Deborah Lott of Giddings, Texas, writes:
“My husband and I opened a casual pizza and Italian restaurant in the small Texas town of Giddings, population 5,000, on Hwy. 290, a major highway between Austin and Houston.
“We have been open for only six months and are having a hard time getting local residents to dine here. Money is tight so advertising has been minimal.
“We are open to any and all ideas to help us keep our doors open. The first three months we were open, we were doing great, but this summer has been a hardship.”
Have ideas for Deborah? Please share them below. And then email me you rown “Help this Hound” question.
Grassroots marketing is your best bet given it’s low cost. Since pizza is a relatively low-cost item, your best bet is to come up with some kind of gimmick that gets people in the store. For example, free pizza on your birthday, coupons, contests, rewards (e.g. free slice of pizza for kids that make honor roll), getting involved with local community groups (e.g. providing food at a church meeting) will all get your name out into the community. Of course, providing a great product at a great price with exceptional customer service helps too!
Giving free pizza to kids who make the honor roll is a nice touch.
I have seen many restaurants on Facebook and Twitter. Every day they post their specials and send updates to their fans on Facebook. For example, take a look at this page at http://www.facebook.com/parkhousesd.
This would be a great way to get the message out to your friends and fans alike. The same can be said for Twitter.
You could post tweets on what’s new and exciting on your menu. Follow folks like AAA and other travel information sites.
Absolutely start using Twitter and Facebook! Hungry diners are out there searching these social media platforms for deals, discussion, promotions, special menus, etc. There are a number of contests you can do to attract – check out these two articles Why Use Social Media/How to Start: http://onesmartcookiemarketing.com/2010/03/social-media-why-use-it-and-how-to-start/ and Twitter Promotions are easy: http://onesmartcookiemarketing.com/2010/01/twitter-promotions-are-easy/
Good luck – let me know if I can help further 🙂
Twitter and Facebook can be very powerful if you use them correctly. Facebook fan pages, especially, can keep fans coming back week after week to see what kinds of deals you’re offering.
Just heard this morning about a pizza shop that sends out “Get a free slice” text messages to its customers’ cell phones just before lunch hour on weekdays and their biz increased 300% since they started that about a month ago.
That’s exactly the kind of mobile marketing I referred to in the message above. Bricks-and-mortar businesses and even online businesses should be trying to obtain customers’ cell phone numbers by offering them something special in exchange for the phone number.
As there are very few good eateries on the well-traveled trail between Austin and Houston, I would consider advertising on Groupon and Living Social in both cities.
As for the local scene, grassroots marketing is certainly the way to go. But, I would target the business community… and very hard. Encourage local police, fire and emergency personnel to visit your restaurant. Do so with free food and discounts for their families as a thank you for the services they provide. Offer your restaurant as a meeting place for local civic group meetings and provide a discount for members. Don’t forget your local realtors and insurance agents.
From a consumer standpoint, dedicate a couple of nights a month as Family Night and Teen Night. Offer to contribute a portion of revenue to schools or local youth groups. Churches love this, too! Be sure to get as much free press as possible with local newspapers and their online versions as well.
Don’t forget the Little League! Team parties work well as does sponsorship of local teams.
Keep your doors open late (and promote the same) on the nights of the high school football games! This is a huge, captive opportunity and is right around the corner as we’re now in football season. Small towns LOVE their football team and all who support the same!
Paul, the football and Little League promotions are fabulous ideas! Thanks for sharing.
I drive through Giddings everytime I drive from Austin to Houston. You need to get written up in statewide magazines– restaurant/ food reviews in Texas Monthly, Texas Highways, etc. and the major dailies. Contact the writers and offer them a free meal in exchange for a review. Better yet, put on an event at your restaurant and invite them, add music by a Texas artist. I freelance for several publications so email me your info and I’ll try to pass it along to the right person: marika@prbythebook.com.
Marika, thanks for the offer. I’m sure Deborah will appreciate any help you can give her.
Start collecting email addresses. Entice diners to sign up by giving them coupons, chef’s secrets and anything else they would value (HINT: Ask them!). You’d be surprised how many people will come in toting “free soda with dinner coupons”! In my work with restaurant owners, I find that diners often visit the same places out of habit. You need to change their habits by reminding them (at least weekly via email and valuable content/offerings) that you’re there. Email marketing is simply the cheapest and most effective method of advertising available.
Email marketing is very effective. So is mobile marketing.
Host theme nights such as Family Fun Night, Football Frenzy, and March Madness.
Organize fundraisers for local organizations and sports teams. Donate 10% of the proceeds to the group that brings in the most people on one night.
Sell pizza $1/slice during the 3pm-6pm (after school hours).
Place flyers/coupons at grocery stores, hair salons, library, etc. When people visit the restaurant, have them leave their email/mailing address. Then send them information about upcoming events, specials, and coupons.
Your idea of donating 10 percent of the proceeds to a local group that brings in the most people on one night can result in huge crowds! Clever.
I eat pizza a couple of times a week. To compete with the big national chains, you have to do things they can not do. Free Drinks for Seniors, more variety of toppings, family specials and take out specials chains do not do. Pizza Club. Buy I Slice Get I Free Day or Coupon. Create Your Own Pizza, Specials for Schools, Churches, Clubs, Groups, Events, PR Ideas do not cost money just imagination time. Check out CICIs Facebook pages for ideas and other pizza joint pages. Read a couple of good books on how to get free public relations. Online and offline contests for free pizzas always popular. The SBA has lot of free ideas and help you can get. Contact them. They may have a free pizza marketing or restaurant marketing expert available. The more free PR you can get the better. Give away as many menus, coupons, etc as possible, including online. Ask your regular customers for help, word of mouth is great. Happy Pizza.
