Looking for new ways to increase traffic to your restaurant during a slow lunch? From specials and promotions, to social media, there are a few budget friendly strategies that can help.
Between 11am to 2pm, there’s a big opportunity to attract business lunches, workers on their lunch breaks, and lunchtime catering business. If you aren’t doing anything to encourage that, you’re missing out. Try implementing any—or all—of the tactics below to draw in business diners.
The cost of eating out everyday can quickly add up. Help local workers look past a bag lunch by offering a lunch special, or a combo deal. A good lunch—at a perceived reduced price—will bring customers back on a regular basis.
Pizzerias can offer an affordable lunch option by selling pizzas by the slice during peak lunch hours. Market them relentlessly to your lunch crowd, and this tactic will work even in low foot traffic areas. Keep the slices fresh and simple, and think about displaying them to catch customer's eyes. Not only will this be a quick and affordable lunch for them, but your profit margin will be much higher selling slices individually and in higher quantities.
Speed is king at lunchtime! Most people only have 30 minutes for lunch, so embrace call ahead meals and master pre-rush prep. Save them precious minutes and you'll win a repeat lunch customer as a result.
Take the time to personally meet your neighboring businesses by delivering free samples to nearby offices.
Continue this routine until you have visited every single business in your area, and then start all over again. People like to support people they like—by hand delivering free food you’re giving them a chance to get to know you and your business.
It may seem intimidating to give away free food and incur food costs. However, you're not simply giving away food—you're marketing your business.
Professionals love an excuse to meet up outside of their workplace! It’s pretty common for co-workers to go for lunch together, and it’s also typical for work meetings and discussions to take place off-site over lunch. There are a few ways to capitalize on this:
When deadlines are tight, people tend to work through their lunch. Ordering-in to the office is common practice in large offices. Free delivery could help you win more of their lunch business. In the post Catering to Businesses and Organizations with House Accounts, we discussed a few methods for billing businesses, and how it can be different from residential deliveries.
Consider posting on Facebook or Instagram in the late morning with scrumptious pictures of your food. Post lunch deals and special discounts to be redeemed at lunch. Nothing makes someone’s stomach grumble faster than checking Instagram at 11am. We’ve covered social media best practices in a few posts, such as Insta-Love Worthy Instagram Tips for Restaurants, and Marketing Your Pizzeria on TikTok.
Tap into the business customer base in your area with service and menu specials that cater to what they need during the workday. And watch your lunch sales and profits grow.