Whether you own a small pizza business or have several locations in your area, you have something that even the big chains can’t compete with. You know your market and have the ability to focus on local sporting events when running advertising campaigns. Direct mailing pizza menus for football games and other sports events in your area generate will massive sales and also keep you in the spotlight as the “go-to-spot” for the big game!
Timing is Everything
Before you even think about how you are going to advertise, and what specials or promos you are going to run on your direct mail pizza menus, the first thing to do is get your hands on a calendar of events in your market area. Just prior to the beginning of each season any given sport at your local schools and universities, specific games with locations will be posted (i.e. home or away). Once you know when and where those games will be held, it is time to sit down to plan direct mail pizza menus to generate sales during those events. The same idea applies to national sports events such as NFL, NBA, or big soccer games. Timing is everything and your menu mailers will need to go out just prior to major sporting events to get the full benefit.
Support Your Home Team – Game Night Specials
One effective use of direct mail pizza menus is to include specials and coupon that are only redeemable on game nights. Some pizza restaurants offer special promotions that can be redeemed if the home team wins, while other pizza shops offer discounts when ticket stubs to the games are provided after the event on game night. Many owners support local teams and a portion of the profit on game nights goes to supporting home teams. Use your direct mail pizza menus to advertise that! Parents and students alike are proud of their home teams, and statistics have proven that they are more likely to patronize businesses that support the home team.
Bulk Discounts for Home Games
Another way to generate massive sales with direct mail pizza menus is to advertise special deals when ordering bulk on game nights. Many parents who run concession stands at home games order two or more dozen pizzas to be sold by the slice to raise money for the team. Those pizzas generally come from the big chains because they offer a discount when ordering in bulk. Maybe you can’t provide quite the same discount that those large corporations can offer, but you can provide much better pizza (which will sell more!) and you can support the home team at the same time. Other successful marketing techniques would include special pricing for after-game or tail-gating parties when ordering a certain quantity pre-established on your menu.
The key to success is to plan direct mail pizza menus with promotions, coupons, and specials just prior to major sporting events in your market area. The ‘big guys’ can’t do that because there are just too many schools and universities to keep up with around the country and they have to get corporate approval for almost all advertisements. By taking advantage of your market knowledge, you can own your local area with very little effort. And, you don’t even need to try to remember to get your mailings out on time! Professional printers can have those mailings scheduled for you and often that pizza menu or flyer can be mailed for less than the price of a postage stamp. Use football and other sports events to keep your name in the spotlight, plus it’s fun!
Chris Barr is a marketing professional and graduate of Christopher Newport University. His areas of expertise include direct mail, internet marketing, copy writing, SEO, and new business development. Chris currently serves as Marketing Director for Taradel LLC in Richmond, VA.