Today I am going to show you how I lowered my cost per coupon claim from $3.65 to $1.35 per coupon claim.
Coupons are an essential part of the restaurant business.
The more coupons you can distribute to people, the more people that know about your restaurant and know that you have a good deal going on right now.
Moreover, the more coupons you can distribute to people who you know are actually interested in the coupon, the more people will come to your restaurant for sure!
So what is the difference there?
The difference is that, instead of throwing something at a wall and hoping it sticks, you actually put some glue on your coupon before you throw it, so it has a better chance of sticking.
Presentation is Everything
When it comes to distributing coupons, you have to do very well with presenting what benefit the coupon will provide to the customer.
Sure, coupons provide a discount and money savings.
But if your coupon can provide money savings along with satisfying cravings for a whole family, then you probably have someone sold on your coupon and another table filled that same night.
With that, it is very important how you present your coupon to a particular person. If it resonates with them, they are more likely to bring the coupon to your restaurant and order that night.
So what does good presentation entail?
Well, too many times have I seen general coupons. Coupons that say “$5 off any entree” or “buy one appetizer get one free.”
If you know the restaurant pretty well then you might have an idea of what real value you will get from those coupons.
But if you haven’t visited that restaurant before, you probably have no idea what entrees or appetizers you can get. Suddenly, the coupon is on its way to the trash because “Entree” definitely doesn’t sound as tasty as what I’m craving tonight – A Lobster Roll.
So if you put in your coupon that you are offering a Lobster Roll for $5 off instead of just any entree, that would be much more appealing to me and catch my attention.
Testing Presentation
But what if you want to offer more than just one item so you can appeal to more people?
Well, there’s two ways you can do this and I suggest implementing both ways:
First, you can create multiple coupons each with your top 3 items that your coupon can apply to. For example, if you are offering $5 off any entree, you can make 3 different coupons saying:
$5 Off Entree #1
$5 Off Entree #2
$5 Off Entree #3
Second, you can add more details to each coupon, stating that the coupon can be applied to anything on the Entree menu. Then you can also list all of your entrees on your menu.
Distributing All Versions
Now that you have different versions of your coupon that can appeal to different people, how can you distribute all the variations of your coupon to the people that would want them most?
Well, if you are distributing by postcard or mailer, then you would have to print a set of each coupon variation and distribute in partitions.
But, if you are distributing digitally, then you can easily make any version of your coupon appear in front of the right person.
You can even target people who like Entree #1 specifically and get them to see the coupon that says Entree #1. The same goes for Entree #2 and Entree #3.
Testing For Results
Now that you have each version of your coupon being shown, it is best that you test which coupon is performing the best.
First you need to know how much you spent on distributing each coupon.
Then you need to know how many people brought in each coupon and how much they spent.
Optimizing Future Coupons
After your current run of coupon distribution comes to an end, you should calculate how much return on investment you got from each coupon.
If any coupons helped you make a profit, then you should keep those coupons for future reference and run them again when you need a revenue boost.
If some coupons didn’t help you make profit, then you shouldn’t give up on them. They might just need a tweak in the people that you are sending the coupon to, or how the coupon is worded.
Lastly, when you have enough coupons, you can chain these coupons together so that you get each of your customers to visit your restaurant at a frequent rate.
Once you know that someone has used one coupon, you can slip the next coupon in their bag for a next visit. Or you can email them or text message them the next coupon if you have their contact information.
Conclusion
Coupons can be a very profitable part of your business. You can use them to bring in customers who were thinking about visiting your restaurant but were still on the fence.
Once you implement coupons and know which ones are profitable, you can even use them to bring your first or second time customers back for more!
What coupons have you found to be the most effective for your restaurant?
