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Restaurant Table Tents: 4 Tips To Boost Your Sales

You've got a customer seated at a table in your restaurant. They're waiting for menus and looking to pass the time - what better way to engage them than with a table tent?

Using restaurant table tents is a smart way to put your promotions and specials in front of your customers and get them in the mindset of ordering. When they sit down at the table, they may not be thinking about ordering an appetizer, drink, or special, but when it's presented to them before they order, it gets them thinking in that direction, potentially serving to boost your sales.

For these reasons and more, table tents are a must-have if you are running a casual restaurant. Read on for four tips on how to make table tents work for you.

1) Choose Your Promotion Wisely

If your typical Tuesday night customer is a soccer mom having drinks and appetizers with her female friends, using table tents to promote a steak dinner probably won't go over too well; you'd likely be better off promoting a fun appetizer or a fancy cocktail, maybe even dessert. On the flip side, if your regular crowd on a Monday night is a bunch of men watching football, wings and beer would be a good choice.

Think about these factors when choosing a promotion for your restaurant table tents. Determine who your customers are on any given night of the week, and try to target them with individual promotions. If you decide to use table tents to advertise ongoing promotions, that works too, but make sure the selected items are things your customers order often and are willing to order again. Wine lists, happy hour menus, and deals on appetizers all work well in this regard. Table tents are not the way to promote the most expensive item on your menu, but they are a good way to promote deals or discounts that appeal to groups or individuals.

2) Get the Message Right

Once you've selected your promotion, it's time to craft the messaging. You've got a limited amount of space to use and an even shorter time span during which you must get your customers' attention, so minding basic restaurant marketing and copywriting guidelines when designing table tent cards is key.

Take the time to craft a powerful headline for your table tent and try to limit body copy to a line or two at best. Describe your item or offer in clear detail but only address key points; if customers have questions, they will ask, and that's a good sign. Once you've crafted the body copy, don't forget to add a call-to-action. Sometimes customers need a little push to take the next step, and a compelling call-to-action can make or break the sale. Use action-oriented phrases like "Order Now" or "Ask Your Server" to keep ordering and communication with your servers top-of-mind.

3) Pay Attention to Design

Not sure how to design your table tent? Treat yourself to lunch or dinner in a casual restaurant and look at the table tents you see. If you find a design you like, make a note. Ultimately, you want to be original, but seeing what else is out there can get the creative juices flowing. You can also look online for table tent templates to get an idea of exactly what content is needed and how to address layout; it can be difficult at first to visualize the layout due to the folds inherent in the design, but following a template should help.

Once you've narrowed down a concept, it's time to design your own. Think about colors, cool fonts, and images you want to use. If you need assistance, consider hiring a freelance graphic designer. Getting the design right on your table tent cards can go a long way in generating sales.

5) Invest in Printing

When designing your table tent sundae, quality printing is the cherry on top. Don't let your time and effort go to waste by trying to print your table tents yourself or using a less than detail-oriented printer to do the work for you. As a presentation marketing tool, table tents themselves should be presented in the best light possible.

Use quality stocks, proper folding techniques, and dynamic colors. Make you leave enough room at the border to make your content pop. If you're not a printing expert, you don't have to worry; there are plenty of professional printing services that will take your table tent template, address all pertinent details and help you print the best quality table tents for your money.