![]() Limited-time offers can revive guest excitement about your restaurant: According to the director of menu research and insights at Technomic, 52 percent of consumers say the availability of an appealing LTO is important to them when they are deciding which restaurant to visit. Restaurants have responded, with LTOs spiking 46 percent at both quick-service and full-service restaurants. But LTOs aren’t necessarily easy to execute. The quality of the planning behind them can help ensure you’re offering not only the kinds of options that your guests will crave, but also ones that help you minimize pain points and maximize opportunities in your business. Here are some questions to ask as you develop new potential concepts: How can you connect this offer to the time of year, or to what’s happening in the world? How can you make it feel exclusive, so guests know they won’t find this offer elsewhere? What about this LTO will pique someone’s interest when they see it on a social media post? What time frame and marketing approach will best motivate people to buy from you right now? How can you use more of the ingredients you would most like to include – and avoid those you don’t? What pain points – e.g., complicated prep – do you want to avoid? How can you use your guest data to craft offers that speak to them? (Technomic found that younger consumers tend to be more willing to try new LTOs, for example, while older consumers tend to lean toward nostalgic tastes.) Finally, how can you mine your guest data to make sure your offer is getting traction – and apply those lessons when developing future offers? Every season has its signature flavors, local specialties and guest cravings ― and as Starbucks demonstrated with its relaunch of its pumpkin-spice latte in August (when much of the U.S. was still sweltering in temperatures in the 80s and 90s), you have a number of weeks before and after the season to build momentum around a menu item’s comings and goings. Tapping into your POS data can help you capitalize on remaining seasonal ingredients in your inventory as you make way for foods that will help you build your next seasonal menu. Use it to pinpoint which ingredients you’re using in each dish and how quickly you’re using them, which can help you plan upcoming specials and avoid disappointing guests looking for a particular item. If you have a surplus of apples this fall, for example, try creating a special, low-priced menu item around them that you won’t be offering for much longer. Limited-time offers (LTOs) can not only help you use up this season’s inventory but also bring loyal guests back and get them excited about what’s coming next. As David Portalatin, food industry adviser at NPD, told Marketwatch, “A well-executed LTO can boost sales and serve as a competitive edge for restaurant operators and help food service manufacturers test new products and concepts.” Use the weeks before your menu changes to promote future items: Share samples with guests, collect feedback about what’s going over well and what needs adjustment, and consider offering an on-trend promotion that will bring guests back when you launch next season’s menu
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