Improve Restaurant Sales Even During Ramadan
We all welcome the holy month of Ramadan with open arms, where Muslims from all parts of the world fast. worship and feast as one. Because of that, it changes the dynamic for restaurants drastically – now, owners have a limited time-frame where they can rein in interested people.
That doesn’t have to disrupt your entire workflow; in fact, restaurant owners can simply adjust tactics here and there, and ultimately improve sales even during Ramadan. Here is how:
Plan Beforehand
This applies to almost every business out there – if you have to adjust your business tactics for an entire month, then it is beneficial to plan ahead. Conduct meetings with your managers and/or employees, and discuss your ideas. Be willing to accept ideas from others as well, so that you have more options to choose from.
Share Ramadan-related Ads
Marketing works best when you’re synced with the current trends. Therefore, mold your entire ad strategy around Ramadan; share discounts, offers and deals on Ramadan, so that people have a reason to come visit – and keep on visiting – your restaurant. You can even break the boundaries by holding giveaways, coupons, gift-cards, and even competitions, so that people get the impression that you’re here to deliver more than just food – you’re here to deliver a memorable experience.
Be Timely
In the science of marketing, not only does content matter, but so does timing. For Ramadan especially, you have to make sure your offers/discounts reach people at the right time; for example, usually the week before Ramadan and during mid-day, (before the time for Iftaar) is an active period where people are set to interact with businesses the most. You can take advantage of that by sharing discounts/offers during that peak period; that way, you’ll get a large volume of customers from the get-go.
Go Social
No matter how smart your ad strategies may be, you won’t get the right audience if you don’t look through a large range. And the largest pool you’ll find will be in social media.
Dedicate a good budget for online marketing on social media platforms, like Instagram and Facebook. They host a great deal of interested people who can interact with your advertisements directly, instead of glancing at a billboard and then forgetting your brand name.
Be Mindful About Customs
Part of the reason customers want to pick a specific restaurant for Ramadan deals is because that restaurant gives the tradition the respect it deserves. Therefore, it is important you understand the core belief behind Ramadan, and let that permeate your business. Be respectful during ad delivery, and be generous when serving customers; offer exclusive and well-maintained prayer areas for both men and women. Another idea is to promote weekly Iftaar/Sehri drives for the needy, so that you truly embody the spirit of Ramadan. Customers will undoubtedly want to invest in a business with good intentions.
From gaining more customers, you’ll automatically improve sales – for that, it is important that the customer journey gets no hiccups. This becomes tricky during Ramadan, because restaurants are often jam-packed during Iftaar, resulting in ridiculously long waiting queues that can turn anyone’s mood sour. In order to make sure the checkout process never fails, you need to invest in better POS terminals.
One such POS terminal in Pakistan is Oscar POS, which does a lot more than just deliver fast checkout; it’s cloud-based system keeps all your data synced in real-time, and easily accessible. It also offers multiple management systems for inventory, reporting, accounting (with an exclusive Quickbooks integration) and much more.
Ramadan is the month that grants people many blessings – and can potentially grant your restaurant success as well.