When customers visit your restaurant, you want to ensure they have a great experience while also promoting your revenue. From getting more orders to bringing in more customers, how can you increase your per-customer revenue? One great option is with table tents.
Table tents are one of the most successful types of on-table marketing. Though inexpensive, they promote new products or upsell something unique. They could advertise your latest deals, encouraging repeat customers, or highlight a special event. In this guide, we’ll share some of the best ways for restaurants to use table tents. With a reported 45% of diners going out multiple times a week to eat at restaurants, how can you take advantage of these numbers?
Include Upsells
First, one of the easiest ways to use table tents no matter your restaurant type or size is to promote upsells. Upsells make all the difference in terms of your overall restaurant earnings, and your menu likely doesn’t do a good enough job promoting them on its own.
What should you include as an upsell? Any of the following is a great choice:
Cocktails
Specialty drinks (tea, sodas, smoothies, milkshakes, etc.)
Desserts
Optional dishes (sides, add-ons, appetizers)
While many restaurants hide these upsells on their larger menu, they tend to get lost in this format. Having a separate table tent to promote them earns them more attention from each diner. When viewed independently from main dishes, customers are more likely to make a purchase.
Highlight Your Top Dishes
Many customers ask for recommendations before they order. Instead of waiting for them to ask, be proactive by listing these top sellers on a table tent. Most restaurants generate the majority of their revenue from just a few dishes, so place these right on the table for everyone to see.
Diners, particularly first-time visitors, like to choose “safe” options. These are tried-and-true favorites that they’re more likely to love. By placing your top-performing dishes and drinks on a table tent, you improve your customer experience and earn more revenue in the process.
Utilize QR Codes
Another great way to use table tents at your restaurant is to use them to share a QR code. These QR codes are the latest in restaurant technology, and they’re a great way to keep your customers engaging with your restaurant both in-person and online.
How can you use QR codes with your table tents? Try these ideas:
Encourage customers to leave a review on Google or social media by linking directly to the review portal
Share your menu with a QR code for sanitation purposes
Make it easy for your guests to check out with a QR code on the table
Connect guests to your social media profiles
Promote a digital event list
QR codes are simple but highly effective, and they pair perfectly with an existing table tent design. Encouraging in-person guests to interact with your brand online is a big goal for many restaurants.
Share News or Events
Lastly, use your table tents as a way to share updates about your restaurant, the menu, or events. If you host seasonal events, live music, or other special events, this is an easy way to let customers know all about this from their table.
Similarly, if your menu changed in any way, you added a new member to your culinary team, or there’s other news to report, let your customers in on this insider knowledge. Customers like to feel connected to brands they support. By being transparent about changes, you encourage them to trust you since they feel like “insiders.”
Try Table Tents for Your Restaurant
When it comes to in-restaurant marketing, table tents are an easy way to engage with current customers and convince them to order more. These small touches might seem minor, but they add up to a big difference in the grand scheme of things. Increasing revenue per customer is a big task, but it doesn’t have to be if you have a smart in-restaurant marketing strategy.
With so many print marketing materials for restaurants, it can be hard to know where to begin. Ultimately, you can’t go wrong with table tents. They’re cost-effective yet highly powerful.