Drive Sales with Restaurant Flyers: 3 Creative Ways to Make Your Business Sizzle

If you own a restaurant, devising creative restaurant promotions is likely a huge part of your ongoing sales and marketing strategy. Spreading word-of-mouth and getting people in the door are essential to staying in business and street or direct marketing can be a valuable way not only to keep your restaurant top-of-mind with local customers, but also to drive sales throughout the year. As one of the most popular direct marketing tactics, distributing restaurant flyers can bring serious business through your door - so read on for three creative ways to use them.

1 - Create a Flyer with Your Nightly Specials and Leave at College Campuses & Coffee Shops

College campuses and coffee shops are great places to find college students and writers - two types of people who are often looking to save a buck or two while having some fun. Devise nightly specials targeted at this demographic and create a batch of restaurant flyers listing all of them. Hand out your flyer at the campuses and cafes in your neighborhood to get the most bang for your buck. The audience will be looking for inexpensive ways to have fun and providing all your nightly specials on one flyer will give them an array of options - and hopefully more than one reason to visit your restaurant!

2 - Offer a Discount on a Sample To-Go Menu and Leave at Local Businesses and Residential Homes

Who likes takeout? Professional workers and busy families! So target them. Put together a sample to-go menu and offer a considerable discount. Pick out some of your best-selling to-go items for the promotion and make sure you get a decent variety of items. If a customer can order a well-balanced meal off your "sample" to-go menu, you're headed in the right direction. Once you've selected your menu items, create a flyer design that highlights them well and decide on the discount you want to offer. Distribute this batch of restaurant flyers to local businesses and in residential areas and you'll likely see a boost in business from hungry people on the go - it's one of many tested restaurant promotions that can't lose.

3 - Create a 2-for-1 Discount and Leave Flyers at Your Restaurant Counter for Customers

Already have a customer in your door? Great. Capitalize on the opportunity. If customers are in your restaurant and you're doing your job well, they are likely enjoying their experience so give them a reason to come back and have another. Create restaurant flyers offering a two-for-one discount for existing customers and leave it at the counter where customers pay or include it when you deliver the check. Use messaging that makes your customer feel special - call it a "Thank You" discount if you like. Ask servers to encourage customers to visit with a friend and bring the flyer to save on their next meal.