For restaurants, the approach to marketing needs to be a little different to e-commerce businesses. For example, there’s little need to advertise to anybody outside of the local community. In most cases, a restaurant’s potential customer base is within a handful of miles.
Although there is some value in utilizing techniques like local SEO, it’s the traditional marketing methods that yield real results. Today, we want to provide advice for one of the classics; theme nights. They’re incredibly fun, they help to build a brand, and it’s a good way to attract new customers. But how do you do it right?
Here are six ideas!
TV (or Netflix) Theme Night
We all love to relax and watch some great TV, but it’s even better when we get together with others too. Why not invite the local community to watch a specific TV show? For restaurants inspired by TV shows, this is even better. Get a large TV screen or projector, get people through the door, and you’ll have a superb night.
If you don’t want to get people together to watch the show, perhaps you could set up themed quiz nights? Imagine everybody getting together to answer Game of Thrones questions (it might just get a little competitive!).
If you choose this one, we highly recommend asking your regular customers to see what they would enjoy (there’s no point choosing something nobody watches!).
Networking Evening
Often, just hearing the word ‘networking’ can bring up images of awkward interactions with strangers. Let’s face it, the average conversation while networking doesn’t go too far. Fortunately, you’re forever going to change the reputation of networking events for all professionals in the neighborhood.
Over time, we advise setting up niche-specific events such as those for young entrepreneurs and women in business.
Guest Chef Night
What is it that brings people back to your restaurant time and time again? Great food and brilliant customer service. Why limit your great food to one chef? In the past, we’ve seen several restaurants hold a guest chef night and it always goes down well. For one night only, bring a chef from another restaurant into the kitchen and allow them to make your customers smile.
The reason why this is such a great business idea is because two restaurants essentially help each other to gain exposure. After the guest chef does their night, your chef can visit them (or, you could even do a special swap on the same night). As long as there’s demand, this will keep people coming in to try something new.
Here’s some bonus tips for this idea;
- Choose a cuisine in which your customers will have an interest
- Offer a demonstration in the dining room
- Have another chef create a special (if they can’t attend for a full night)
Charity Night
Just as we saw with the previous idea, this is one where everybody wins. The charities receive important donations, your reputation increases for setting up the event, and the customers feel good for contributing. For best results, we recommend choosing a local charity because the community is more likely to resonate.
Over the years, we’ve seen restaurants team up with and support community groups, schools, youth groups, and more. As long as the charity has a table and can give a short speech, this is a feel-good event and it spreads the sort of positivity we seem to be lacking in the world right now.
Decade Night
What better way to get people out of their comfort zone and having a great time than with an old-school party? Will you go for the flares from the 1960s, the big hair from the 1970s, or maybe even the disco years of the 1980s? Just watch the laughter as more and more people walk in with their ridiculous outfits.
To really pull this off, you can set up a special music playlist and create a one-night-only menu. Perhaps you could try a disco-themed cocktail list? The more effort you put in, the more the community will respond.
Of course, you can’t do this without encouraging the staff to dress up too. How great would it be to have the four members of Abba walking around serving food and drink?
Children’s Night
Finally, the reason why many families avoid eating in restaurants is because they simply can’t afford it. Therefore, an evening where children eat for half the normal price (or even for free!) is guaranteed to be a winner.
If you can’t afford to offer these sorts of deals, maybe you could arrange special children’s entertainment for the evening? You don’t have to break the bank; a simple performer or crafts table will do the trick. Better yet, allow them to make food.
Get Started Now
When running a restaurant, it’s easy to fall into the monotony of it all. With one of these six ideas, you can breathe a new lease of life into the building. We understand, it can be scary since you don’t know just how the customers will react. When you’ve got something good going, it’s nerve-racking to throw a wrench into the schedule. However, all the evidence points towards this risk being worthwhile.
As long as you choose events that resonate with your audience and adhere to your overall style, it’s always good to get people through the door more frequently. While on this note, don’t make the mistake of alienating your main crowd. For example, in a family environment, introducing a rowdy beer pong tournament in the corner probably isn’t a good decision. In more of a pub atmosphere, this will work perfectly.
Let’s finish with some additional tips;
- Make sure people know about your theme night with advertising (use traditional signage in the window, talk to customers and tell them to spread the message, and update your social media pages).
- Find the balance between giving an idea a chance and changing strategy when the customers aren’t responding.
- Offer discounts for large groups to encourage companies to choose you as their social evening; this will also attract groups of friends, families, and others.
- Never forget the value of great customer service and high-quality food; this is still your bread and butter (so to speak). Don’t let the arrangements of the evening get in the way of your brilliant food.
