In the United States alone, consumers spend $3.7 billion eating out at restaurants or ordering ready-to-eat meals from a caterer on Valentine’s Day. And in Canada, there are 8.5 million couples.
As a caterer, this becomes a huge opportunity, but competition is fierce to capture that revenue. Below are 11 Valentine’s Day marketing ideas to stand out from the crowd and attract orders.
1. Ask your kitchen for special menu additions
82% of customers prefer to receive an experience rather than a gift from their partner.
That’s why it would be wise to adjust your menu to make it something different from your usual menu.
For example:
- Menu for 2 with a printed step-by-step preparation guide
- Step 01: Open a bottle of wine
- Step 02: Warm up the mood and the oven, etc.
- A gourmet box to share, available on February 14, 15 and 16
Pro tip: let these menu items speak for themselves; include photos of them in your marketing emails, ads and social posts to promote Valentine’s Day orders.
2. Take an ordinary dish and rework its plating
Sometimes you can dress up an appetizer, main course or dessert that’s already on your menu. Whether it’s arranging the food in the shape of a heart:
Or simply adding a “love”-themed drizzle of chocolate or caramel on a dessert.
Pro tip: ask your chef to prepare a heart-themed dish in late January or early February so you can include a picture in your marketing promotions to customers.
Pro tip: Add a promotion and an online ordering tool with your branding and your photos to your website. Don’t forget to include an automatic confirmation, a reminder a few days before and post-sale follow-up emails.
3. Name your menu well
Everyone loves caterers who rename the appetizers, first course, second course and dessert after the phases of a relationship: “courtship”, “first kiss”, “rapture” and “sweet surrender”.
It would also be interesting to split the dessert options into “7 deadly sins for two”. What do you think?
Pro tip: include a photo of and/or a link to your menu in your Valentine’s Day invitation email.
4. Offer gifts, and promote them in advance
Make your customers feel special with a gift that costs you less than the “surprise” value it gives them.
Remember, delivering unforgettable experiences is what drives 60% of repeat orders.
Here are some Valentine’s Day gift marketing ideas:
- Free dessert
- Box of chocolates
- A cocktail mix
Promoting these things in advance attracts the person in a couple who wants to make their partner feel special.
**Pro tip: **If you don’t want to add extra costs to your operations, you can make a simple tweak to make something you already provide more special, like making heart-shaped bread rolls.
5. Give your regular customers early access
Whether it’s calling, sending emails or uploading email addresses to trigger an ad, your regular customers should be the first audience you invite to your dinner.
Here’s why: it costs 7 times more to acquire new customers than to keep an existing one.
In other words, it’s easier to convince a past customer to order again than to convince a new customer to try you.
Pro tip: try a small-budget ad campaign from February 1 to 7 targeting the email addresses of customers who dined with you in the last 6 months. Use language that stirs emotion in your ad, such as asking the question “Got Valentine’s Day dinner plans?”
6. Email your guests and make them feel special
Receiving a truly personalized email from a caterer can be rare for many customers.
So segment your guests and send them an email that feels targeted just for them.
This could mean sending your repeat customers a “welcome back” message at any time, or telling customers who ordered in the last 6 months that you want them to have early access to the limited menus.
Pro tip: wait until early February to send your email. Many customers don’t make a decision or book before then.
7. Make online ordering easy for customers by giving them a direct link
This is a tip that is overlooked in marketing emails more than 90% of the time.
Too often, caterers send an email promoting a specific occasion, only to inform them. This makes things harder for customers and could hurt your booking conversion rate.
The solution: with a simple URL (a custom web address), you’ve just added a much-appreciated convenience.
8. Offer upgrades during online ordering
Don’t hesitate to include several add-on options to your main offer.
For example:
- A bottle of wine
- An add-on activity offered in partnership with a massage therapy clinic
- A bouquet of roses
The result: extra revenue for you and a better-tailored offer.
9. Surprise and delight your guests with a card
There are inexpensive, effortless things you can do for your customers that other caterers won’t.
Like using a free tool such as Canva (https://www.canva.com/fr_ca/) to create a postcard for your Valentine’s Day customers. Make it personal by including a note from the owner.
**Pro tip: **print your cards on nice, thicker paper and ask your restaurant’s owner to personally sign each card by hand. If you want to take it a step further, you can also consider including a $20 gift card or a code for their next order.
10. Partner with a local chocolatier to leave a wrapped chocolate for each customer
Partnering with a local brand helps your guests feel more connected to you.
Studies show that we grow closest to those with whom we find similarities.
When you invite your friends to dinner and give them chocolate from a brand tied to your city, you remind them that you all share the same roots.
In the food service world, where brand loyalty is hard to come by, any form of connection becomes valuable.
11. Use a tracking URL for each of your promotions to see where your orders come from
Don’t settle for knowing how many orders you get; see where they come from! There are several web tools to capture your visitors’ browsing information.
That’s all for now! Do you have tips to share?
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