What is one of the most common ways to repay social debt (favors, quick loans, etc)? With lunch or dinner, no? What is a common gift certificate to give? What is a common holiday or birthday gift? Now that I’ve listed things restauranteurs already know, let’s look at some of the things that might not be so obvious.
The Quick and Dirty
- Offer specific items
- For a restaurant, its food is usually its calling card. Highlight it in a way that lets people drool and buy at the same time.
- Specific items have a value when kept by the purchaser. They have an amplified value when bought and delivered to a friend. Which is more personal: a plate of specialty pasta or a $25 nationally-branded gift card? (or to make the $ equal, dinner at the recipient’s favorite Italian restaurant or that same gift card?)
- Specific items allow for targeted offerings throughout the price points that the restaurant offers. How likely is it to be easy to offer a gift card for $6.46 (the actual price of a dessert from a participating vendor)? In these tough times, though, which is more likely to actually make a sale and bring a customer through the door? A $25 purchase or a ~$7 purchase?
- Offer non-specific items: VendorBux™
- For all their benefits, sometimes larger purchases are in order. Offer higher denominations of VendorBux™
- These mimic traditional gift certificates in an important way: they are generic, yet subject to your business’s redemption rules.
- These are better than traditional gift cards in two important ways:
- They’re much simpler to track. Let’s say it’s a recipient’s birthday (call her Rosa) and she receives VendorBux™ from three different, stellar friends. Rosa (and by extension, you, the vendor) do not have to keep up with three different card balances. Rosa has one VendorBux™ account with your business, one balance that rises or lowers based on purchases and redemptions.
- No redemption fees, whether the recipient uses the balance in one purchase or 20. This makes VendorBux™ a smarter vendor option than nationally-branded cards (or credit/debit cards for that matter) particularly for businesses with lower average checks.
- Offer promotions without undermining your value proposition
- Check out the general description of the promotion options
- “Give one, Get one”
- Some examples of GOGO:
- Buy a whole pie for a gift, receive a slice for yourself.
- Buy a pint, get a pint.
- Buy a bottle of this special wine, get a coupon for $10 off your next visit.
- “Bundles”
- Some bundle examples:
- Bundle 1: Three appetizers. One price. Bring your friends or use them yourself!
- Bundle 2: An apple pie, a blueberry pie, a cheesecake, and a chocolate cake. Redeemable one per visit.
- Bundle 3: A sandwich and a slice of pie.
- “Product of the Month”
- Some timed delivery examples:
- One “pie of the month” for six months. (One pie coupon would be delivered immediately, the other five delivered one at a time at the beginning of each month)
- Summer Wine Weekly (One glass of wine per visit per coupon for 12 weeks.)
