Mother's Day Promotion

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Top tips for successful Mother’s Day

Marketing

Given the amount of external publicity in the build-up to Mother’s Day, this is one event that should sell itself. Most venues are packed out So make it easy on yourself for once. Display an attractively-presented menu at sensible prices and the customers should come to you. If they don’t then alarm bells should start ringing and you may need to consider changing your offer (see our sample menu)

Make mum feel special

Give mums a souvenir menu to take home (make sure it has your restaurant name and telephone number!). Include a design or two or a poem like this one by Kay Hunt

Happy Mother's Day
‘Happy Mother's Day’ means more
than have a happy day.
Within those words lie lots of things
we never get to say.
It means I love you first of all,
then thanks for all you do.
It means you mean a lot to me,
And that I honour you.

But most of all, I guess it means
that I am thinking of
your happiness on this, your day,
with pleasure and with love

By Kay Hunt

See more Mother’s Day poems

Give people a reason to come back

Bounce-backs should always be used when you are busy and have a captive audience. Give them out with the bill or just leave them on the table.

Put scratch cards or a lucky dip by the till with prizes like free wine with next meal,

or dinner for two for a tenner etc.

Also see ‘Don’t just get them in get them back’

Be child friendly

It’s reasonable to expect a lot of children on mother’s day, so ask at the time bookings are made so you know how many adults to cater for. Have a special kid’s menu featuring quick and easy dishes e.g. chicken goujons ready crumbed in the freezer and pre-cooked sausages in the fridge. Think about including some of your main dishes in child-sized portions with prices reduced accordingly. And remember, it’s never a good idea to charge too much for kids’ meals.

Help mum to relax

Help young mums relax by providing drawing materials or setting aside a supervised area inside or outside for kids to play. Even hire a professional entertainer if you’ve got space away from the main dining area (otherwise mothers whose children are grown up may not appreciate the noise!)

Team up with local beauticians, nail parlours, fashion outlets, hairdressers, florists or health clubs and invite them to display a few of their brochures on a table in your dining room. Ask if they’d offer a small discount for a limited time to mums presenting the souvenir mother’s day menu or your restaurant business card. If this goes well, consider following this up with a joint marketing venture with one or more of these local business

First prize!

Consider multiple sittings

Unless you can bear to turn away business, consider multiple sittings. Set service times at 12 noon, 2pm ,4pm and 6pm. Run a continuous service throughout the day and close early in the evening so you can put your feet up! Doing this accommodates diners with different schedules for the day e.g. late lunch after a walk, early lunch before taking mum bowling, early dinner for mums with young children etc.

Consider a theme

What about a sixties or seventies theme? Remind mum of when she was young. Music, food and even prices!! Put up a few posters featuring yesterdays’ pop stars and play background music from the same era

Good clean fun!

Persuade local schools, scouts,cubs, boy’s brigade etc to put on a

charity car cleaning or valeting service for your customers while they dine.

For a small donation or set price (either paid by you or the customer)

mum gets to go home in a shiny, clean car!

Add pre-desserts to the menu

Sorbet for example or tiny fudge brownies with the tea or coffee after the

meal and don’t charge for them.

Run a ‘best mum’ competition

Have diners fill in a comment card (more info for

your customer database) about why their mum is

the best. Prize could be a mini-break, free meal,

beauty treatment or a product from another local

business who you’ve teamed up with for a

joint-marketing venture

More ideas and gifts

for making mother’s day

a memorable event

Mother’s Day 2010

Sunday 14 March UK & Ireland

Sunday 2 May Spain

Sunday 9 May USA/Canada/Australia/N.Zealand/S Africa

Dates for other countries

Don’t overcharge!

Offer your menu a set price and make it reasonable. Don’t try to charge evening prices at lunch time. Remember that mums are great housekeepers and that includes the finances. If it’s not good value for money, she’ll tell you. Worse still, she won’t tell you, won’t come back and will tell everyone else!

Say it with flowers

Spring is the season when gardens start to come alive with colour. Why not give the mums a treat with a mini pot containing a planted bulb or seasonal flower. If there’s time, have the pots hand-painted with your logo then plant them yourself. Wrap the pots in cellophane, decorate with trails of ribbon and staple your business card to the wrapping. Rough cost of a mini terracotta pot (24mm x 10) is just 31p inc VAT from rainbow florist supplies. Pre-order colourful bulbs or flowering plants from your local market or plant wholesaler. Alternatively team up with your local florist and get a good deal on bulk purchase of ready to give min-pots but make sure your card is securely pinned to the wrapping!

Gain time in the kitchen and add value to the meal

Put free nibbles on the table - mixed canapés, crostini, brucschetta, artisan breads, dips - anything that staff can put together easily and that presents well. This not only adds value to the meal but gives the kitchen a head start. That extra ten minutes could make all the difference between a good and a bad service. Give the nibbles to customers just after they’ve ordered rather than before