At TheFork, our main objective is to support our partner restaurants and ensure that they are sold out all year round . We know that it can be more difficult to attract customers during off-peak periods or low season. Therefore, we suggest certain strategies to put in place that will pay off and allow you to make the most of calm months such as January. Help yourself to a little coffee and discover our recommendations below:
Perform simple actions
To start, it’s essential that you have the basic resources that will allow your customers to easily access your restaurant online and thus boost your reservations all year round.
- A verified and optimized profile in Google Business and Google Maps.
- A profile on TheFork to ensure that your establishment is visible on our platform to thousands of customers every day, and thus strategically manage your reservations.
- A Restaurant Profile on TripAdvisor , the world’s largest digital travel platform.
- Direct booking buttons on your website, Instagram profile and Facebook page.
Special offers and discounts
Customers do not go out to restaurants for various reasons during off-peak seasons, including financial ones. The month of January is often difficult financially because customers spent a lot of money in December during the end of year celebrations. They therefore prefer to avoid spending by going to a restaurant . One solution is to offer them special discounts that will encourage them to go to the restaurant. TheFork lets you change the discount you offer based on your activity level. For example, you could offer a 50% or 30% discount on à la carte meals during a given period, then increase the availability of your reservations during off-peak periods.
You could also join the X2 YUMS points system , in which your customers accumulate more points with each of their honored reservations and thus benefit from discounts when they return to your establishment.
Better communication
Improving your advertising using storytelling can sometimes have incredible results and thus attract customers in low season. This method of communication stimulates customers and encourages them to book. For example, you can talk about your staff, the stories happening in your kitchen, your plans for your restaurant and your upcoming events, real anecdotes about happy customers, or the delicious dishes you make using seasonal ingredients. , etc This technique works particularly with videos and posts on Instagram.
Post these stories twice a day on the social network that works best for your establishment. Tell them and, of course, make sure they are high quality and lovingly told for a strong impact. Send newsletters with discounts reserved for your loyal customers, invest in targeted advertising and organize contests. This method is all the more effective if you don’t wait until the last minute to set it up. You can better anticipate your restaurant’s activity during quiet periods by starting early.
Follow the trends
New trends are constantly emerging in the restaurant industry. All these recipes, drinks, associations and experiences that are shared make the buzz (especially on Instagram). These provide us with insights into what customers like and are looking for at any given time. During off-peak periods, your restaurant may offer drinks and dishes that are out of the ordinary and will then be shared on Instagram. Promote them on this social network and you ‘ll quickly see customers lining up to try them on.
This is one of the reasons why, for example, healthy, vegan and 0 calorie food will continue to be trendy and could even become even more so. Therefore, you can opt for this type of gastronomy to constantly surprise your customers and attract them during your quiet periods.
Participate in events
We recommend involving your restaurant in seasonal events that will attract customers. For example, you can compose specific menus for certain sporting events and invite your customers to watch and follow them from your restaurant. You can also organize ephemeral events by inviting exclusive chefs on certain days to pique the curiosity of customers. Also consider attending outdoor events and using them to promote your establishment. Events such as food fairs or festivals are an opportunity to interact with customers. Also consider the events organized by TheFork throughout the year. Offering interesting media visibility, they are created precisely to help our affiliated restaurants to be constantly full.