With lockdown restrictions and curfews in place, Valentine’s Day may look a little different this year. But now more than ever, people need to express their love to each other. Which means that you, the restauranteur, needs to think out-of-the-box and give your customers unique opportunities to share the love this Valentine’s Day.
Valentine’s Day: Delivered
Valentine’s Day is all about the romantic mood. Just because customers can’t necessarily come to you, doesn’t mean you can’t deliver that experience to them. Why not offer your diners an opportunity to eat your meal in the comfort of their own homes, delivered beautifully and with a personal touch. Consider a three-course take-away menu and offer sumptuous Valentine’s specials. By adding small but meaningful gestures like a hand-written note, hashtag or red rose to the delivery, you will not only pamper your guests, but also inspire them to talk you up to friends, family and followers.
DIY Dinner Kits
Consider offering your customers a DIY dinner kit: This can include all the beautiful goodies and pre-measured ingredients together with a step-by-step recipe, so they can make their partner a wonderful meal.
Take-away date
A great idea is to offer your customer a “take-away date” where you provide a box with all the components for a romantic night out. Put together a delicious take-away meal, flowers, scented candle and a blank card for them to fill in for their partner. This will make it especially easy for customers to do something special for their loved one, without any of the added stress.
Create a loving network
Valentine’s Day is all about people coming together - businesses included. So how about partnering with other businesses in your neighborhood by combining what you do, with what they do. Restaurants, florist, gift stores and boutiques could put beautiful Valentine’s Day packages together and offer them to your customer bases. Not only will this attract a lot of attention, but this cross-pollinating will be a great way to expand both your customer base and profit on Valentine’s day.
Make it a family affair
While Valentine’s Day is normally focused on adults, it’s highly likely that families are going to be together on Valentine’s Day this year. So why not make something special out of that by offering family-sized meals, take-away crafts packs and love-themed kid’s meals like heart-shaped pizzas and red velvet cupcakes.
Let everyone know about it
Now that you have all your plans in place, don’t forget to tell everyone about it. Start with social media as this is a sure-fire way to get the pre-orders going, fast. Make it engaging and visual by photographing sample dishes, making your content shareable and then don’t forget to post all the order details. Another great way to generate buzz is by running a contest to win a complementary dinner for two. You can do this by encouraging customers to share a romantic story in the comments section or to tag a friend to build your following.
The bottom line
This is the time to help people share the love and because food really brings people together, with the right positioning, clever concepts and a shrewd marketing strategy, you too can feel the love this Valentine’s Day.
