Thanksgiving presents a golden opportunity for restaurateurs to elevate their business by combining hospitality, tradition, and strategic restaurant marketing. As guests seek out memorable dining experiences to celebrate with loved ones, your restaurant can become the centerpiece of their holiday.
A well-executed Thanksgiving strategy not only brings in extra revenue but also creates lasting connections that turn first-time visitors into loyal regulars.
By offering unique experiences and catering to the holiday spirit, you’ll not only fill seats on one of the most celebrated days of the year but also boost customer loyalty and enhance your reputation.
Ready to make Thanksgiving your most profitable and impactful day yet? Read on for some creative, actionable ideas to attract and delight guests this holiday season.
1. Host A Special Thanksgiving Feast
Thanksgiving is synonymous with indulgence, warmth, and togetherness, making it a prime opportunity for your restaurant to shine.
Hosting a dedicated Thanksgiving feast can position your restaurant as a convenient, delicious, and festive alternative to home-cooked meals. Here’s how you can elevate the experience and make it irresistible to potential guests.
Create a Thoughtful Menu
Design a Thanksgiving menu that blends tradition with your restaurant’s unique flair. Offer a mix of holiday classics like roasted turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes alongside innovative dishes that showcase your chef’s creativity. Consider options such as:
- Family-style platters: Perfect for groups who want to share a meal, enhancing the communal vibe of Thanksgiving.
- Prix fixe menus: A streamlined option that allows guests to enjoy multiple courses without having to make decisions, delivering a cohesive dining experience.
- A la carte options: Give guests the flexibility to customize their meals by choosing their favorite holiday dishes.
- Include vegetarian and vegan alternatives, such as lentil loaf or stuffed acorn squash, to cater to diverse dietary needs.
Offer Special Packages
To attract larger parties and families, create bundled packages that include appetizers, main courses, desserts, and drinks for a set price. This simplifies the decision-making process and can increase your per-ticket revenue.
Include a kids’ menu to cater to families. Offer smaller portions of Thanksgiving favorites or simple dishes like mac and cheese with a festive twist.
Enhance the Guest Experience
Transform your restaurant into a cozy, festive haven with thoughtful décor, soft lighting, and background music that evokes the holiday spirit. Staff can wear seasonal accents like autumn-themed aprons or pins to create a warm and welcoming environment.
Consider adding these touches to heighten the experience:
- Complimentary treats: Greet guests with a seasonal welcome drink like spiced cider or a mini pumpkin tart.
- Interactive elements: Offer DIY dessert stations, where guests can customize pies or decorate cookies.
- Photo opportunities: Set up a Thanksgiving-themed photo booth or backdrop where guests can capture memories to share on social media.
Encourage early bookings to ensure full capacity on Thanksgiving. Use online reservation platforms, your website, and social media to highlight the importance of securing a table ahead of time. Incentivize guests to reserve early with offers like 10% off or a complimentary dessert.
Promote your Thanksgiving feast across all possible channels to reach the widest audience possible.
Email marketing is another great way to get the word out.
By hosting a well-planned Thanksgiving feast, your restaurant can become a cherished part of your guests’ holiday traditions. Delivering excellent food and a festive atmosphere not only boosts your revenue but also creates lasting memories that keep guests coming back for years to come.
2. Offer Pre-Order Thanksgiving Meals
For many families, Thanksgiving means a table laden with delicious food—but the time, effort, and stress of preparing it can dampen the joy of the occasion.
Offering pre-order Thanksgiving meals allows your restaurant to step in as the hero, giving guests the chance to enjoy a traditional holiday feast without the hassle.
This approach not only caters to a growing demand for convenience but also opens up another lucrative revenue stream for your business.
Design a Convenient and Irresistible Package
Craft meal kits or fully-prepared feasts that include all the Thanksgiving essentials, such as turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, green beans, and pie. To stand out, consider offering customizable options:
- Custom Meal Sizes: Cater to varying party sizes, such as packages for 2, 4, or 10 guests.
- Dish Add-Ons: Allow guests to select additional items, like extra gravy, side dishes, or specialty desserts.
- Dietary Options: Include vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, and low-calorie versions of classic dishes to appeal to a wider audience.
- Create a signature dish or dessert unique to your restaurant that guests can’t get anywhere else, making your pre-order meals even more enticing.
Ease of ordering is critical to the success of your pre-order program. Use your website, app, or online ordering platform to enable seamless ordering.
- Clearly list options, pricing, and details about pickup or delivery times.
- Include photos and descriptions to make the offerings as mouthwatering as possible.
- Offer online payment options to make the process quick and convenient.
- Send confirmation emails and reminders to keep your guests informed and excited about their upcoming meal.
