Introduction

Give your customers a reason to celebrate with you all year round! ChowNow’s comprehensive calendar of marketing moments goes beyond the traditional holidays and prepares your restaurant for those smaller but equally significant occasions that everyone can relate to. (Soup season may not have a specific date, but we all know that familiar fall craving!)

Pair this calendar with our integrated best-practice marketing timeline, and make this year your restaurant’s most successful one yet. These moments are just the beginning—don’t forget to add in the big days specific to your local community to personalize your success. Read on for tips on how to make the most out of this calendar at your own restaurant.

How to Create Amazing Advertising Moments At Your Restaurant

1. Look beyond the “big holidays.”

We’re not suggesting that you shouldn’t market for Mother’s Day or Thanksgiving, but there are numerous moments in between that deserve your food’s spotlight! By marketing year-round for both major and minor events, you’ll train your customers to consider you as the obvious choice for any gathering.

2. Think local.

Restaurants are what make our dining communities so unique. Look for ways to involve your local community in your marketing moments—for example, in addition to gearing up for the Big Game every February, check out your local school’s game schedule too!

3. Jump on the bandwagon.

Sometimes, everyone is doing something for a reason! Gain more momentum from seasonal trends by embracing what customers are clamoring for. There’s no reason why you shouldn’t have a slice of that pumpkin spice pie, and by referencing something that’s already popular, you get a head start on your marketing.

When you put your own twist on a trend, you enjoy the double marketing benefit of referencing something that many people already understand, while offering them something unique to get excited about. To use the pumpkin spice example, we all know about the famous pumpkin spice latte—but have they tried your pumpkin spice bread, soup, or cookie?

4. Don’t be afraid to innovate.

Limited-time offers are a great way to test new menu items and gauge their long-term viability. When you offer (and promote) a menu item that’s “only available today,” not only do you create demand by playing up the fear of missing out, but you can also see if it’s worth adding to your menu on a more regular basis. If it’s a success, great! If not, at least you won’t have excess inventory or sunk costs weighing you down.

5. Ultimately, let your customers lead the way.

Tastes and trends change across the country, and what works for one community might not work for another. You know your customers best—what they want more of, what they’ll order in a combo, and how they enjoy your restaurant.

When you gather and leverage customer data, you can look to the information to find ordering patterns and marketing opportunities for an even more powerful strategy. By creating promotions that target your best-selling menu items, your most loyal customers, or your most used ordering channel, such as social media or your branded app, you’ll provide your guests with an experience that feels tailored to them. And hey, that’s because it was!

Conclusion

Using ChowNow’s calendar of marketing moments, you can strategically plan your restaurant’s advertising efforts throughout the year. By thinking beyond the traditional holidays, engaging with your local community, capitalizing on trends, innovating with limited-time offers, and listening to your customers, you’ll create a winning marketing strategy that sets your restaurant apart. Don’t forget to download the free 2022 calendar of restaurant marketing moments today and start planning for success.