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After New Year’s crowds fade, winter months risk slower customer traffic for many restaurant owners. Unfavorable weather causes many customers to stay indoors. But merchants can engage new and existing customers by encouraging remote online orders for takeout and delivery as well as traditional dine-in. Draw customers to your restaurant this January with these intriguing restaurant marketing opportunities:

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​As 2024 approaches, the world of dining and foodservice continues to rapidly change. With advancements in technology, shifts in consumer behavior, and new trends emerging every year, restaurants with an effective marketing plan are far more likely to stay ahead of their competition.

​Here's a guide to creating a robust restaurant marketing strategy for 2024.

​1. Understand Your Customer Base:
Before launching any marketing campaign, seek a better understanding of your customer base. What are their preferences, needs, and habits? Consider back-office sales reports to determine popular items, ingredients, and busy periods in each quarter.

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​The festive season brings with it a flurry of excitement, celebrations, and of course, unique consumer expectations. As the end of the year approaches, restaurants can expect a change in customer behaviors and preferences. 

​Here's a look at some key customer trends and demands that restaurants should anticipate and prepare for this holiday season:

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In the United States, the month of November is most known for Thanksgiving Day. While it’s true that food-based Thanksgiving Day gatherings offer restaurants plenty of opportunity to promote their takeout, delivery, and menu options, November hosts multiple other “national days” ideal for restaurant marketing campaigns.

​Here are 7 ways, other than Thanksgiving Day, to market your restaurant in November 2023:

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A customer loyalty program can be a powerful tool for restaurants to increase sales by incentivizing customers to return and spend more money.

​Here are some ways in which restaurants can use loyalty programs to boost their sales:

Encourage Repeat Visits
By offering rewards for frequent visits or purchases, customers are more likely to return and spend more money. This can be especially effective for restaurants that offer a variety of menu options or that rotate seasonal menus, as customers may be motivated to try new dishes or come back to enjoy a favorite dish.

Increase Customer Spending
Loyalty programs can encourage customers to spend more money during each visit. For example, by offering a discount or reward for a minimum spend amount, customers may be more likely to order an extra dish or upgrade to a more expensive menu item. This can help increase the average ticket size and overall revenue for the restaurant.

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​The holiday season is a crucial time for many businesses, especially restaurants. The bustle of festive celebrations, family gatherings, and a general spirit of celebration sees dining establishments filled to the brim. In these demanding times, the efficiency and organization of a restaurant's operations can make a significant difference. Since their debut, Aldelo Express restaurant POS and Masa+ Online Ordering have become invaluable tools for restaurant operators during the busy holiday season. 

​Let's dive into how these platforms elevate a restaurant's holiday experience for both owners and customers alike.

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In the ever-evolving world of restaurant business, staying ahead means adopting technological solutions that cater to customer needs and streamline operations. One such essential tool is the Masa+ app from Aldelo Express, a comprehensive online ordering platform designed to make restaurant management a breeze.
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​Let's delve into the essential features of this app and explore the return on investment (ROI) of Masa+ for restaurants.

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​Gift cards have become increasingly popular over the years as a means of gifting for various occasions. They are a great option for consumers who may not know what to buy for someone or for those who want to give their loved ones the flexibility to choose their own gifts. However, gift cards can also be a valuable tool for businesses to increase sales and generate customer loyalty.

​Here are some ways businesses can use gift cards to drive sales:

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August is a busy month. As the summer season comes to a close, customers return to regular school and work routines. For restaurant owners, however, the end of summer can mean slower foot traffic that results in fewer sales. However, business owners can use creative marketing campaigns to help customers transition from frequent in-person to incorporating takeout, delivery, and online ordering purchases into their autumn routines. When successful, these restaurants retain their summer customers and ease the impact to their Q3 bottom lines.

​Here are several ways to market your restaurant this August:

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This June, restaurants are preparing to attract customers with Father’s Day specials, attracting customers with limited-time discounts, drawings and pools, free menu items, and loyalty/rewards campaigns. The National Basketball Association will be hosting the 2023 NBA Finals bracket competition, providing the ideal setting for watch parties and basketball themed promotions.

By encouraging customers to celebrate these simple and creative holidays at their restaurant, operators encourage new and existing customers to purchase food and drinks, sign up for a restaurant loyalty program, and buy gift cards that result in future visits.

