Winter brings new opportunities for restaurants to connect with guests and grow their business. While the colder months can be quieter for dine-in traffic, they’re also filled with celebrations that revolve around great food — including Christmas, the busiest holiday of the year for food delivery in the US.
With a thoughtful winter marketing plan, you can keep sales strong and build customer loyalty all season long. Use these tips to encourage guests to gather at your restaurant for festive meals or enjoy your food from the comfort of home with a cozy delivery night in.
11 restaurant marketing ideas to drive sales this winter
1. Refine your restaurant website
If your restaurant is slower during the winter months, use the extra time to optimize your direct ordering channels. As a first step, take steps to make sure your restaurant website is compelling, easy to navigate, and mobile-friendly. Inaccurate business information can lead to confusion for potential customers, so keep information about your menu, hours, and location up-to-date on all of your online channels.
If you're not sure where to start when it comes to restaurant website creation don't worry — you don't have to be an engineer to set up a sleek, professional restaurant website. When you choose the DoorDash Commerce Platform you'll get a custom, branded website designed and launched by our team. We do all of the behind the scenes backend and local SEO work, so you can focus on food and operations, instead of website design.
2. Launch online ordering
This winter, make it as easy as possible for customers to place direct orders from your website, social media pages, and more!
With Online Ordering available with the DoorDash Commerce Platform, you can start taking direct, commission-free* orders immediately. Once you're set up, any orders placed through your own channels will show up on your POS or tablet, and delivery orders will be fulfilled by Dashers.
3. Claim your Google Business Profile
80% of consumers rely on "zero-click searches," meaning that they find the answers to their questions directly from search engine results pages without clicking through to a site. That means that guests may be deciding whether or not to order from your business without ever looking at your website or interactive menu.
That's why it's critical that you claim and fill out your Google Business Profile, which is what appears in Google search results when customers search for a restaurant or cuisine in their area. Google Business Profile setup support is included with branded websites from the DoorDash Commerce Platform. Our restaurant website experts handle all of the behind-the-scenes work to optimize your online visibility.
4. Ramp up your social media engagement
In the last two decades, social media evolved from digital novelty to a driving force of commerce and culture. According to a recent DoorDash study, 27% of Gen Z consumers in the US rely on restaurant social media when considering a new restaurant.
With so many eyes looking at social media all day — and many free and low-cost ways for you to make a splash — it’s no wonder this powerful marketing vehicle is one of the greatest ways to build and grow your business.
Mayly Tao, Co-Owner of DK's Donuts & Bakery, encourages restaurant owners to use social media to share personal stories, highlight drool-worthy food photos, and to post consistently. She also emphasizes the importance of trying new things on social media, whether it's giveaways, celebrating food holidays like National Bagel Day, or livestreaming a recipe demonstration.
The great thing about social media is that you can quickly see what your followers are responding to. Lots of likes and comments mean that your content is hitting the mark. If something doesn't get a lot of attention, you can quickly move on to the next post.
For more social media tips, download The Ultimate Guide to Restaurant Social Media Marketing.
5. Design seasonal food and drink menus
A seasonal winter restaurant menu is a great way to generate interest and increase sales from new and existing customers. As the days get shorter and temperatures drop, diners are eager for hearty meals that warm them up. A seasonal menu also creates an opportunity for a limited time offer to drive sales, as customers may feel a sense of urgency to order it before it's gone.
Looking for winter food business ideas? Consider adding comforting crowd-pleasers such as mac and cheese, warm grain bowls, lasagna, dumplings, shepherd's pie, and curries to your menu. Showcase local, in-season ingredients like kale and Swiss chard, Brussels sprouts and broccoli rabe, or citrus fruits and pears.
We let nature dictate how things hit the menu, and we can never plan with nature.
For desserts, restaurants can offer classics like pumpkin pie and creme brulee, or have fun with viral TikTok recipes like honey lavender ice cream and vegan matcha cheesecake. And don't forget to update your beverage menu with cozy cocktails like hot toddies, Irish coffee, and cinnamon-spiced old fashioneds.
Once the new year rolls around, consider adding healthier options for resolution-focused diners, and mocktails or low-ABV beverages for diners participating in Dry January.
6. Create new delivery and takeout offerings
During the colder months, customers are more likely to turn to the comfort and convenience of pickup and delivery.
DoorDash provides sales and cash flow that keep things consistent and give us a tremendous amount of cushion during tougher periods.
To encourage off-premise sales and increase order sizes, consider packaging your menu items in new ways with these delivery and pickup offerings:
Offer take-and-bake meals: These pre-packaged dishes are typically fully cooked and just have to be heated up in the oven or microwave, allowing customers to enjoy a restaurant-quality meal without the hassle of cooking. Be sure to include instructions on how to store (e.g., in the freezer or refrigerator) and heat the meals.
Provide meal bundles: If customers are looking to order for a group, bundled options make their ordering experience much faster and less complicated. Whether it’s dinner for two, a full family-style meal for 6, or a winter restaurant promotion (like five pizzas for the price of four), bundles simplify group orders for customers and kitchens.
