Eat Your Heart Out: How To Market Your Restaurant With Valentine's Day In Mind

And restaurants share a huge portion of this pie; it's estimated $3.7 billion is spent dining out on Valentine's Day alone. If you want to market to the lovebirds in your town, here are some top marketing tips and ideas to celebrate love at your restaurant.

Hold a special event or two

Restaurants and ice cream shops are the perfect locations to hold special events for the holidays. This could be as simple as a buy-one-get-one meal night for couples looking to save a couple of bucks or it could be as extravagant as a singles mixer, complete with a host and frozen dessert bar. You can even make the holiday a week-long affair by holding a different event every night. This will encourage a variety of people to come out and celebrate love, friendship, and great ice cream sundaes.

Creating an ambiance will assuredly draw a crowd. Decorate to your heart's content with fun table settings and serve your desserts with red and pink colored spoons for the occasion. You can even get custom cups, napkins, paper straws to commemorate the occasion.

Did you know that people who date longer than three months will likely enter a long-term relationship? Your restaurant may be the location where two lovebirds make their relationship Facebook official.

Advertise with promotions

Holiday-related discounts and promotions are a great way to bring people into your restaurant or ice cream shop. If you have an email list, consider sending out coupons or punch cards to get people through your door for the occasion. Start sending out your promotional emails at the end of January and through the start of February and encourage couples to visit your restaurant through social media outlets.

Never, ever forget to cater to last-minute shoppers! Time-sensitive holidays encourage tons of procrastination. The night before Valentine's Day, release a special promotion to get people through the door, such as a free to-go cup dessert with the purchase of a bottle of wine.

Did you know that 56% of men and 54% of women want to discuss the prospect of marriage with their partner after dating for six months? Valentine's Day might be the perfect excuse for couples to talk about their relationship. Help ease this transition by providing last-minute gift ideas, special promotions, and holiday events to market your business and help couples throughout the country.

About the Author: Tim Porter

Tim is the CEO and people builder of FrozenDessertSupplies.com. In his free time, he enjoys being with his family, collecting watches, and Classic Mini Coopers.