where your business can get involved. This keeps your business front-of-mind for customers the next time they're thinking about where to order from. It's also an excellent source for gathering authentic feedback while boosting your online presence and SEO!
How your restaurant gets involved in the community will be different from other restaurants; everyone has their vision and opportunities they can learn from. Ultimately, continuous involvement in the community will have a measurably positive impact on your business. If you'd like to learn more about how your restaurant can improve its bottom line, check out our article on how the right POS can enhance the way you do delivery.