Add thoughtful touches to make the experience at home feel special, such as heating instructions, decorative packaging, and pairing suggestions.
Timing is everything. Begin promoting your pre-order meals long before Thanksgiving to allow ample time for planning. Use multiple marketing channels to spread the word:
- Social Media: Share videos of your chefs preparing the dishes, testimonials from previous years, or behind-the-scenes footage to build excitement.
- Email Marketing: Send a series of emails featuring enticing photos, countdowns to the pre-order deadline, and reminders to act fast.
- In-Restaurant Promotions: Use table tents, posters, or conversations with guests to let your in-house diners know about the pre-order option.
- Create urgency with limited-time discounts for early orders or set a cap on availability, emphasizing that quantities are limited.
After Thanksgiving, don’t let the relationship end there. Send a thank-you message to your guests, asking for feedback about their experience. Offer a bounce-back incentive, such as a discount or free appetizer for their next visit, to encourage repeat business.
3. Leverage Marketing Automation for Seasonal Campaigns
Thanksgiving is one of the busiest times of the year for restaurants, and marketing automation can help ensure that your campaigns are effective, timely, and personalized without adding to your team’s workload.
By automating communications and promotions, you can engage your audience, fill your reservation book, and drive pre-orders, online orders, or visits—all while focusing on delivering an exceptional guest experience.
Marketing automation tools allow you to plan, execute, and monitor your Thanksgiving campaigns effortlessly. With a platform like Bloom Intelligence, you can:
- Schedule promotional emails, texts, and other messaging in advance.
- Send targeted messages based on guest data, such as dining frequency, spending habits, or demographics.
- Create custom workflows for tasks like reservation confirmations or follow-ups.
- Use automation to follow up with guests who visited on Thanksgiving with a thank-you message and an incentive to return during the holiday season.
One of the most powerful features of marketing automation is the ability to segment your audience based on demographics, behavior, or preferences. For example, you can:
- Target loyal guests with exclusive early access to Thanksgiving pre-orders or special menu items.
- Reach at-risk guests with a personalized “We Miss You” promotion encouraging them to return for the holidays.
- Send local patrons updates about events like a Friendsgiving or Black Friday brunch.
- Make sure your guests don’t miss out on your Thanksgiving offerings with timely reminders.
Personalization matters—studies show that segmented, personalized marketing campaigns can significantly boost engagement and revenue.
Automation tools don’t just send messages. They also provide valuable insights into what’s working and what’s not. Use analytics to monitor open rates, click-through rates, and engagement levels for your Thanksgiving emails.
Track which segments respond best to specific offers, helping you refine future campaigns and measure ROI by linking marketing efforts to reservations, orders, or guest visits.
Then, use these insights to plan even more effective campaigns for Christmas, New Year’s, and other holidays.
The greatest advantage of marketing automation is the time it saves. Instead of manually managing promotions, you can focus on creating memorable guest experiences, coordinating staff, and ensuring smooth operations on Thanksgiving Day.
Pro Tip: Partner with an all-in-one restaurant marketing platform that integrates marketing automation with customer data and reputation management to streamline your efforts and maximize impact.
4. Launch a Loyalty Program Thanksgiving Campaign
Thanksgiving is an ideal time to reward loyal guests and encourage repeat visits by using your restaurant’s loyalty program creatively. Offering exclusive Thanksgiving-related perks helps your most dedicated diners feel valued while driving engagement and revenue.
Start by creating special promotions that are only available to loyalty members. For instance, offer early access to Thanksgiving reservations or pre-order menus, giving them a sense of priority and exclusivity.
You can also introduce holiday-specific rewards, such as bonus points for dining during the Thanksgiving period or ordering a holiday meal package. This not only increases their incentive to engage but also strengthens their connection with your brand.
Tailor your messaging to highlight the gratitude your restaurant feels for their continued support. Send personalized emails or text messages thanking them for their loyalty and inviting them to enjoy exclusive Thanksgiving benefits.
These messages can be crafted with warmth and festive cheer to resonate emotionally, making guests feel appreciated and special.
Additionally, use your restaurant’s loyalty program data to identify high-value guests and VIP diners who contribute the most to your bottom line. Offer them premium rewards, such as a complimentary dessert, a holiday gift, or even a private dining experience during Thanksgiving.
By elevating their experience, you reinforce their relationship with your brand and increase the likelihood of future visits.
Your Thanksgiving loyalty campaign doesn’t need to end with the holiday. Consider extending the celebration by offering bounce-back rewards for visits during the rest of the holiday season. This could include discounts for December reservations or exclusive deals on Christmas or New Year’s Eve dining.
By keeping loyal guests engaged beyond Thanksgiving, you maximize their lifetime value and ensure your restaurant stays top-of-mind throughout the year.
