The spookiest time of year is upon us - and one of the busiest days of the year for pizzerias. Halloween spending is projected to exceed $9 Billion in 2017 (yes, that's Billion with a capital "B"), so it's not a bad idea to make sure your business is prepared to share the streets with trick-or-treaters. Here are a few quick and easy treats to market your restaurant this Halloween.
READ: Don't Get Spooked by one of Pizza's Busiest Days
An Eerily Delicious Halloween Menu
You don't have to create a pumpkin spice pizza to jump on the seasonal flavor profile trends. Make a Halloween menu that's memorable and entice your customers with limited-time items. Come up with a couple of punny pie recipes, specialty drinks (Bloody Marys, anyone?), or a buffet menu fit for a ghoulish feast. Print up a special menu to surprise & delight guests that stop by for a pre tick-or-treat meal. Some ideas:
- Vampire Pie with extra tomato sauce and fresh tomatoes on top
- Chicken Wings Bat Wings
- Holloween-ify your dessert menu with pumpkin pie or creatively decorated cupcakes
- Jack-O-Lantern pepperoni pizza
Super Spooky Social Media
Warm up those thumbs and take to your Twitter, Facebook and Instagram profiles to drive traffic to your website and online ordering storefront. These are the perfect channels to engage with customers (and potential customers) and jump on relevant trending topics to amplify your brand voice. If you're promoting any special menu items or discounts for the holiday, share them everywhere you can. Featuring enticing images of your tricks and treats creates crave inducing conversions.
Decor to Die For
If all your customers are in costume, why not embrace the ambiance? You can go minimal with a few decorative gourds on the counter top, or go full haunted restaurant with cobwebs and colored string lights. Take it a step further and host a costume contest for customers and encourage employees to dress up as well (while maintaining health code standards, of course).
Eerily Good Email Marketing
Holidays are the perfect time to reach out to your customers in fun and creative ways. Make sure your email loyalty marketing tool comes loaded with pre-made templates that are quick and easy for your to customize and send. Offer something extra tasty for your VIPs and incentivize your customers to make sure you're on their Halloween menu.
Keep Your Delivery Drivers Safe - No Tricks
On one of pizza's busiest days they'll be sharing the streets with kids and families going door to door. Consider utilizing a delivery management app to keep track of orders, have drivers check in when they arrive so you know exactly when orders are delivered, capture customer signature and credit tips, and keep track of all your drivers back at the store.
Learn more on how to cash in on the Halloween thrills with a feature-rich pizza POS.
