30 Boxes And The End Of The Restaurant Discount Coupon

[Lamar Morgan]

This may not work for every restaurant, but it may work for a great many. Get rid of the restaurant discount coupon. Replace it with an online calendar (like 30 Boxes). Get your audience to send you the data via email - i.e. birthday and anniversary dates. Provide discounts for those patrons who provide the data and bring a group on those special days. The 30 Boxes calendar will actually notify the restaurant when those special dates are scheduled to arrive via email. Is that not nice. No longer do restaurants need the hassle of coupons. No longer do patrons need to cut coupons and bring them into a restaurant to receive a discount. Just email and an online calendar is all you need.

If you are not familiar with what a 30 Boxes Calendar can do, check it out at 30 Boxes.

Lamar Morgan

[Dorinda Duclos-Favors by Dorinda]

Lamar,

This is an interesting concept, but there's a snag. If restaurants stop giving out coupons, they're also turning away business. If a person is limited to one day in a given month, will they return? We have an Italian restaurant we frequent once a week. We go there because the food is good BUT we also go there because we have coupons. In today's economy, a business needs as much foot traffic as anything. I think eliminating coupons would slow that traffic.

There is also the option of the gift type card. Not a card with monetary value per se. I will use Charlie Brown's Steakhouse as an example. I am a member of their Handshake Club. I have a card that I present when I pay my bill. I get points added to my card based on the amount of my total tab. At the next visit, when they swipe my card, points can be redeemed toward a discount off the meal. AND on my birthday, they send me a special coupon. But I get a discount simply for being a member. This seems like a better option then eliminating coupons totally for a once in awhile discount via a calendar.

Dorinda

[Lindy Asimus]

Have an interesting new business opened up locally - they are selling web 2.0 promotions for businesses to buy in - competitions to win great prizes like ipods and the like. Well designed, and much better to engage new people than discounting core products.

[Lamar Morgan]

Dorinda,

I recently ate a meal at a Subway Sandwich Shop. Subway has a card that gets swiped each time a purchase is made. That's a better use of a card than one which is simply sent via mail and thrown away once it is turned in at a restaurant. What the Thai restaurant wants to do is eliminate wasted efforts. Why pay to print and mail coupons if you can find a more efficient way to proceed?

The idea with the calendar is that you have a means to entice large groups of people to come into the restaurant due to ONE PERSON's birthday...and everyone in the group receives a discount on their meal. You don't want to do that for every single person in the restaurant. But, if such an offering keeps the restaurant traffic flowing rather nicely, that's a good thing.

This particular restaurant is a multitasker. It's running several different promotions at the same time. For example, it is using Twitter to promote seafood specials and sellout of fresh seafood before it even places the order. It has a growing Twitter following for that very reason.

Lamar Morgan

[Dorinda Duclos-Favors by Dorinda]

Lamar,

That is exactly what I was referring to. The card I have gets swiped each time I use it. It doesn't get thrown away. So not sure what your point is there. You basically repeated what I had already said.

The key word there is ONE person. So what if they bring a group? What are the odds that anyone in the group will return based on having to wait for their "birthday" or "anniversary" in order to get a discount. With a membership card with rewards or for that matter, coupons, the flow of traffic remains steady because ANYONE can use them at ANYTIME. There are no restrictions other than an expiration date. Which by the way, many restaurants no longer include on their coupons.

Dorinda

[Lamar Morgan]

Dorinda,

Make no mistake, I like the swiped card idea. In fact, I plan to suggest it to the restaurant owner. But, in order to use such a card, the owner is going to have to invest in specialized equipment and learn how to program it. He is also going to have to spend money to have his restaurant's image imprinted on the cards he freely gives out. He's also got to decide what the points the card swiping builds up is worth? If he gives a card to every person coming into the restaurant does that entitle each person to get a 15% discount each time they visit? What does it mean to show up with that card? At Subways, I simply get 10 points added to my account each time I buy a sandwich. I do not even know what that entitles me to receive in terms of food. I will have to inquire the next time I go in to purchase a sandwich.

The 30 Boxes Online Calendar approach regarding birthdays and anniversaries is simply easier and more cost-effective. No special equipment to purchase. No learning curve regarding the use of software to program the customer cards, etc.

Birthdays and anniversaries are special events. The restaurant wants to tap into that aspect with the surrounding community. The 30 Boxes Calendar provides one way in which that can be accomplished without the need to purchase additional equipment. And, that includes the printing of paper coupons.

A person does not have to wait until the month of their birthday to take advantage of the 15% discount. Remember, this is a small community. People know each other out here. The idea here is for people to come into the restaurant in response to having made a special reservation as a birthday or anniversary party group. People can come to help celebrate someone else's birthday - not just their own. What is being done here is setting up a situation for the public to figure out. The best way to entice people into engaging in a certain action is NOT to simply tell them in an ad, but to set up a situation wherein over time people actually figure it out for themselves. And, when it comes to helping the public figure things out for themselves, you know what works best? Personal testimonies. Yes, the third-party referral is what makes the magic happen.

Lamar Morgan