Restaurant promotion ideas for fall that create a lasting impression

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Restaurant owners sometimes find themselves stuck in a rut, doing the same job all year round. But restaurant businesses can switch things up and avoid burnout with promotions and menu changes that reflect the changing seasons. With autumn just around the corner, it’s a great time to be dynamic in our marketing campaigns to attract loyal and potential customers alike, create buzz, and increase revenue.

There are many restaurant promotion ideas for fall. The weather changes, football season and school start, and Halloween and pumpkin spice rear their heads once more. The restaurant industry affords plenty of opportunities for new marketing strategies that boost brand awareness during this season.

In this article, we’ll share some essential autumnal marketing tactics every restaurant should consider. We’ve included fall restaurant menu ideas that will give your customer base the incentives they need to choose your establishment–and improve your bottom line.

Kick off fall promotions with football season

The fall is synonymous with football season. Whether it’s the NFL, college ball, or your local high school team, new restaurants can get on the map and established joints can boost sales by creating promotions that capitalize on this well-loved sport.

Reach out to local fan clubs and find out what gets them excited when it comes to food and drink. By running some simple surveys, you could create the perfect promotional event for game night.

Use the results of your polls to create some football-friendly menu changes (chances are wings will be present). Decorate your restaurant in your team’s colors and promote the event via social media. Maintain those relationships with fan clubs (and teams themselves if you have the PR power) and get influencers to promote via social media too. Or maybe even have a contest and offer prizes to customers who share a picture with your food, event, and hashtag on their feeds.

If you have the means, you could do a pop-up outside your local stadium–maybe even in a food truck! Advertise new menu items and test them out all while advertising your brand. Remind customers that they can enjoy these culinary delights both at your restaurant and via takeout. This isn’t an easy ask though, pop-ups require contracts, permits and real-estate laws to be fulfilled.

If that all sounds like too much work or money, you could always set up an outdoor bar or barbeque in your own outdoor space for a more hassle-free approach, which you could still promote like crazy on your socials.

Introduce a fall loyalty program

If you don’t already have a loyalty program in place, taking advantage of a holiday season to get new customers in the door is a must!

Firstly, pick your weapon. Think about the culture of your town and make your promotions coincide with football season, Halloween, back-to-school or just fall itself.

Use your marketing plan to create a loyalty program that you think suits your restaurant. The project could work through gift cards, an app, or a combination of both. Give customers an incentive by offering giveaways for joining, like a free appetizer when they dine.

You could even start a back-to-school-themed loyalty program. For example, busy families may appreciate a midweek meal out to help them relax after work and school. Help make your weekday nights busier by offering double points for families dining together on a Wednesday.

Some of the most successful loyalty programs work by using a simple system of ordering ten meals and then getting rewarded with a free meal. But there are tons of loyalty programs out there. See what the big brands are doing for the inspiration you need to try this restaurant promotion idea for fall.

Go beyond pumpkin spice and try some fall restaurant menu ideas

As the days get shorter and the nights get colder, there’s one thing we all crave: comfort food. It’s time to bring out the butternut squash, sweet potatoes, lasagna, and other pasta dishes. We know the pumpkin-spiced lattes will be here before the leaves change color. And everyone has an auntie who’ll soon stop by with breakfast breads. So, let’s take a look at some slightly less obvious fall menu ideas.

As we begin the countdown to Thanksgiving and Christmas, seasonal vegetables and flavors emerge. Join the trend with some of the following recipe ideas for unforgettable fall dinners:

• Stuffed acorn squash: Hollowed out crispy, buttery squashes stuffed with veggies, goat cheese, parmesan, and Italian sausage or meatballs.
• Maple-bacon brussels sprouts: Roasted brussels sprouts combined with maple bacon smothered in olive oil, great served as a main course or a side dish. Adding dried cranberries can add an extra element to this dish.
• Mashed potatoes and pork chops: This won’t look out of place on any fall menu. To improve the fall flavor, add some saucy apple puree. You could replace the chops for tenderloin for a more upmarket dish.
• Savory and sweet pies: These work well baked the night before for reduced cooking time. Chicken pot pie is a classic fall recipe. You could market a leaner version by replacing chicken with turkey. Chocolate pecan pie or apple pie work great as an after-dinner fall menu restaurant idea.
• Slow cooker meals: Fall is a great excuse to dust off the slow cooker for some easy-to-serve weeknight meals with substantial profit margins. You could try a pumpkin chili with lentils and chickpeas. Or a simple chicken dinner with slow-cooked juicy chicken thighs.

Sports bars can and should take advantage of football season by adding happy hours before kickoff. Offer a great assortment of seasonal beer and hard apple cider. This builds hype and will ensure that guests will buy plenty of drinks while your favorite team dukes it out. Don’t forget college ball! You can create original cocktail ideas based on local teams.

Optimize your online presence

Boost your restaurant promotion ideas for fall by sprinkling in a bit of online magic. First, update the graphic design of your restaurant website to showcase your current promotion. Get your writer to update the SEO on your landing pages and create new blog posts to drive traffic.

Use Yelp Connect to post updates on your page about your seasonal restaurant promotion ideas. Whether it’s a Halloween costume party with giveaways, a football happy hour, or new fall restaurant menu ideas for online ordering, Yelp Connect uses an intuitive algorithm to ensure the right people see what’s happening at your joint. You can also see who’s engaging with your posts, from millennials to retirees.

Whichever promotion you choose, you may need a little extra help getting the word out. Why not start with the most visited restaurant review website on earth? Yelp enjoys 178 million unique monthly views per month, so why not run targeted ads on the platform by using Yelp Ads? Plus, you’re advertising to people who are looking for a meal!

Yelp Ads lets you customize ads, create goals, set budgets, and track your results for stress-free outreach. So, let’s say you tried a new ad campaign that offered local football-themed cocktails at a happy hour with wings. You could set goals to get enough conversions to realistically fill your restaurant every promotion night. If you know football is huge in your town, set budgets so that you don’t overspend (impressions are free, you only pay for clicks). You can track your results for on-the-fly changes or as research material for next year’s fall promotions.

Start preparing your restaurant promotion ideas for fall early

The sooner you start thinking about how to prep for fall restaurant marketing, the more time you will have to play with ideas. Get your managers on board to brainstorm new ideas and create plans before taking the plunge. Having a solid team behind you will make the process less stressful and even fun. Any promotional campaign has the potential to breathe new life into your restaurant, so enjoy the process.

Lean into football season and into the knowledge of local fans to see what they like before you devise your marketing plan. Try out a loyalty program that makes the most of fall themes like back-to-school. But any promotion can fall flat if you don’t have delicious fall restaurant menu ideas to coincide with the season. Just remember, carbs and comfort.

Support your restaurant promotion ideas for fall with well-planned online marketing. Use Yelp Connect to share your autumnal stories and Yelp Ads to improve your reach using the world’s largest online review website.

A well-promoted restaurant could end up growing faster than you think–a great problem to have! Solve it by using Yelp Guest Manager, a software solution that allows customers to check themselves in, handles waitlists and reservations, and works in conjunction with other Yelp software products.

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