Believe it or not, Halloween is only a few weeks away and we know second only to the Christmas holiday season, consumers are set to spend more than $7 billion on Halloween-related purchases this month. Here are four ways restaurants can capitalize – and cash in – on this fast-growing holiday market.
Consumer spending for Halloween is growing faster than for any other holiday. Given that local consumers are more than willing to invest in the design of their own happy Halloween, here are four things that a restaurant can do to get their share of local resident’s Halloween budget.
As a restaurant owner, you might not view your business as one that is well-positioned to capitalize on the consumer’s enthusiasm for Halloween; however, restaurants and bars may be the type of local business that is best-suited to take advantage of this growing market.
If you think about Halloween as a brand or one great big marketing campaign, it’s apparent that Halloween is not so much about selling products as it is about creating experiences – and restaurants and bars are really good at that!
After all, what do people love about Halloween? They get to dress up and pretend to be a hero, villain or some other type of character. They get to spend time socializing with their friends. And they get to indulge by eating the treats they deny themselves most of the time. Restaurants and bars are the perfect stage for the consumer on Halloween, and here are four ways you can reach out to Halloween shoppers and turn the love that local consumers have for Halloween into restaurant revenue.
Host a Halloween Costume Party
33 million people plan to throw or attend a Halloween party this year; why not become the destination of choice? Set up a web page with content optimized for local search so that local Halloween shoppers who are looking for ideas online can find your event. Promote your Halloween costume party on social networks, through local civic organizations such as the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and business networking groups, and through email announcements to your own contact database.
Develop your own Witches Brew
Releasing an LTO (limited time offer) beverage – a Candy Corn Cocktail, if you will – that will only be available for a few months each year could help you create buzz and drive demand. When customers realize that their favorite is on the menu but will soon be going away, they will make extra trips in to enjoy it before it’s gone for the season.
Capture Contact Information with Contests
If you find ways to get consumers to come in for a Halloween-related treat, event or party, that’s a good thing. If you leverage those engagements by capturing contact information so that you can get them to come back in the months to follow, that’s great!
Use contests, drawings and must-register-to-attend events and classes to add new contacts to your database in the weeks leading up to Halloween, and then extend new offers to get them to come back during the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year holiday season that starts immediately thereafter.
