For F&B business owners, if you’re still figuring out new ways to boost your restaurant sales – you’ve come to the right place!
We’re already into the second week of Ramadan, which means Raya will be upon us soon. True to our Malaysian heritage, many of us are honouring the upcoming celebration through food and spirited (albeit socially-distanced) buka puasa events.
A well thought out restaurant promotion and marketing strategy is an essential to engage with your customers and convert new ones into regulars.
Even though many are still cautious about dining out, there are plenty of opportunities to garner more sales.
Read on to find out how to cash in on the festivities whilst providing a memorable experience for your customers!
#1 Expand Your Menu to Include Special Catering and Takeout Options
Ramadan and Raya celebrations may be a livelier one compared to 2020, but they could still be smaller, with many still cautious of the rising cases in Malaysia. Besides, customers can now rely on convenient takeout options to dine at home with their family and friends.
Key Strategies:
- Help them simplify their Iftar by offering a promotion that caters to a full spread or a la carte items that they can add to their own home-cooked meal!
- Offer a variety of spreads and bundle meals for different group sizes to cater to different settings.
- Clearly showcase your offers on the menu, website and social media platforms. If you’re using a delivery service, have the menu items listed at the top so that it is the first thing users see when they visit your page on the app.
An example of catering done right is PichaEats. The social enterprise works with refugee chefs in Malaysia to deliver mouth-watering, authentic and halal meals right to your doorstep.
For their Ramadan 2021 promotion, customers can order a wide selection of items ranging from convenient, ready-to-heat meal packs for Sahur, appetisers and snack platters, to lavish buka puasa spreads that can feed up to five people.
#2 Identify Your Best-Selling Items
Knowing what your customers keep coming back for is a huge advantage. Make use of your best-selling menu items and build promotions around them to boost Raya sales!
The advantage to this is that you don’t have to invest any more time testing and coming up with new menu items – all you have to do is focus on putting them front and center.
Key Strategies:
- Creating special offers such as buy-2-free-1 promos
- Building a dedicated bestsellers landing page on your website
- If you’re on a food delivery app, make sure the designated top-sellers category is on top of your restaurant page
- Design and display eye-catching Raya-themed visuals featuring your top items at your storefront and much more.
As you don’t want to be running out of any essentials at the last minute, remember to stock up on ingredients ahead of time in anticipation of the Ramadan rush. Platforms like Dropee allow you to shop for all your F&B items in bulk online and have them delivered directly to your store with just a few clicks of a button.
We’re running a Raya Sale – use RAYA20 to get RM20 OFF with a minimum spend of RM400!
#3 Draw Customers in by Giving Back
This is a wonderful time to reflect and give back to the community. Gather your customers to help make a positive impact with special promos surrounding the holiday goodwill!
Key Strategies:
- Make a commitment to donate a percentage of your sales on all orders within a specified time period to a local charity or social enterprise.
- This can consist of your usual menu items or you can design a special, limited-time only menu for the occasion.
- Set up a donation drive and encourage customers to drop-off non-perishable items in exchange for gift cards or discounts at your restaurant.
A particularly memorable past initiative comes from MyBurgerLab and Nandos. In conjunction with its 6th anniversary in 2018, MyBurgerLab partnered with Nandos Malaysia to launch the limited-edition Peri-Peri burger. It’s a hearty concoction consisting of a crispy chicken thigh marinated in Nandos’ signature Peri-Peri sauce, fresh cilantro and grilled pineapple.
MyBurgerLab promised to donate all proceeds earned from the burger to the Dignity for Children foundation. After running the event for a week and a half, MyBurgerLab successfully raised an estimated RM20,000 in funds.
#4 Create Creative Themed Posts
Festive seasons are great opportunities to localise your content. There are plenty of ways to adapt your decor and content to reflect the festivities.
Key Strategies:
- Create themed online content.
- Social media posts counting down the days till Raya
- Branded hashtags that your followers can use to tag you in posts
- Online vouchers that customers can claim to get discounts at your restaurant
- For physical stores, get creative with your in-store promotions
- Buka Puasa set meals on favourite menu items and specials for all dine-ins
- Create a first-time customer program and reward first-time diners with a free menu item with a purchase of an entree
- Don’t slack on your decor! Interweaving a few beloved Raya classics with your regular music playlist and putting up some festive decorations is an easy way to set the mood and draw people in
LactoMomma, for example, shared a special themed guide on navigating bulan puasa for breastfeeding mothers. The guide was complete with helpful hints, easy-to-follow instructions, and a strategically placed tip on eating nutrient-rich food – a key USP LactoMomma provides.
Another one of our favourite examples is KFC’s Ramadan Ayam Guide. The popular fast food chain released a step-by-step guide on their website and in-stores instructing customers on the best way to reheat and enjoy their KFC chicken for Sahur and Iftar.
#5 Offer Special “Limited-Time Only” Options
A sure-fire way to increase restaurant sales is through limited-time only menu options.
Think about McDonald’s Foldover Burger for Raya and Starbucks’ eternally evolving holiday drinks. Because these offers aren’t available all-year round, they become a special treat for customers.
A limited-time offer is a not-so-secret weapon when it comes to creating a sense of urgency. Not only can it create marketing buzz surrounding your product and brand but it helps you gain traction quickly.
Sugar and I, a popular dessert store, recently released Dodol Gula Melaka bombolini for the Ramadan season. In their announcement post, the brand also brought back old, well-loved recipes – a strong indicator that they’ve been paying attention to loyal customers.
You know your brand best. Feel free to create a new menu item, recreate an old one, or simply bring them back, just the way your customers love.
Once you’ve successfully determined your limited-time menu, get the word out to your customers!
Key Steps:
- Send out an email blast ahead of time to draw hype.
- Regularly share content surrounding the offer on social media and consider investing in targeted ads to attract relevant audiences.
- You can also run a contest to ramp up engagement during this period. There are plenty of fun ways to generate excitement – and now is the perfect time to experiment new ideas!
Get Raya Ready with Dropee
Ultimately, don’t be afraid to experiment with new ideas and approaches! Start out small, pay attention to how your customers are responding and adapt your strategy accordingly to boost Raya sales.
Make the most out of the season and maximise your Raya earnings. Dropee’s Raya Sale features thousands of best-selling products that you can find at wholesale prices.
From soft drinks to seasonings, stock up on a huge selection of kitchen supplies at Dropee.
0 Comments