Effective Marketing Idea

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July celebration. I know that in our industry that the 4th is frequently a slow business week and I have had lots of conversations with many of you regarding new ideas to bring in more people to your establishment. I have stumbled upon an idea that I would like to share with you to get more people into your restaurant and to help position your place as an important part of the community.

The idea that I have is one that will reach a specific audience, make your restaurant the place to be and enhance your image as a concerned partner in the community - all of which are important impressions to create and develop to improve your standing in town.

In my hometown of Wheaton, the PTA is an influential group in the community. The PTA at my daughter’s school came up with a great idea that I would like to share with you. They have instituted a “Cook’s Night Off” once a month wherein they have contacted local restaurants to offer a special night for their school. What they do is ask the restaurant to donate 10% of the sales to the PTA. In exchange for the 10%, they send out 2 mailings to the entire school body during the month stating that on that particular night Your Restaurant is sponsoring the “Cook’s Night Off.” Now that might not seem like much, but I have to tell you what a powerful marketing force a group of 5 – 11 year olds can be. Not many parents stand a chance against an 8 year old demanding that they be part of this event. Try telling your kid that you aren’t going…..you will soon find out that you are a mean, grumpy parent and that your decisions aren’t fair! What a great marketing scheme to tap into. As a dad, I have struggled to come up with pliable reasons not to attend. Short of feigning illness, I have yet to come up with an excuse that doesn’t land me in my kids’ dog house. It is quite a racket that the PTA and the local restaurants have created.

Now many of you are probably screaming “Why the heck would I want a restaurant full of kids?” Good question. I will tell you what it has created for those restauranteurs brave enough to give it a spin. It gets you a captive audience to tap into. 2 free mailings to a relevant demographic. It gets you a full house on a night that is typically a slow night for sales. Good will in the community – you are helping the KIDS after all. That good will goes a long way with the parents when they looking to spend their dining dollars the next time they go out for a meal.

Some things to keep in mind when you consider taking this on for a night: 1) Limit your menu – you should get a pretty good turnout, and you may want to limit the diners’ choices. 2) Encourage people to phone ahead with their orders. I have seen a sandwich shop in town have people waiting 45 minutes for a cold cut sandwich. The next time they did it, they asked people to submit their orders ahead of time and it turned a potentially negative experience into an extremely positive one (imagine waiting 45 minutes to get your food in a room full of 200 kids – enough said!) 3) Be adequately staffed….a room full of kids can create a lot of service headaches. Cleaning up can be a bit of a challenge. 4) Remember it is for the kids, and with the kids come the parents – who are the ones spending money tonight and in the future. 5) Make your restaurant as kid friendly as you can. Many families have more than one child, and there will be younger ones in tow too.

So, in review, contacting your local PTA to try to set up a “Cook’s Night Off” can be a great way to position your restaurant as a concerned partner in community, provide you with effective marketing to a specific demographic, provide you with a tax write off (10% is going to a school charity), and get people who might otherwise never come to your establishment in the door. Sounds like a win, win, win, win to me.