Timothy, your ideas reminded me of a clever idea I heard several years ago from Shawne Duperon, a former TV reporter. Shawne says pizza shops should bake heart-shaped pizzas in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day, and let local TV stations and other media know about that. It’s an easy way to get onto TV.
Love the idea of the heart-shaped pizzas leading into Valentine’s Day — excellent promotion with longevity from year-to-year
Yep. How about heart-shaped hamburgers, pancakes, pies, etc.?
Hi Deborah,
Take a hard look at your prices and determine if it is reasonable for your area. Who is your competition and what do they charge? Here are a couple of marketing ideas:
Themed nights with appropriate specials and discounts — Friday Family Night — small discount and free liter of soda; Tasty Tuesdays — discount on Combo Pizza, Wacky Wednesday — create a Mexican Pizza or something other really different pizza; Thirsty Thursday — (Strawberry Lemonade, etc., specialized drinks to go with pizzas offered at a discount…
Name certain pizza (or create sandwiches) for local town celebs — mayor, high school principals, media anchors, newspaper reporters, etc. and put them on your menu — then let the celebs know and invite them in to try it. People love to frequent restaurants with items named in their honor.
Work with the largest local non-profit organizations and offer to do fundraisers for them with a night just for each organization. A percentage of the profits will go to the organization. The organization can put it in their newsletter, do an eblast — it is up to them to publicize the event and get their supporters and donors in the door.
Good luck and I hope you find these ideas helpful. DCR
Diana, your idea of naming a pizza in honor of local celebrities is not only clever, but it should result in great word-of-mouth publicity. If you name a pizza after a TV anchor, I’m betting that the anchor will, at some point, mention that on the air.
What about hooking into summertime sports – offer special deals to baseball and soccer clubs etc for a post-game pizza party. Everybody loves pizza! Pizzas are great options for vegetarians too so you already have a broad reach – but what makes your pizza place SPECIAL? Remember to focus on what makes you YOU, not just some big pizza chain. Are you a family business using your mother’s recipes? Handmade or gourmet pizzas? Convenient location and hours? Do you have a special decor that invites people in to eat? Whatever makes you different, you have to let people know about it. MMM, now I want some pizza!
I am a local florist in Milwaukee and we are participating in Good Neighbor Day on September 1st. I am using it to team up with other local businesses. Not sure where your business is in TX, but here is a link to the FTD Florists that are participating in the event. Great way to do massive marketing on a budget. http://www.ftd.com/content/news_views/good_neighbor_day_florists.epl
These regional promotions can be really effective. Thanks for sharing the link, Cheryl.
You can start a frequent dining program and when they have ordered “x” many times or spent “x” number of $, they get a pizza free. Or you can have them join a club where they pay you a certain amount every month and they get to eat pizza for free that month. Another pizza store I know has a continuity program and they never lack for business.
Gail, this idea keeps people coming back again and again.
How about running a competition through your local newspaper. My suggestion is that you ask locals for their ideas for Pizza toppings that are different from your existing ones. Choose the one that is either the most popular or the most different (but tasty). If more than one person chooses something that is popular announce that you will do a draw and the pizza wil be included on your menu and named after the person whose name is drawn out.
To try to get some free publicity for the competition invite your local journalists to come up with their own suggestions. You could suggest that they publish the recipes as they come in and ask their readers to vote for the one that they’d like you to include on your menu. That might add a little spice to their paper as well.
Good luck. SOphie from Melbourne, Australia
Sophie, these are great ideas. Naming pizzas after local people makes for great word-of-mouth publicity. Deborah should let the food columnist for her local or regional newspapers know about things like this.
Offer online ordering (see pizzagalaxy.com for more information). If you then make sure your customers know about this service, they will eagerly take advantage of it.
I agree with Margaret, try to offer something that is totally unique to your restaurant, hopefully something that people will drive out of their way for. Maybe it would be something outside the pizza menu itself, maybe a dessert or side item no one else has. Get those cravings going for your one of a kind treat. If you can use ingredients from local farmers/growers even better.
Cheryl, reporters would love the story of a pizza shop getting its produce from local farmers.
Lots of great ideas here. Remember that October is National Pizza Month – look for ways to show th emedia what you are doing in October. Many pizzerias join forces with fire companies this month as th efirst week of th emonth is national fire prevention week – Working with a non-profit like this is a win-win.
In a small town a new mover’s program is also very effective in creating WOM, hook up with your local realtor on that.
Definetly find your USP & set yourself apart form any competition.
Attend http://www.pizzaexpo.com for lots of other great ideas
You need to buy a program called winfax. Put a fishbowl on the counter for people to drop their business cards into to win a free lunch or dinner. On each business card is their fax number. Enter these phone numbers into winfax. Then set your computer to send out specials every morning. Don’t forget to add on the bottom of the faxed special sheet about removal from getting future faxes.
Greetings Debbie (and Joan),
I like the enthusiasm on this page but, honestly, I’ve always been hesitant to suggest too much of the “giveaway” or “discount” stuff. Chains like Dominos can get away with that on a regular basis because they are huge and make it up on volume, plus they do tremendous amounts of advertising in Sunday papers, circulars, coupons for next time on their delivery boxes, etc. etc.
A cool, fun special, every now and then is useful, however, on top of my marketing endeavors, I’m taking some advanced local search marketing lessons and believe that if you can just position yourself well in the local, and mobile, search results, you could do wonders for yourself.
If you want, I’ll contact you and do some basic work for you in exchange for using the results in a case study I need to do. 😉 How’s that sound?
Eric
Eric, if you’re still doing the case study, I would be interested. I’m sorry to have taken so long in responding. I have been applying all of the ideas that I have gotten.