Introduce holiday catering pre-orders: Families are eager to spend quality time together during the holidays — but not necessarily in the kitchen. Take the pressure off home cooks by creating a limited-availability holiday catering menu and establishing a pre-order system so customers can reserve their meals in advance.
Set up curbside pickup: If you have the space, curbside pickup is a popular option for consumers, especially families. Getting kids in and out of the car can be a hassle, so family-oriented restaurants may want to offer curbside pickup as a convenient option.
To ensure accuracy for pickup and delivery customers, read our tips on how to reduce missing or incorrect items for DoorDash orders.
7. Promote holiday gift ideas
A recent National Retail Federation survey found that 55% of consumers said they would like to receive gift cards during the holiday season. Restaurant gift cards are an easy, profitable way to acquire new customers and incentivize guests to dine with you again.
Highlight your gift cards with an email campaign, suggesting them as stocking stuffers for just about anyone on their shopping lists. Train your staff to mention gift cards to customers, and consider launching a winter restaurant promotion such as a free $10 gift card for anyone who purchases a $50 gift card.
Restaurants can also promote pantry staples — such as sauces, salsas, dry pasta, or infused olive oils — as gift items, or arranged in a gift basket.
Having customers stock their pantry full of items from your restaurant is a new way to stay involved and engaged with your customers.
8. Launch a loyalty program
Restaurant loyalty programs allow you to gift rewards to regular customers — so, what better time to launch a loyalty program than during the season of giving? Whether you go with a simple punch card rewards program or opt for a digital system, a great loyalty program shows your customers that you value and care about them.
With Cross-Channel Loyalty, available with the Commerce Platform Pro package (available in the US only), you can reward customers no matter where they order – in store, on your website, on your app, and on DoorDash. You can set up different rewards based on channel — so someone that orders from you on DoorDash gets a different reward than a guest that orders through your direct channels.
"[T]he loyalty program helps local restaurants not just acquire new customers, but turn them into regulars."
9. Host a winter theme party
To drum up dine-in sales, plan a winter-themed community event. Target sports fans with watch parties for winter gamedays, including showing football or hockey on your TV screens.
If showing sports doesn't fit your restaurant brand, consider hosting an "après-ski" theme party — without the skiing. Promote specials for drinks and appetizers, turn on your fireplace (or create a virtual fire on your TV), and bring in a live band to create the feeling of just coming in from the slopes.
Not a fan of winter? Buck the trend and host a beach party during the cold winter months. Put up summery decorations, sell tiki drinks, and play Caribbean music to make guests believe they're on a tropical vacation.
Whatever event you choose to host, don't forget to promote it to customers via SMS or email. These channels enable you to keep guests engaged with your business, even if they haven't dined with you recently. With customizable email and text marketing, available with the DoorDash Commerce Platform Pro package (available in the US only), you can easily send well-timed, targeted messages to customers about all of your seasonal updates.
Explore customizable email and text marketing10. Partner with other community businesses
Co-marketing with nearby restaurants, businesses, and tourism organizations is a great way to reach potential customers in your neighborhood who maybe haven’t yet heard of you. For example, Radical Road Brewing Co. in Toronto offers food for their guests from local restaurant Mean Bao.
Here are a few more ways to partner with local businesses on co-marketing campaigns:
Promo for promo: Your restaurant posts a social media shout-out to another restaurant, and they do the same for you.
Limited-time combo discounts: Set up a deal where your restaurant gives a free appetizer to customers who show proof that they’ve visited a partnering business in the last month — and have the partner offer a similar incentive.
Create a collaborative menu item: Work with a local ice cream vendor to create a co-branded dessert for your restaurant — or partner with a wine shop to do a wine tasting event at your restaurant — and have both businesses post about it on social media.
Raise funds for a cause: Help customers make a positive impact in their community by offering a discount to anyone who donates to a local nonprofit organization of your choice, or by donating the profits from sales of a certain menu item.
11. Capitalize on holiday celebrations
On major winter holidays, families often turn to food delivery to simplify social gatherings and spend less time in the kitchen. The winter holidays represent some of the busiest days for food deliveryin the US. Restaurants can capitalize on this by creating holiday-ready delivery menus with traditional dishes, and offering catering for both corporate and family holiday parties.
In addition, think beyond the major winter holidays and celebrate national food holidays. Get ready for National Cupcake Day, National Maple Syrup Day, and National Bacon Day in December; National Spaghetti Day, National Gluten Free Day, and National Croissant Day in January; and National Pizza Day, National Chili Day, and Drink Wine Day in February.
For a full calendar and tips to promote these fun food and social media holidays, download our Social Media Holiday Calendar for Restaurants.
Bring in customers from the cold this winter
Winter presents a unique opportunity for restaurants to boost sales and foster customer loyalty. A well-crafted winter restaurant marketing plan, including website optimization, social media engagement, seasonal menus, a loyalty program, community partnerships, and more can help restaurants thrive during the colder months.
Looking to make the most of the winter season?
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