​​Here are other ways to boost customer traffic this June 2023:

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Use of QR code-based digital payments has steadily grown across the restaurant point of sale industry. QR code-based e-Gift Cards, Rewards programs, and payment options eliminate the need for printing physical cards, prevent customers from losing physical gift cards, and avoid loss of funds due physical gift or reward card damage.

When customers select the “Pay” icon in the top right corner of the Masa+ mobile version and app, indicated by a “$” character, the QR code-based Masa+ Fast Pay feature locates and organizes applicable e-Gift and Rewards point values for a specific merchant in seconds.

​Masa+ Fast Pay then displays a single-use QR code within the customer's Masa+ wallet that consolidates available e-Gift or Rewards values based on the customer’s selection. Once restaurant staff scan the QR code with an Aldelo Express tablet POS device, the Aldelo Express POS system will then automatically locate the proper gift card or rewards credits to use to complete the transaction. Masa+ Fast Pay also supports secure QR code-based digital payments using personal credit cards. Customers may use a combination of e-Gift, Rewards and/or credit cards to pay the total bill amount.

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May is just around the corner, bringing along several opportunities restaurant owners use to boost sales and increase customer engagement. By encouraging customers to celebrate these simple and creative holidays at their restaurant, operators encourage new and existing customers to purchase food and drinks, sign up for a restaurant loyalty program, and buy gift cards that result in future visits.

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As a restaurant owner, you are always looking for ways to attract new customers and keep your regulars coming back for more. One way to accomplish this is through the implementation of a loyalty program with one or several campaigns. A loyalty program rewards customers for their repeat business, which leads to increased customer retention, increased customer satisfaction, and ultimately, increased revenue. In this post, we will review 5 steps to successfully implementing a restaurant loyalty program and how you can make more money with restaurant loyalty programs.​

Step 1: Identify Your Goals and Objectives

Before implementing a loyalty program, it's important to identify your goals and objectives. What do you hope to achieve by implementing a loyalty program? Are you looking to increase customer retention, boost customer spending, or both? Once you have a clear idea of your objectives, you can begin designing your program.

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​There are many reasons why restaurants should purchase a point of sale system (POS). One is that a reliable point of sale solution will actually help a restaurant increase their sales and bottom line profits by effectively controlling the three “P’s” of a business: People, Payments, and Products. Systems like Aldelo Express POS help restaurant owners increase sales by stopping theft, enforcing proper pricing for each menu item, and encouraging customers to return to the business with integrated Masa+ Gift Card and Loyalty programs.

​Here are the top 5 ways Aldelo Express POS can increase sales for your restaurant:

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​The end of the year brings increased business and excitement as restaurant owners and staff work hard to serve an influx of customers and prepare for the coming year. For business owners, reflecting on the past year and writing down specific and measurable goals for their business makes them more likely to succeed in the coming year.

Aldelo is committed to helping merchants succeed. Unlike some point-of-sale software vendors whose direct contact ends after the system is installed, Aldelo supports restaurant owners throughout their initial year of use and beyond. Aldelo does this to ensure that merchants utilize the Aldelo Express native POS solutions, modules, and features that help their business thrive and grow. Plus, Aldelo merchants receive unlimited software updates and feature releases year-round, ensuring they are always operating with the latest-version POS software.

​Here are 5 considerations for restaurant owners as they prepare for the coming year:

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The month of October is famous for Fall Harvest Festivals, pumpkin patch trips, the Major League Baseball Post-Season Playoffs, and Halloween. Each one of these October activities provides restaurant owners an opportunity to encourage new and existing customers to visit their restaurant by incentivizing menu purchases via gift card, loyalty, and rewards-based promotions.

Here are a few ways restaurants can engage their customers this October:

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​Largely ignored in the US for years, QR codes are proving daily how much of a productive and trusted asset they are to business owners in today’s unpredictable market climate. As restaurant owners continually adjust to the contactless and digital market, utilizing QR code-based access to native and third-party online ordering and digital payment integrations help staff and customers increase operational efficiency, reduce order errors, and improve overall customer service levels and satisfaction.
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With eight out of ten people carrying a smartphone camera in their pockets, unique QR codes enable restaurants to put ordering and payment capabilities into the hands of their customers, including:

• Paperless menus
• Place online orders
• Scan-and-pay at the POS
• Web-based digital payments
• Leave cashless tips
• Receive paperless receipts
• Gain loyalty points
• Trigger curbside pick-up
• Digital restaurant storefronts
• And more!

