Why use online promotions?

To secure your customers’ loyalty

In the restaurant industry, promotional offers, in whatever shape or form, are an all-important marketing device for securing your customers’ loyalty. As mentioned in a previous article entitled “Promotions that hit home”, by offering targeted or customer-exclusive discounts, your customers will feel like they are getting preferential treatment from your establishment. This is also an excellent way to “give a nudge” to customers who haven’t placed an order for a while; your offer will remind them that you are still there.

To attract new customers

Whether on your online ordering site or in your restaurant, promotional offers have an undeniable positive effect. According to a study by club-reduc.com conducted in December 2014, in terms of e-commerce:

• “One Internet user in every two abandons their online order if they don’t find a promotional code to reduce their basket’s total amount”;
• “More than one in three will then try to find the same product or a very similar product on another website”.

For consumers, promotions thus have a genuine impact on both the online ordering process and the actual purchase. By making offers, you will increase visitor traffic and improve the conversion rate on your restaurant’s e-commerce site.

To increase the total amount of the average basket

A number of studies have proven that customers buy more when offered a promotion. Having a reduction increases the psychological ordering barrier that consumers generally set for themselves. By offering discounts, you will thus increase the amount of your average basket for orders placed online.

To facilitate your logistics

Whatever the format you decide to use, you are advised to adopt online, digital promotions. Users who are now increasingly connected will often be more receptive to online promotions which, by the same token, will allow you to make substantial gains in terms of time and money. Indeed, with online promotions, you (and the customer for that matter) no longer have to print or store your coupons and discounts. This is better for the environment, and saves space for everyone. What’s more, with digital promotional codes, you stand to gain time. With LivePepper, for example, you can configure each and every promotion via your dedicated BackOffice space by specifying the code of your choice. When your customers come to pay, they enter this “coupon code” in the corresponding field, and the offer is automatically applied to their order.

Formats that have proved successful…

When deciding on the format of your promotion, you will have to adapt it to:

• your customers (where, for example, your offers will differ for private individuals, businesses or students);
• consumption modes (takeaway, traditional eat-in service, etc.);
• the products that you offer;
• the values inherent in your establishment.

Here are some example to inspire you…

Formulas, set menus or trays

This is the most widely used promotional format as it involves composing a complete meal (starter, main dish, dessert, drink) or an assortment of items (trays, boxes), which means an increase in the average basket amount of the online order.

Price discounts

Price discounts are always associated with basic conditions of use: a given day, a specific timeslot, or even a period in the year. It can be a discount on the purchase of a product or service, or a special price for the purchase of a combination of items.

The promotion can be given in your local currency or as a percentage. Choose the one that will have the most impact on consumers: the higher the figure or the perceived promotion, the better the offer will work.

You can also apply a promotion on a given day of the week, when business is slow, to boost sales.

Loyalty programmes and rewards

To encourage customers to come back to your restaurant, invite them to join a loyalty programme. This can involve a reward system via a loyalty card. The idea is to reward the customer’s loyalty by offering them something (a free product, a discount, a service, etc.) after placing a certain number of orders or acquiring a certain number of points.

Event-driven promotions

Promotions can take the form of discounts or free items applicable on certain days of the week, within a given time slot (e.g. happy hour), or on a special occasion (e.g. a birthday).

Games and competitions

Games are an excellent way to interact with your customers, find out more about them and build up your customer database. Winners’ prizes or rewards can be free items, discounts or goodies bearing your restaurant’s name (glass, pen, keyring, etc.).

Service offers

Offering your customers certain services such as free delivery or cutlery and accessories will help to increase the amount of their order. Lots of consumers will add one last item to their basket to reach the minimum order amount in order to benefit from a free service. Note: if certain conditions apply to this kind of offer (minimum order amount, delivery region, surcharge, etc.), remember to state this on your restaurant’s online ordering site.

Try out to see what works best

To find the promotion format best suited to your restaurant and with the best ROI, by all means try out different promotion formats and devices, and combine your offers.

The choice is yours!