The calendar says autumn and the countdown is on to the holidays. But before operators blast off into the busiest time of the year, it\u2019s smart to take a moment and think about what\u2019s ahead. Working out a complete holiday plan for your limited-time offers (LTOs), will not only benefit business during the last quarter of the year, but also during traditionally slower weeks in January and February. <\/p>\n
Gordon Food Service Commercial Segment Manager Doug Owens suggests breaking this work into two components: mapping the holidays and focusing on the guest experience. The first part requires filling your calendar with step-by-step plans geared toward maximizing sales. If that\u2019s not enough reason to build out a plan, consider how a well-crafted plan can provide valuable data that can be used to enhance operational efficiency, better understand customers and drive higher guest counts.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s common to have ideas about holiday LTOs or specials months in advance. With the holiday season approaching, it\u2019s time to firm up a plan of attack, Owens says. Here are six steps he recommends:<\/p>\n
1. Selection.<\/strong> Choose the items to be featured during the holidays.<\/p>\n 2. Testing.<\/strong> Create each item to determine kitchen production capability. Make sure your staff is comfortable with the LTO before the holiday crush.<\/p>\n 3. Costing.<\/strong> With ingredients and production needs identified, conduct a cost analysis. This will show how much the product will cost to prepare, what the margin will be and ultimately allow a price to be set.<\/p>\n 4. Action.<\/strong> Select the LTO start and end dates.<\/p>\n 5. Marketing.<\/strong> Schedule a plan to communicate the LTO to customers, thinking backward from the date of execution. If the LTO will be featured during Thanksgiving week, alert guests a few weeks early. <\/p>\n 6. Training.<\/strong> Educate staff once the marketing plan is finalized. Just as the kitchen team needs to be coached in how to prepare the LTO efficiently, the front-of-house staff needs coaching on how to present these unique offers. Schedule a staff tasting prior to offering an LTO. Waitstaff should be able to describe the flavour profile with confidence. <\/p>\n Having a plan in place not only keeps everything on schedule; it also makes the evaluation more meaningful. \u201cSometimes operators are so involved in all parts of their holiday business\u2014recipes, LTO development, training and marketing\u2014that they forget to consider data-driven decisions,\u201d Owens says.<\/p>\n For example, if one of the LTOs is a chocolate cheesecake with peppermint bark, the operator needs to be able to tell how that item affected business. Did the cheesecake sell really well on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, but not on other weeknights? Was it popular during lunch but not dinner? Letting the data speak instead of being guided by remarks from customers or the excitement of servers can reveal details beyond casual observations.<\/p>\n \u201cThe data may show that portion sizes were too big,\u201d Owens notes. \u201cAnd you might reach that conclusion by seeing data that shows the sale of one piece of cheesecake at a table with four guests.\u201d<\/p>\n Going forward, data-driven findings help in two ways: They enhance critical thinking about the next LTO, whether it\u2019s next week or next month, and provide documented facts that can be used for next year\u2019s action plan.<\/p>\n There are lots of reasons to use an LTO, from testing new flavour profiles to showcasing items that might get added to the permanent menu. But holiday LTOs can be more than just a special cheesecake dessert, cinnamon-spiced drink or leg-of-lamb entr\u00e9e, Owens says. The LTO can be an event\u2014a special occasion people can get only at your operation.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s no better time to engage, get feedback and try to build market share than when you have a bigger and more diverse audience than you regularly get,\u201d he explains. \u201cIf possible, don\u2019t limit the LTO to just the food; it can be about the food and the experience.\u201d<\/p>\n During the holidays, a wine-, beer- or bourbon-tasting event, or possibly a vertical tasting of spreads, appetizers or shareable plates can provide a unique format to drive new business. Experiences like these are another great place to collect data. A wine-tasting could provide details about customer preferences, result in pairing suggestions or attract an entirely new clientele and lead to quarterly wine-related events.<\/p>\n Done during the holidays, group events centred on guest recognition and community relations are a great way for operators to show some spirit. <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen restaurants pay tribute to their local ambulance service; I\u2019ve seen a firefighter dinner on a Monday night,\u201d Owens recalls. \u201cJust make sure it\u2019s authentic and consistent with how you represent yourself all year.\u201d<\/p>\n Firehouse Chili on a weeknight\u2014with a discount for firefighters or a donation to the local fire hall for every bowl sold\u2014won\u2019t cut into your weekend guest counts but will be a gesture of goodwill to the community.<\/p>\n \u201cEvents like this are a great way to make sure your regular customers don\u2019t get overlooked during the holidays when you have so many new or once-in-a-great-while guests,\u201d Owens says.<\/p>\n Even though you\u2019re focused on the holidays, don\u2019t forget to talk to your LTO-captive audience about the upcoming months. Whether you add a notice inside the cheque holder, create a placard near the hostess station or have servers talk it up by word of mouth, operators should be initiating the next experience.<\/p>\n \u201cYour restaurant needs to remain full and busy after the holidays,\u201d Owens says. \u201cCustomers always start to think about their finances after the holidays, and you need to remind them so they\u2019ll think of you when it comes to discretionary spending.\u201d<\/p>\n Restaurant operators are always looking for the next big thing. LTOs can help:<\/p>\n Limited-time offers (LTOs) focused on food and customer events can drive traffic during the holidays and beyond. The calendar says autumn and the countdown is on to the holidays. But before operators blast off into the busiest time of the year, it\u2019s smart to take a moment and think about what\u2019s ahead. Working out a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":27023,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[122,68,112,69],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25848","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-catering-small-business","category-culinary-ideas","category-restaurant-bars","category-running-your-business"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nData dishes out the details<\/h3>\n
A marriage of products and guest experience<\/h3>\n
What\u2019s next? They\u2019ll want to know<\/h3>\n
Why holiday LTOs matter<\/h3>\n
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