Six Action Ideas To Market Your Restaurant To Schools In Your Area

The other day I didn’t feel like going to work. So I decided to drop my daughter off at the school. I did that, and that’s when the idea hit me. Schools are a great way to market your restaurant.

Think about it. Being school-friendly not only allows you to market your restaurant to children but to their parents and teachers as well. It also shows you are a responsible and caring member of the community. I mean, what have you got to lose?

Here are some ideas that come to mind.

1.   Reward outstanding efforts
I believe it’s important to reward a child who has exceeded the expectations of people around him or her. Talk to the principal and teachers and ask them to nominate students based on effect and diligence. As a reward, offer free desserts, free meals, or even parties. Gift certificates isn’t too bad an idea either.

2.   Sponsor school activities
All schools hold activities where the students travel long distances as part of an extra-curricular activity. If the principal knows you well enough, he or she might ask you to come along. It’s the perfect opportunity to connect with kids and other local businesses in your area.

3.   Host a cooking show at the school
This could be a great idea because it is both educational and rewarding at the same time for all parties involved. Bring in a couple of your own cooks from the restaurant. Get the teachers and students to participate as well. You could also throw in some nutrition lessons here and there.

As long as the timing is right, the principal and the teachers are going to love you for taking the time to do this at their school.

4.   Distribute coupons and share the profits with the school
Here’s a great way to increase profit during slow times.

Give out coupons to students and school staffs and ask to distribute them to family, friends, neighbors, co-workers, etc. For every coupon redeemed at the restaurant, your restaurant, 10% of the profit goes back to the school.

5.   Sponsor funding for school equipment
Schools are always looking to buy more equipment, sports uniforms, books, etc.

Volunteer to become a sponsor, and then cook up an event at your restaurant that will allow you to raise the funds needed for it. If you live in a small community, I believe your customers are going to be more than happy to support you since their kids might be attending that school next year.

What do you think? It’s a feasible idea, right, to participate in school-related events as a means of restaurant marketing. I think it’s a fantastic idea.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 27th, 2009 at 11:30 pm and is filed under Offline Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.