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The school year is back in swing, which means restaurants are engaging schools, students, and school groups in their local communities. For many customers, their daily schedules are prioritized around their childrens’ school, extracurricular activities, and their local social network. By supporting students’ success while encouraging new and existing customers to return the favor through support of their business, restaurants successfully increase customer traffic this fall and throughout the school year with back-to-school themed campaigns.

Here are three ways to engage your local customer base with back-to-school themed campaigns and events:

Homecoming Catering and Promotions

Homecoming is an exciting time of year for students, families, and their communities. With homecoming float-building, dances, and football games occurring throughout the fall season, restaurants have a unique opportunity to support local schools with homecoming-themed catering and promotions. Examples include:

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Aldelo has always been, first and foremost, a restaurant point-of-sale software developer. Whether it’s responding to merchant feedback to enhance existing POS applications, or introducing new native solutions such as the Aldelo Express Inventory Module, Aldelo’s full-time team of software developers is committed to providing restaurant owners and referral partners with “complete access to leading restaurant technologies.”

To best serve new and existing restaurant owners looking for affordable full-featured point-of-sale solutions, Aldelo Express POS supports “freedom of choice” processing. The result is allowing more restaurant owners to benefit from Aldelo Express’s full-featured cloud POS solutions while using credit card processing services that best suit the needs of their business.

​Selecting the ​Aldelo Express POS technology platform means implementing a complete merchant- and customer-facing POS ecosystem using non-proprietary hardware and a single cloud back-office environment. Aldelo Express POS hardware options are seamlessly interoperable and synchronize data so that information is readily available on any device, allowing merchants the freedom to select hardware they feel is best for their operation. Whether utilizing iPads, Android Tablets, or Android-based Mobile Handheld devices, every Aldelo Express terminal is capable of supporting a complete restaurant operation. 

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Because coffee is the most popular drink in America, nearly every restaurant offers hot or cold coffee beverages on their menu. This September 29th, on National Coffee Day, restaurant owners across the country are taking advantage of the opportunity to promote their restaurant’s digital menus with coffee-themed loyalty campaigns. By incentivizing digital online ordering purchases with coffee-based giveaways and discounts, businesses see increased purchases of food and drinks placed both in-store on QR code-based digital menus, and online.

For new and existing restaurant owners, offering a full-featured digital menu means enabling customers to customize their own coffee-based drinks using simple, complex, and priced menu item modifiers. Using a single cloud-based login, owners/operators monitor and manage digital menus and menu item modifiers anytime, anywhere through the Aldelo Express POS cloud back-office. When used alongside self-service Kiosks and QR code-based signage placed throughout the indoor and outdoor restaurant environment, restaurants utilizing Aldelo Express and Masa+ eliminate long lines and reduce wait times through on-demand customer-facing digital ordering and secure payment services.

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One of the best strategies a restaurant can make at the end of a busy summer season is leveraging customer contact information gathered over the previous several months and establishing new loyalty campaigns. Promoting reward incentives that cater to busy schedules keep customers engaged despite a transition into school-year routines. When successful, these restaurants not only retain summer customers, but can present their restaurant as a “grab and go” option or as an ideal “hotspot” for parent meetings, local fundraisers, or a fun time out.

​Here are 3 creative ways to target customers this September with themed campaigns:

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For millions of Americans, September marks the end of summer. By the end of August, summer tourists, campers, and out-of-towners are going back to their school year routines, making September a challenging period for many restaurant owners who are at risk of losing new summer customers. As a result, one of the best things a restaurant can do is target their customers with integrated loyalty and rewards incentives so they will be reminded of their favorite “summer stop” throughout the school year. When successful, these restaurants not only maintain a growing customer base, but present their restaurant as an ideal vendor for fundraisers, sports team gatherings, homecoming catering, and more.

One of the best ways restaurants can strategically compete in the growing loyalty market is to reward customer purchases and influence return visits with unique customer promotions. These help restaurants increase customer traffic and earn additional revenue that is often essential for sustaining the business during slower periods.