“It’s Working Great – That’s Why We Stopped It”

Last week, I’m on a Zoom call with a restaurant owner. She’s frustrated. Confused. Sales are slow, and she needs help getting customers back through the door.

So I ask her the obvious question: “What was working for you in the past?”

Without hesitation, she tells me about this promotion they used to run. “Lunch in under 15 minutes or it’s free.” Brilliant, right? They had a massive lunch crowd, most meals were under $15, and this guarantee packed the place.

“Okay,” I say. “So why did you stop doing it?”

Awkward pause.

“I don’t know.”

And there it is. The most expensive three words in the restaurant business.

The Promotion Graveyard

Here’s what’s wild: I have this exact conversation at least once a week. A restaurant owner tells me sales are down. I ask what worked before. They describe some promotion that absolutely crushed it. Then I ask why they stopped.

The answers vary, but they all mean the same thing:

“We’d been doing it for a while.”

“I wanted to try something new.”

“I thought people might be getting tired of it.”

Translation: I got bored with it.

And that, my friends, is how perfectly good promotions end up in the graveyard.

You’re Not Your Customer

Let’s get something straight: you see your promotion every single day. You’re sick of it. You’re over it. You’ve moved on emotionally.

Your customers? They see it once. Maybe twice a year if they’re regulars.

I can’t tell you how many restaurants run our Red Envelope promotion every December – same concept, year after year – and their customers literally ask for it. “When are you doing the red envelopes again?” “I’ve been waiting for this!”

The restaurant owner is thinking, “Really you want it again?” The customer is thinking, “Yes! This again!”

We have restaurants that do the Red Envelope in December, then do it again in July for Christmas in July. Same mechanics. Different theme. Customers love it both times.

Some restaurants do it every single month – they just change the color of the envelope and the theme. And guess what? It works every single time.

Why? Because the promotion isn’t for you. It’s for them.

Squirrel Syndrome Is Real

Look, I get it. We’re entrepreneurs. We have what I call “squirrel syndrome” – also known as shiny object syndrome. We’re always looking for the next big thing, the next breakthrough, the next promotion that’s going to blow the doors off.

That’s not a bad instinct. It’s what makes us good at what we do.

But it’s also what makes us kill promotions that are printing money.

Here’s the truth: your customers don’t want constant novelty. They want the thing they liked last time. They want reliability. They want to know that when they come back, the thing that made them happy before is still there.

Think about it. Do you go to your favorite restaurant hoping they’ve completely changed the menu? Or are you going back for that one dish you love?

Right.

Content vs. Promotions: Know the Difference

Now, before you accuse me of telling you to be boring, let me make an important distinction.

Your content should change all the time. Social media posts, emails, what you’re talking about – yes, that needs to be fresh and varied. People will absolutely get bored if you’re posting the same thing over and over.

But your promotional mechanics ? The actual structure of what gets customers in the door and spending money? That should stay consistent.

It’s like this: change the wrapping paper, keep the gift.

How to Repurpose What’s Already Working

So you’ve got a promotion that works. You’re bored with it. What do you do?

Simple: repurpose it.

Here are the ways to keep a winning promotion fresh without starting from scratch:

Change the theme, keep the mechanics. Our Red Envelope promotion is the same “lotto concept” every time – five different prizes, one big prize like an iPad or free pizza for a year. But we theme it differently throughout the year. December is the classic red envelope. St. Patty’s Day is our “Pot of Gold” scratch-off cards. Same psychology. Same results. Different wrapper.

Change the delivery vehicle. Maybe you’ve been doing scratch-off cards. Try pull tabs instead. Or go from scratch-offs to envelopes. The customer experience feels different, but the mechanics that drive behavior stay the same.

Change the timing. A promotion that works in January will work in July. Christmas in July is one of our biggest promotions for exactly this reason. Customers don’t think, “Ugh, we did this in December.” They think, “Oh fun, we get to do this again!”

Multiply your distribution channels. This is the big one most restaurants miss. You’ve got a promotion that works when you hand it out at the table. Great. Now also promote it via email. Text message. Social media. Postcards. Table tents. You just 10x’d your effort without creating anything new.

Match your media to your market. Different customer segments respond to different channels. Your younger crowd might see it on Instagram. Your regulars get the email. Your neighborhood gets the postcard. Same promotion, maximum reach.

The point is this: you don’t need a new promotion. You need to squeeze every drop of value out of the one that already works.

The Red Envelope Proof

I mentioned our Red Envelope promotion earlier. Let me tell you why it’s the number one promotion for independent restaurants.

It’s January right now. The slowest month of the year for restaurants. Everyone’s broke from the holidays, doing Dry January, on a diet, staying home.

But restaurants that handed out red envelopes in December? They’re packed. I just met with my restaurant coaching group that I mentor and they ALL commented how they are killing it and are up in sales with the red envelope. Nice to here.

All because customers are coming back in January to open their envelopes and see what they won.

It’s the same lotto concept we’ve been doing for years. Five prizes. One big one. Customers think they might have won the iPad or the TV or free pizza for a year.

Does it work? Every. Single. Time.

And the restaurants that do it year after year will tell you: customers ask for it. They look forward to it. They bring their friends to show them.

You know what would kill this promotion? Stopping it because the owner got bored.

Your February Move

Here’s my challenge to you: what promotion did you stop doing that actually worked?

Think about it. Go back through the last year or two. What got customers in the door? What drove sales? What made people excited?

Now ask yourself: why did you stop?

If the answer is anything other than “it stopped working,” you need to bring it back.

Your DFY Answer

And if you’re looking for a proven promotion to get you through the February-March slump, our Pot of Gold St. Patty’s Day scratch-offs are exactly what you need. Hand them out in February or March. Customers scratch them off right away and see what they won. Brings them back through the door when you need them most.

Order before January 31st and you’ll get the lowest price possible plus free shipping.

[Click here to learn more about the St. Patty’s Day Scratch-Off Promotion]

Stop killing what works. Your customers will thank you. And so will your bank account.