By Huge Dave Ostrander
Pictures by Josh Keown
Huge Dave’s all the time closed early on Christmas Eve (6 p.m.) in order that my crew may get residence and revel in their household time. The important thing phrase right here is household. Many households collect collectively on Christmas Eve. Because the following day might be crammed with conventional home-cooked feasts, the cooks in cost (Mothers) are on the lookout for an easy-to-prepare, no muss, no fuss household favourite. Pizza is simply that. Since pizza is an impulse meals buy, you might need to alert your clients that you’ll be closing early however might be filling orders till 6 or 7 p.m. on Christmas Eve. The pizza trade already enjoys sturdy gross sales the day earlier than Thanksgiving. Why not make the day earlier than Christmas ours as nicely?
The highest of your pizza field is underutilized for promoting and sending messages to your clients. Most of us solely take into consideration low cost coupon field toppers taped to the field. What’s improper with creating a vacation thanks message together with an invite to begin a household custom of Christmas Eve pizza? Workplace Max and Staples promote printer paper that has vacation coloration borders that might work nice for the message. Create a vacation message and weave within the suggestion that you’d be delighted to prepare dinner a household favourite dinner for them on Christmas Eve. Additionally, point out that you’ll solely be capable to fi ll orders for 100 households and that it’s first come, first served on that day. Then it’s over. This creates a notion of demand and the necessity for expediency.
Yearly, like clockwork, I had dozens of households order pizza for that night. It grew to become custom and the identical names popped up yearly.
Additionally, I’m certain you’re nicely conscious that, sometimes, gross sales hunch in January. Why not embrace a vacation reward to your loyal clients that’s included on the vacation field topper? As an example, enhance up your sluggish weekdays with an ideal supply. Supply freebies with the acquisition of any giant pie. No matter it takes to get the client within the door is truthful sport to thrust back the fi rst of the 12 months gross sales blues. ?
Huge Dave Ostrander owned a extremely profitable unbiased pizzeria earlier than changing into a guide, speaker and internationally sought-after coach. He’s a month-to-month contributor to Pizza At present and leads seminars on operational subjects for the household of Pizza Expo tradeshows.