How to Drive Restaurant Visits with Digital Gifts

Gifting digitally is an efficient way to convert online interest into restaurant visits. The process of gifting digitally has very low friction because customers can move from their inbox to your restaurant very quickly. This article will explain how to create a campaign that feels natural, provides value, and incentivizes redemption.

1. Partner with Local Businesses for Increased Reach

The first step is to choose local businesses that serve a similar audience to yours. In this scenario, a local café might partner up with a local bakery. A casual restaurant might partner with a local florist or gym, and a local bar could partner with a local dessert shop.

The goal of all of these partnerships is to create a mutual customer base without creating an unintended difficult customer experience. Both businesses should provide products/services of similar value, with redemption occurring via the display of a digital code/message at the point of sale.

2. Develop Seasonally Relevant Promotions

Seasonal moments create inherent relevance in digital gifts. Examples of seasonal offers include Valentine's Day dessert, holiday brunch weeks, comfort-food offerings for the rainy season, and a "free drink with any December reservation.’ By establishing a sense of urgency, you will encourage your customers to act quickly and use their digital gifts.

Bundling food and beverage items feels more generous than sending multiple separate items. It encourages more customers to redeem their items before the expiration date.

3. Craft SMS and Email Copy That Sounds Human

 Write the text messages and emails as if they were coming from you personally to encourage people to read and respond to them. The tone should be friendly, brief, and to the point. Clearly state what you are offering and how to use it. Use a friendly, casual tone. The shorter and more personalized the message, the more successful it will be.

4. Schedule Smart Reminders

 Schedule reminders but ensure they aren't annoying. Most people will not redeem their gift from one text. Sending a friendly reminder several days later will help ensure the recipient has not forgotten about it, and sending one last reminder just prior to the offer's expiration creates a sense of urgency without being too aggressive.

 You do not need to send out daily reminder texts—a couple of well-timed reminders will be enough to increase redemptions without irritating your audience.

5. Follow-up on Tracking Redemption and the Analytics

One of the most significant benefits of digital gifting is the opportunity to track your success with it. Track the response rate, the number of people who redeem and the speed at which people redeem after purchasing a gift.

When you look at your overall data, you will see trends regarding what types of gifts cause first-time users to become return repeat customers.

6. Cold Beverages as Your Primary Hook to Increase Conversions

Cold Beverages are one of the easiest digital gifts to market since they are generally desirable and visually appealing.  People will typically choose to go into a restaurant to get a refreshing beverage rather than purchase an over-complicated meal deal.

Ensure the product is of high quality to be successful. The quality of ice is very important when developing your establishment's image. Clear and uniform ice will maintain the crispness of the beverage and hold its taste for longer periods. Your guests will notice when the presentation of the beverage is attractive and this will likely lead to repeat business.

In order to strengthen your beverage program, it is vital that you maintain the ability to produce ice reliably and with the highest output possible for your venue. If your beverage program relies heavily on cold beverage sales, you must invest in high-quality ice equipment. Check out reliable, durable commerical ice machines by Ice Machines Plus. They have a variety for the busiest venues.

Endnote

The reason digital gifting works is because it gives guests a personal connection with the venue and an immediate reason to visit the venue. When you combine all the above tips, you can create an easy opportunity for your guests to engage online and then walk into the venue to redeem their gifts. Start out with simple ideas, refine them through your customer's response and continue offering your guests great experiences,  and they will come back again and again.