Using your loyalty program effectively during Thanksgiving not only drives immediate traffic but also strengthens long-term guest relationships. When guests feel appreciated, they are more likely to return, bringing consistent value to your business far beyond the holiday season.
5. Offer Gift Cards as the Perfect Thanksgiving Surprise
Thanksgiving is not only a time for delicious meals but also for showing appreciation to loved ones. Offering gift cards during this holiday provides your guests with a thoughtful and convenient way to share the joy of your restaurant with friends and family.
Gift cards are a versatile revenue booster, ideal for both those who want to give the gift of a meal and those looking for an easy last-minute option.
Promote gift cards as the perfect Thanksgiving gift by highlighting their convenience and flexibility. Position them as a thoughtful alternative for hosts who prefer to dine out, guests seeking a great gift idea, or even for corporate clients looking to reward their teams.
Include messaging that emphasizes the value of a shared meal, such as “Give the gift of delicious memories this Thanksgiving.”
To encourage purchases, bundle gift cards with added perks. For instance, offer a bonus card for every $50 or $100 spent, or include a small seasonal gift like a holiday dessert coupon or a mini bottle of wine with each card purchase.
Limited-time promotions like these not only drive immediate sales but also create urgency and excitement among your guests.
Promote your gift card offerings through all your marketing channels. Send email blasts to your subscriber list, create engaging social media posts, and add gift card links to your website and online ordering platform.
Display signage in-house, such as table tents or posters, to remind guests of the option during their visit.
Consider making it even easier by offering digital gift cards for purchase online. These are ideal for busy holiday shoppers and can be delivered instantly, making them an attractive option for last-minute buyers.
Lastly, position your gift cards as a way to bring your restaurant’s experience to someone’s table. Highlight how recipients can use them for holiday meals, everyday dining, or upcoming celebrations.
By making gift cards a central part of your Thanksgiving strategy, you’ll not only boost revenue during the holiday season but also attract new guests who will experience your restaurant for the first time.
6. Holiday-Themed Merchandise
Another potential revenue stream some restaurants explore around the holidays is selling themed merchandise or retail items.
This could include selling branded holiday-themed mugs, t-shirts, hats, or other items either in-person or through an online store. The key is to select merchandise that aligns with your restaurant’s brand and would be genuinely appealing to your customers.
When deciding what types of holiday merchandise to offer, think about items that could enhance the dining experience or be used as gifts. For example, a festive coffee mug or set of coasters might be more appealing than generic branded apparel. Unique, specialized items tend to perform better than generic souvenirs.
Promoting the merchandise through your restaurant’s marketing channels, such as your website and email, can help drive awareness and sales. Offering discounts or bundles for customers who purchase both a meal and merchandise can also incentivize add-on sales.
You can also mention this in other marketing material that you are sending out.
The most important considerations are ensuring the merchandise fits your brand, provides genuine value to your patrons, and is marketed tastefully without coming across as overly promotional.
Summing It Up
The holiday season presents both opportunities and challenges for restaurants. On one hand, increased consumer spending and celebratory moods can translate to higher traffic and revenue.
But the competition for customers’ dining dollars is also fierce, requiring restaurants to differentiate themselves through creative marketing.
The key is to strike a balance – leveraging the holiday spirit to engage customers, while avoiding tactics that come across as overly promotional or inauthentic. Memorable experiences, special menu items, and thoughtful hospitality tend to resonate better than gimmicks.
Ultimately, the most successful holiday restaurant marketing strategies are those that enhance the overall brand and delight customers, rather than just chasing short-term sales. By focusing on building lasting connections, restaurants can turn seasonal traffic into repeat business and customer loyalty year-round.
Discover Bloom Intelligence
Bloom Intelligence is an AI-powered restaurant marketing platform. It includes a powerful customer data platform, automated guest data collection, marketing automation, and reputation management tools.
Guest data is collected from many different sources and aggregated into one single platform. This makes it simple to analyze and segment your guest personas for your restaurant’s digital marketing and operations decisions.
Data is collected from sources like WiFi logins, online reservation systems, online ordering platforms, POS systems, website forms, social media, and more.
Bloom makes guest data collection effortless, this allows you to quickly execute the digital strategies listed above, saving you time, increasing customer lifetime values, attracting new guests, improving your reputation, and boosting your bottom line.
Call us or schedule a free demo online and Bloom will show you how our restaurant marketing platform can help you save time and increase your customer lifetime values by automatically building first-party customer databases, unlocking important guest insights to trigger automated marketing at the right time and place, discover true guest sentiment, save at-risk guests, increase your current guests’ frequency, and find new guests.
Click Here to Schedule a Free Online Demo, or call 727-877-8181 to see how we can help you save time and drive tangible results for your restaurants.
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