Promotions, discounts, and limited-time offers are powerful tools to boost orders in your restaurant. But if used recklessly, they can undermine your brand and train customers to wait for deals, cutting into your profits. To truly succeed, your promotions need to strike the perfect balance: driving sales without devaluing your menu. Here’s how to create promotions that drive orders and grow your bottom line, not just your order count.
Data-Driven Promotions: The Recipe for Success
Your online ordering platform holds the key to smarter, more profitable promotions. With insights into customer behavior and trends, you can design targeted campaigns that drive demand for specific items—without over-discounting your best sellers.
Here are four proven strategies to create promotions that work:
1. Spotlight High-Profit, Underperforming Items
Not every menu item gets the love it deserves. Some dishes are loaded with profit potential but aren’t converting as they should.
One pizzeria we worked with had an Assorted Sub that was frequently viewed but rarely ordered. The sub boasted a stellar 18% food cost, making it one of their most profitable items. To boost sales, we recommended a special offer for this sub on slower days.
The results? A 7% increase in conversion rates and an 8% larger average basket size on orders featuring the sub—without deep discounting or cutting into profits.
2. Leverage Add-Ons to Boost Basket Size
Add-ons with high conversion rates but low overall sales are goldmines waiting to be tapped.
For the same pizzeria, their handmade Mozzarella Sticks were converting at an impressive 42%, but they weren’t being added to enough orders. We advised a Wednesday promo offering 30% off Mozzarella Sticks on orders over $40. To amplify visibility, the item was pinned as a “featured” menu choice.
The payoff? A 45% increase in Mozzarella Stick add-ons on promotion days and a 30% boost in non-promo sales, thanks to increased visibility and repeat orders.
3. Build Buzz Around Specialty Items
Unique, premium dishes often struggle to stand out, despite their quality. Creating buzz can be the key to unlocking their potential.
For a steak sub made with premium ingredients, we helped the pizzeria run a one-week 25% discount promotion. We also revamped the item’s description, added eye-catching photos, and collaborated with local influencers to generate excitement.
The impact? A 50% jump in steak sub orders during the promotion week and a sustained doubling of conversion rates afterward. Plus, the influencer campaign boosted social engagement by 25%, setting the stage for future marketing efforts.
4. Avoid Undermining Your Best Sellers
Your top-performing items are already driving your revenue—don’t cut into their success with unnecessary discounts.
For this pizzeria, their top five items included pizza-and-wings combos that dominated their orders. Rather than discount these staples, we shifted focus to promoting complementary or secondary items, ensuring their star performers continued to shine without losing profitability.
The Secret Ingredient: Data
Strong promotions rely on deep insights. Unfortunately, many online ordering platforms—and especially third-party delivery apps—don’t give restaurants access to the data they need to build effective campaigns.
With Dine Local, you’ll have access to robust user activity reports that reveal exactly what your customers are ordering, viewing, and craving. These insights empower you to create promotions that not only drive orders but also maximize profitability. With Dine Local it’s easy to create promotions that drive orders!
Ready to Take Control?
If your current platform isn’t giving you the tools to succeed, it’s time to make a change. Contact us today to learn how Dine Local can help you grow your online orders while protecting your profits. Let’s get started!