Following my blog ‘Restaurant Promotion: What discount should I offer” I was asked by a fellow marketer for some feedback on the level of discount. His question was ‘have you seen 10% work better than offering 5% off?’. From experience, better or higher discounts have a better chance of redemption for two reasons:
OK, so you own a restaurant or café, you have been approached by a local discount program, you have read my last post, followed the 8 guidelines, decided discounting is for you and now you ask yourself ‘what discount should I offer?’
The best advice I can give for coupon restaurant promotion is to (1) limit your exposure and (2) use ‘perceived value’ to your advantage. Attracting new customers with a discount coupon is great for business as long as the terms of the offer limit your exposure by not giving away too much margin. You also want perception of value so potential customers feel compelled to use the coupon.
I have assisted many companies with running their local discount reward programs and part of this process involves contacting local small businesses and asking them to provide some discount for members of the reward program. One of the first questions I’m usually asked is ‘should I provide a discount?’ and the answer isn’t always clear so here are some guidelines:
Many small businesses have until now ignored the power of Google search but Google maps is changing the game for small business. If you own a small business or restaurant and have not already done so follow these steps to ensure you are listed: