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Marketing Ideas Calendar for April, 2019

April 2019 Holidays

Use your imagination to put together fun and interesting marketing messages for your Social Media Posts, Emails, and In-Store Promotions

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Monthly Holidays

English Language Month

National Month of Hope

National Canine Fitness Month

National Internship Awareness Month

Distracted Driving Awareness Month

National Child Abuse Awareness Month

National Donate Life Awareness Month

National Cannabis Awareness Month

Month of the Military Child

International Guitar Month

Keep America Beautiful Month

Lawn and Garden Month

National Autism Awareness Month

National Couple Appreciation Month

National Decorating Month

National Fresh Celery Month

National Garden Month

National Humor Month

National Jazz Appreciation Month

National Soft Pretzel Month

National Soy Foods Month

National Straw Hat Month

National Parkinson’s Awareness Month

National Poetry Month

National Pecan Month

National Volunteer Month

National Welding Month

Occupational Therapy Month

Records and Information Management Month

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Stress Awareness Month

National Safe Digging Month

To receive an email every month with a Marketing Ideas Calendar like this one, SUBSCRIBE.

Who’s Birthday is in April

4/3       Cat Cora, Iron Chef
4/19    Bryan Voltaggio, Chef and Competitor on Top Chef
4/28    Bobby Deen, Chef

Weekly Holidays

April 1 -7
National Window Safety Week
Paws International Pooper Scooper Week

 

April 7-13
National Library Week
National Student Employment Week
National Volunteers Week

 

April 14 – 20
Boys and Girls Club Week
Coin Week

 

April 21 – 28
Administrative Professionals Week
National Princess Week
Every Kid Healthy Week

To receive an email every month with a Marketing Ideas Calendar like this one, SUBSCRIBE.

April Daily Holidays

 

4/1/2019        National One Cent Day / April Fools Day

4/2/2019        National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

4/3/2019        National Chocolate Mousse Day / National Walking Day

4/4/2019        National School Librarian Day / National Burrito Day

4/5/2019        National Deep Dish Pizza / National Caramel Day

4/6/2019        National Caramel Popcorn Day

4/7/2019        National Beer Day / National Coffee Cake Day

4/8/2019        National Empanada Day / National Zoo Lovers Day

4/9/2019        National Name Yourself Day

4/10/2019      National Siblings Day / National Cinnamon Crescent Day

4/11/2019      National Cheese Fondue Day

4/12/2019      National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day / National Day of Silence

4/13/2019      National Make Lunch Count Day / National Scrabble Day

4/14/2019      National Pecan Day / National Dolphin Day

4/15/2019      National Tax Day

4/16/2019      National Wear Your Pajamas to Work Day / National Eggs Benedict Day

4/17/2019      National Ellis Island Family History Day

4/18/2019      National Animal Crackers Day / Get to Know Your Customers Day

4/19/2019      National Hanging Out Day / Good Friday

4/20/2019      National Cheddar Fries Day

4/21/2019      National Kindergarten Day / Easter

4/22/2019      National Earth Day / National Jelly Bean Day

4/23/2019      National Picnic Day

4/24/2019      National Administrative Professionals Day / National Pigs in a Blanket Day

4/25/2019      National Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day

4/26/2019      National Pretzel Day

4/27/2019      National Devil Dog Day

4/28/2019      National Superhero Day / National Blueberry Pie Day

4/29/2019      National Shrimp Scampi Day

4/30/2019      National Military Brats Day / National Adopt a Shelter Pet Day / National Oatmeal Cookie Day

———–

Marketing Ideas For Restaurants!

Do you own a restaurant? We send have a Restaurant-Specific Newsletter we send every month. To subscribe email me at Andrew@smallbusinessu.org.  Leave your name, restaurant name, and mailing address. 

4/2/2019        National Peanut Butter and Jelly Day

Create a special dessert that resembles a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich

 

4/4/2019        National School Librarian Day / National Burrito Day

Create a special “burrito”.  It does not have to be Mexican, add your own flavor profile.

 

4/7/2019        National Beer Day

If you have a bar, have a special price on beer.  Make an event of the day, by having Beer Tastings.

 

4/12/2019      National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day / National Day of Silence

Add a new item to the menu. Make the grilled cheese special by adding meat or veggies.

 

4/15/2019      National Tax Day

Give a “tax break”!

 

4/24/2019      National Administrative Professionals Day

Give a discount for office party trays.

 

4/25/2019      National Take Our Sons and Daughters to Work Day

Bring your son or daughter to lunch and get a free kids meal.

 

4/26/2019      National Pretzel Day

Use pretzels to create a new item – Fried Chicken with Pretzel Breading

 

4/28/2019      National Superhero Day

Dress as your favorite superhero, get a free Dessert or App

A Recommended Facebook Setting for Your Fan Page

In an article I recently wrote for the March, 2019 edition of the One Good Idea Newsletter, I’m suggesting that you allow your Facebook Fans to post directly onto your business Facebook Fan page. Here’s why (and HOW to do it right): The video below shows you how to adjust the Facebook Fan page Settings, which is important if you decide to implement this strategy. 

Benefits of Opening Your Facebook Fan Page for Your Fans to Post Directly On Your Wall

• Customers and fans who post directly on your wall is social proof that your business is engaged with happy and satisfied customers.

 

• You can run promotions which encourage your existing customer base to post on your Fan page. For example, April is National Humor Month. In the article I mentioned above, I suggest to use this wacky “holiday” to stimulate activity on your Facebook page by asking customers to post a pithy joke.  You can then LIKE the joke and thank them for it. You can even reward customers and fans who post on your page with a coupon.  You do this by replying to their post with a Thank You and a link to a coupon on your website or on your moderncoupon page. Doing so, increases the chance of doing business with the customer again, sooner than later.

 

• Encourages customers to LIKE your Facebook page which grows your fan base.

 

• You can respond and engage customers who post on your page. When you do this, you can offer them a reason (incentive) to communicate with you on Facebook Messenger. You want to do this to open up even more ways to communicate. Communicating through messenger is great because people receive messenger alerts and 90% read messages on their phones.

 

• Facebook posts reach a much smaller number of your fans than ever before. However, Facebook rewards pages which get high engagement, so encouraging customers to post on your page will likely make your posts show to more people.

If there’s anything me or my team can help you with, please call 1-866-799-2825 and leave a message. Or you can email me directly at Andrew@smallbusinessu.org

How to Use Our Marketing Ideas Calendar in March, 2019 (Restaurant Edition)

This article provides a handful of ideas for marketing your business on Social Media, Email, In-Store Promotions, TV, Radio, and Events.

 

Special Dates to Make Your Marketing Great!

For the past several years, I’ve been providing a Marketing Ideas Calendar on the smallbusinessu.org blog. I’ve decided to take this resource one-step further.

Marketing Ideas Served on a Silver Platter

Starting with this edition of the One Good Idea Newsletter, Special Dates to Make Your Marketing Great, will be a continuing feature.

My team and I will pick a few dates & topics and give you ideas on how to implement them for marketing your restaurant in print, social media, and email. People pay more attention to marketing messages with an interesting topic. Some will share & spread the word.

Keep in mind, you can modify these to fit your  own style. These are to get your creative juices flowing.

Newsworthy Promotions & Event Ideas

March 1st is Read Across America Day.

Marketing idea: Have a children’s book donation event. Offer $1.00 off the bill for every kiddie book customers donate and deliver them to a worthy cause.

This is a great photo opportunity. Encourage customers to take photos of their children donating books. Add an incentive to check-in on social media and post selfies. An alternative could be a Free Kid’s meal or gift card for use on the customers’ next visit. This makes a great theme for an event you can market on Facebook, Yelp, Eventbrite, Nextdoor, and even Craigslist.

March 8th is National Unplugging Day.

It’s amazing how people can sit around a table and their eyes are all glued to their phone. Have fun with this holiday by creating a PHONE-FREE ZONE.

You probably shouldn’t demand your customers not to use their phone, but you can offer to seat people in a PHONE-FREE ZONE on National Unplugging Day. “Turn off your phones for 10% Off (or a Free Dessert). Promote this special day on your social media and broadcast email. Your customers will probably share their refreshing experience with their family and friends.

March 14th is National Pi Day (3.14)

Incorporate pie into Pi day. Dessert pie, pizza pie, Shepherd’s Pie, Pot Pie, Vegan Pie. Invite customers to participate in and attend a pie tasting contest. Pick some menu items or make some new ones you can price at $3.14.

March is Caffeine Awareness Month

There’s a lot of profit in coffee and you should sell as much as you can! Premium coffees bring premium prices. Coffee sells desserts and desserts sell coffee (especially pie!). Use March as your springboard into a deeper dive into the coffee business. Instead of asking your customers if they would like some coffee at the end of their meal, show them your coffee menu!

March 18th is National Nurses Day

Get the word out: Nurses get a Free Appetizer or Dessert with an order of a regular priced entrée.

March 27th is National Joe Day

Anyone can be Joe on National Joe Day. Make a coupon on your website, moderncoupon, and on social media, “If your name is Joe or even if you pretend your name is Joe, present this coupon and get $5.00 off your order.”

Take a look at  the March Marketing Ideas Calendar and see how you can put more ideas to work to make your marketing fun and interesting .

Oh, and one more thing, there’s no reason why you can’t make your promotion last for more than one day. Keep it going all week or all month if you want. It’s your restaurant, YOU make the rules.

Use the monthly marketing ideas to fuel your emails and social media efforts.

What…you’re not emailing? We have to talk.     Reach me at Andrew@smallbusinessu.org

Coupon Ideas-Better Ways to Use Coupons to Market Your Restaurant

In this article, I’m going to share smart coupon marketing strategies you probably have never heard of nor considered before.

Traditional print coupons and also digital online coupons are both a great way to advertise your restaurant. Read and learn;

How to Make Coupon Marketing 10x More Effective and Much More Profitable

What do I mean by “making your coupon marketing 10x more effective and much more profitable?” Here are some ideas you you may have never considered before.

• Use coupons to promote specific items.

Sell what you want to sell most! So many restaurants are marketing coupons for $5 off or $10 off certain size orders. This works, but coupons can deliver a bigger message. They can be used to create awareness of specific items: new items, seasonal items, more expensive items, more profitable items, the items you feel are your wow items, the menu items you love to make and serve.

Introducing customers to these items gives them reasons to come back more often, provides more ways to find something they really love at your restaurant, and more reasons to tell others about your place.

•  Coupons can be used to sell a bigger variety.

Create a coupon that sells a combination of items. This increases the size of the order while also getting customers to try items they may have never ordered individually.

• Coupons can get your customer to reach a higher dollar value.

While most coupons offer a $5 and $10 off coupon, I recommend offering a $25 off coupon too. The $5 off coupon usually requires a $25 purchase and and $10 off coupon usually requires a $50 purchase. Each represents a maximum discount of 20%. If you include a $25 discount coupon for an order of $200, it has the effect of catching attention. $25 is a big discount and it seems very generous. However, this discount is a maximum of 12.5% and it may be the incentive which gets a group of people to decide to eat at your place rather than somewhere else.

Coupon Ideas that Capture Attention

I just talked about the visual aspect of what a $25 coupon can have on people when they’re deciding where to eat. In the same theme,

• Offer something for FREE.

It’s a fact, the word “FREE” gets attention. It’s magnet for the eyes and therefore, gets customer’s attention. FREE Dessert, FREE soft drink, Kids eat FREE, Buy 2 get one FREE, these are all attention-getters. When advertising in print along side of other businesses, your FREE coupons will surely draw attention to your ad.

How to Create Online Coupons the Right Way and The Benefits of Offering Coupons on Your Website

Some people are “coupon people” and some aren’t. Some people make their choices around where they can get a discount. Some don’t. Don’t burden yourself with worry because you’re afraid everybody will be getting discounts if you have coupons on your website. #1. It doesn’t happen. #2. Promote your restaurant with the kind of coupons which make you happy when people redeem them.

• Coupons on your website will make your restaurant show up on Google.

“Coupon people” go online and use the word “coupon” when deciding where to go to eat. They’ll search “coupons for Chinese food,” “coupons for pizza,” “coupons for sushi,” or coupons for Indian food,” for example. They make their buying decision based upon where they can get a discount. If you want your restaurant to show up in those searches, you definitely want to have a dedicated page on your website to display and deliver coupons.

• To build an audience and a herd of loyal customers, coupons should require your customers’ contact information.

Your coupons should help you build a valuable customer list. Get the Name, Email Address, and Birthday so you can keep in touch and continue to send them offers directly.

Today, we can use technology for marketing automation. Done right, coupons can help you build a massive customer list and reach them with friendly messages and offers they welcome in their email box.

Email marketing works. Statistically, email marketing provides one of the biggest return on investments of any marketing strategy in history. When people give you their contact information they are giving you permission to send them your offers. This is a gift, and most independent restaurants are missing out on this golden opportunity.

• Coupons on your website: You don’t need loyalty programs!

Yes, coupons on your website are always available, BUT, isn’t it nice when people come back often? I always tell my clients, make your coupons so that when they’re redeemed, you don’t get mad, you get glad! Unlike loyalty programs, coupons on your website don’t require you to buy equipment, train your staff, print punch cards, or pay high fees for a membership or enrollment. Some restaurant owners who run print coupons in the direct mail packs complain because they only see certain customers once a month when they run the coupon. I say, tell them to run the coupon on their website and they’ll see the customer more often. As long as you’re giving modest discounts with your coupons, everybody wins. It ends up working just like a loyalty program.

Build a Customer List and Keep in Touch

Want to Join Our Email List for Information About Our Specials and Coupons? Every customer should be aware of the opportunity to be on your email list. Customers who use Groupon and every customer who redeems a coupon is already interested in money-saving opportunities. Most of them will agree to join your list for the promise of future invitations to your restaurant which include a money-saving coupon or news about specials and events. Do this with a link on the Home page of your website: CLICK HERE FOR SPECIALS AND COUPONS. It works.

Customer frequency (a key factor in customer lifetime value) is a vital measure of a restaurant’s success. Keeping in touch with email, with or without a coupon, keeps your restaurant in top-of-mind position and effectively increases the number of times a customer will patronize your restaurant.

According to Gather, an event and restaurant marketing firm, the average size party at a typical full-service restaurant is 3.7 guests.

Let’s do some simply math. An average restaurant can accumulate an email list of 1000 customers in a matter of months. If you have 1000 people on your email list and if only 1% of your email recipients respond-and if these customers who respond show up with 3.7 people in their party, this is 37 more people served. If your average sale is $20/person, you’re generating $740 in revenue. Do this once weekly and now you’re looking at the probability of increasing revenue over $3000/month. How quickly will you get to work building your list to 2000, 5000, 10,000? (And you can!)

Advertising Dollars Work Harder

One of the reasons you advertise is to keep your name in front of people so they don’t forget you. Some call this branding. Another reason you invest in advertising is to attract some new customers.  Every time you advertise in print or online with a Groupon-style deal, a certain number of people who see your ad will visit your website. This is especially true of the potential new customers.

A new reason to advertise: to Build Your Customer List

New customers who see your ad will visit your website because they want a to know what to expect. They want to see your menu, take a look at your dining room, and your parking situation, among other things. Now is the perfect time to get these new people to sign up for your email list.

CAUTION: Nobody wants to be on your mailing list. They DO want to be on your Coupons & Specials list. The best way to get people to join your list is to provide coupons which require the customer to enter their first name, email address and birthday month (leave birthday month optional).

I recommend moderncoupon to be your coupon distribution system. It’s a done-for-you online coupon distribution and email marketing automated tool which also provides other great benefits like Search Engine Optimization and Social Media Marketing.

Full Disclosure: Small Business U. is a marketing agent for moderncoupon. I get to see all the coupon activity of our clients. New customer acquisition and the frequency of repeat customers is dramatic. If you want to find out how we use moderncoupon to help independently-owned restaurants, call 1-866-799-2825 or email me directly at andrew@smallbusinessu.org

Valentine’s Day Marketing Ideas for Restaurants

Valentine’s Day can be a very big day for a restaurant. Want to learn how to make it even better? Here’s a Valentine’s Day marketing idea I invented a few years ago and found it very effective.

Forget About Valentine’s Day!…It’s Valentine’s WEEK!

I recommend you have a special Valentine’s Week special offer for several reasons:

• If one person wants to celebrate Valentine’s Day with sushi, but the other wants Italian, then someone will be a little disappointed. Some couples will compromise and go out to dinner twice to celebrate. If you make the Valentine’s theme and menu available for the week, and if you let people know about it, this idea really works.
• Some people have to work on Valentine’s Day or have other commitments and can’t go out to dinner that night. Making your special Valentine’s celebration last all week is their perfect solution.
• Your Valentine’s Day special menu should be bigger, bolder, and more expensive (and more profitable) than a typical meal. Why not give this special selection a chance to sell more than on just one night?
• Your Valentine’s Day special menu may include something which is not normally on your menu. This is a chance to introduce something different that people may fall in love with (no pun intended). It may become a regular item or show up from time to time on your specials list.
• Having a Week-Long Valentine’s Day Celebration is unique. It’s an event. You can market this as an event on Facebook, Yelp!, Eventbrite, and Craigslist…FREE! Events are a great way to reach more people, some who don’t even know you yet. (You may want to read my previous post about Facebook events.)

SUBSCRIBE to get notified of every new blog post and my email Newsletter.

How to Let People Know About Your Valentine’s Holiday Event

How do you let your customers know about your week-long celebration of “The Love” holiday? Email. Email them 2 weeks before the holiday, a week before, the day before, and the day after, and always remind them the end date so they still know they have a chance to celebrate with their sweetie.

As mentioned above, you should also use Facebook, Yelp, Eventbrite, and Craigslist to market this event. Why not? It’s free.

Want some help with any of these ideas? Just send me an email: Andrew@smallbusinessu.org. SUBSCRIBE to get notified of every new blog post and my email Newsletter.

 

Marketing Ideas Calendar for February, 2019

Use These “Holidays” and Topics to Fuel Your Social Media Posts,Emails, and In-Store Promotions

Adding themes and topics to your marketing messages get more attention, encourage sharing, and add more reasons to engage with your audience. Your audience is also more likely to read, share, and talk about your business too!

To receive an email every month with a Marketing Ideas Calendar like this one, SUBSCRIBE.

Monthly Holidays and Topics to in February, 2019

Free and Open Source Software Month

American Heart Month

An Affair to Remember Month

Black History Month

Canned Food Month

Creative Romance Month

Great American Pie Month

National Bake for Family Fun Month

National Bird Feeding Month

National Cherry Month

National Children’s Dental Health Month

National Grapefruit Month

National Heart Month

National Hot Breakfast Month

National Library Lover’s Month

National Macadamia Nut Month

National Snack Food Month

National Weddings Month

To receive an email every month with a Marketing Ideas Calendar like this one, SUBSCRIBE.

February Birthdays

 

2/6 Ronald Reagan

2/7 Charles Dickens

2/14 Michael Bloomberg

2/17 Michael Jordan

2/18 Enzo Ferrari

2/22 George Washington

2/24 Steve Jobs (Cofounder of Apple)

2/25 George Harrison

2/28 Randi Zuckerberg

Weekly Holidays

 

Feb 3 – 9

Women’s Heart Week

National Patient Recognition Week

Solo Diners Out Week

 

Feb 10 – 16

Burn Awareness Week

Boy Scout Anniversary Week

Freelance Writers Appreciation Week

 

Feb 17 – 23

Congenital Heart Defect Awareness Week

Have a Heart for Chained Dogs Week

 

Feb 24-March 2

Take Your Family To School Week

Random Acts of Kindness Week

To receive an email every month with a Marketing Ideas Calendar like this one, SUBSCRIBE.

Daily Holidays

2/1 Freedom Day (Freedom from Slavery), Bubble Gum Day

2/2 Groundhog Day / National Wear Red Day

2/3 Missing Person Day / National Day the Music Died

2/4 Homemade Soup Day / National Thank a Mail Carrier Day

2/5/Weatherpersons Day

2/6/ Frozen Yogurt Day / National Girls and Women in Sports Day

2/7 Send a Card to a Friend Day / National Periodic Table Day

2/8/Boy Scouts Day / National Kite Flying Day

2/9 Pizza Day

2/10 Cream Cheese Brownie Day / National Home Warranty Day

2/11 Inventors Day / National Clean Out Your Computer Day

2/12 Plum Pudding Day

2/13 Tortellini Day

2/14 Valentines Day National Organ Donor Day

2/15 Singles Awareness Day / National Gumdrop Day

2/16 Almond Day

2/17 Random Acts of Kindness Day

2/18 Presidents Day

2/19 Chocolate Mint Day

2/20 Love Your Pet Day

2/21 Sticky Bun Day

2/22 Skip the Straw Day

2/23 Dog Biscuit Day

2/24 Tortilla Chip Day

2/25 Clam Chowder Day

2/26 Tell a Fairy Tale Day

2/27 Retro Day / National Polar Bear Day

2/28 Public Sleeping Day / National Tooth Fairy Day

Your existing customers are your best opportunity to increase your sales and create predictable cash flow, income, and profit. Build a list and keep in touch. Need help with this?

Just ask Andrew, CLICK HERE

 

 

 

How to Get More 5-Star Reviews

In this post, I’m going to show you a smart way to get more 5-Star Reviews. Getting more positive reviews is a critical marketing component your independently-owned restaurant (or whatever business you’re in). Want to make ALL your advertising and marketing work better and pay a bigger return on investment? Read this post. (Video Posted Below)

More Positive Reviews Helps Your Ads Draw More Customers

More positive reviews will make your ads pull in more customers. Do you advertise?

Every time you spend money on advertising, many of the people who see your ad will check out your reputation. They’ll go to sites like Yelp, Google, Trip Advisor, and Facebook to find out what people are saying about you.

The technique recommended in this article will help you get more positive reviews while also helping you build customer loyalty.

Who Are The Best Customers to Ask for a Review?

The best customers to ask for a review are the ones who join your “Specials & Coupons” email newsletter. How do you get people to sign up for your “Specials and Coupons” newsletter?

Make sure every adult patron of your restaurant receives the opportunity to fill out a form like this one. You can leave a small stack of them in a tray or a business card holder in the table, or you can have your server set some on the table with a pen toward the end of the meal. You may want to have the cashier bring up the subject if your customers pay at the cash register. Th point is:

If they fill out the card, it’s because they’ve had a satisfactory experience. If this is the case, then they’re a good candidate to leave a positive review.

You’ll need to get an assistant (you can get someone for minimum wage or less) to send out an email the same day (or the next day-sooner is better) and send something like this in an email:

Dear Mr. Smith, thank you for signing up for our “Specials & Coupons” Newsletter. There’s a coupon waiting for you at the bottom of this message! We’re looking forward to serving you again soon. Mr. Smith, as a family-owned restaurant, it’s especially important to have a good reputation on the internet.

Every 5-Star review we get on Google, Yelp, Trip Advisor, and Facebook can meaningfully help potential customers find out about our restaurant. If you would spare 5 minutes to leave us a positive review on any of these websites, it would be a huge favor to us. We’ve made it very easy.

Just click on any (or all) of the links below to leave a review. If there’s any reason you think we don’t deserve a positive review, please reply to this email and let us know so we can address the situation. -Respectfully, Joe & Josephine Owner

Get the link to your profile on each one of these popular “review” sites and link directly to them right from your email. (I also advise you to create a Review Us page on your website.)

How to Eliminate Negative Reviews

Eliminating negative reviews from the sites listed here ranges from difficult to impossible. The best remedy for bad reviews is 10 times more great reviews. More great reviews will raise your average review rating. They will also bury negative reviews.

Equally important is, lots of great reviews will generally push you up in the search results so people will find your restaurant online even if they don’t already know you exist.

Benefits of Building a List of Customers

While you’re in the process of improving and building an incredible online reputation, you’re also building a permission-based contact list. You have fans, and you have friends. These folks have freely given you their contact information in return for a promise. The promise that you will keep in touch to let them know about your specials and coupons! Imagine…a giant list of people who have raised their hand and said, “Yes. Send me your advertising!”