Restaurant Week Checklist

The best way to conquer Restaurant Week is by developing a clear and strategic marketing plan to ensure your business is as successful as possible in this short period of time.

To assist with this, we’ve put together a checklist to help you ensure your restaurant week is successful.

Ensure your staff is well trained.

Quality service is a critical part of dining and making a positive first impression. It impacts a guest's experience before they have even tasted your food.

There are two components to consider here:

Keep to Restaurant Week traditions.

This may be one of the few times where it’s more beneficial to stick with traditions rather than go out of the box.

The primary thing to remember when designing options for the menu is to cater to different budgets. Also, consider different dietary needs. You might offer at least one vegetarian option for example.

Traditionally, restaurants offer three price packages, from a cheaper option that’s more simple to an expensive option that includes a few extras to incentivize customers.

Promote your involvement.

Yes, I realize your local tourist boards will be marketing the event, giving you free promotional opportunities. However, creating your own can help boost interest and visibility of your restaurant’s participation. So you stick out!

Let customers know through social media, email, window posters, and flyers included in to-go orders… You have a ton of low to no cost options. But, the bottom line here is to publicize your involvement and the deals you’re offering

Train your staff to upsell.

Due to different pricing options offered, for many, Restaurant Week is less profitable. It’s more about gaining follow up revenue from new customers.

However, if you take the time to properly train your staff, you can increase your profit by upselling the amazing deals you’ve put together.

Your staff should also be trained to encourage every single diner to come back for a second visit. They can do this by giving your guest a reason to return again.

Create a true VIP experience.

et a goal to really wow the new customers! Whether that’s with the service, the quality of the meal, or a combination of the two, this is your chance. The happier you can make customers, the more you increase the chance of them returning or, at least, leaving a good review.

Develop your menu.

The menu is what tends to be the deciding factor when customers are choosing what restaurants they want to visit. So, think about what your goals are for that week, what kinds of customers you’re hoping to attract and what staff can handle without compromising service.

The menu should look presentable, and have good price points for Restaurant Week, and include customer favorites. You can also include the option of takeout food as part of the deals to attract even more customers.

Consider using a table booking app.

This can help you stay organized, and prevent double-bookings and scheduling issues. Sometimes, the increased demand during restaurant week can make it difficult to keep up with reservations and so details may get lost. Table booking apps can help you avoid issues and centralize information in one place to help you plan better.

Have a system in place to invite customers back.

Now that you’ve attracted customers, it’s important to keep that momentum going! You must have a system in place and ready to go during restaurant week.

Statistics tell us that nearly 7/10 first time diners don’t come back to a restaurant for a second visit even though they’ve had a pleasant experience.

Guests must be encouraged to visit again in the future. The good news is that this can be easy to do. If you prepare.

Place a QR Code on the table that when scanned guests are asked to leave their contact information in exchange for a promo they can use during their next visit.