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Tracking Sales, Profits, and Customers: A Report on a Promotional Campaign |
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Subject: Upcoming pilot promotion
We are currently finalizing supply contracts to begin our new promotional pilot program for the summer months. This promotion, the "Wing it Over to Monty's!" chicken wing promo, will begin on the first of July, to take advantage of the July 4 holiday weekend. The test market will consist of restaurants number 1, 2, and 3. These three stores represent a variety of customer bases and will give us the best opportunity to assess the promo. We will evaluate the results of the pilot at the end of August, with an eye toward expanding the promotion through all 12 restaurants after Labor Day.
The core of the "Wing it Over to Monty's!" promo is the offer of a basket of chicken wings for only $1.99, when purchased with any other entree. These are the same chicken wings currently offered on our appetizer menu, with two changes: The promotional basket will contain six wings instead of eight, and will be served with ranch-style dipping sauce unless the customer requests a different sauce.
As with most of our promotions, the "Wing it Over to Monty's!" promotion is intended as a loss-leader. Net loss per basket should run about $0.29. The initial goal of the promo is to increase customer traffic, and we will be mounting an extensive advertising campaign on radio and television, and in local print media, to meet that goal. It then becomes the goal of your individual store to increase sales and profitability. Wait staff should focus on the promo as a means of increasing ticket totals per table. This may be accomplished by selling extra drinks, suggesting alternate appetizers for large tables or for families with varying tastes, and pushing desserts. Remember that customers who have ordered a low-priced menu item early in their meal will often feel more comfortable ordering a more expensive entree or dessert, because they already feel they have "gotten a bargain."
Basket prep will be handled by kitchen staff, but in the event that the promo really takes off, wait staff should be instructed on how to prepare, drain, and serve the wings. Regional managers will cover this training on their regular store visits at the end of June.
As always, thank you to you and your staff for helping to make Monty's a friendly place for families. We hope this pilot promotion gives you the opportunity to do great things
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