The food & beverage industry has always been competitive. This was especially true during the pandemic, where we saw over thousands of cafés and restaurants offer delivery options to keep their businesses afloat.

This, then, means that consumer demand has shifted as they now have more options when it comes to satisfying their cravings.

Now, the biggest question you might want to ask yourself is — how can your restaurant stand out from the crowd, attract more customers and increase sales?

This is where you’ll need effective marketing strategies to stay relevant and keep up with your competition. 

The good news is, we’re here to help.

Promotions for F&B Businesses

Promotions are one of the most effective strategies to increase sales for F&B businesses. It is a quick and easy way to attract customers, and let’s face it – who doesn’t love a sweet deal, right? 

Studies have shown that those who received discounts exhibited the following reactions compared to those who did not:

• Oxytocin levels increased by 38% (a hormone associated with happiness)
• Respiration rates decreased by 32% (decreased stress)
• Heart rates increased by 5%
• Happiness increased by 11%

On top of that, 80% of customers are more likely to try a restaurant if there is a promotion. 

What does this mean for your restaurant?

Powerful promotions can help you beyond just acquiring new customers – they can also retain your existing ones and boost your customer lifetime value.

When customers save money at your restaurant, they are more likely to feel happy. Happy customers are more likely to spend more – even endorsing your restaurant with great reviews online.

That means more customers, more sales and more profit. Let’s take a look at the top 10 promotions that your restaurant can start running today! 

1. Get X with Minimum Spend Y
2. Free Delivery
3. Buy One Get One Free (BOGO)
4. Flash Sales
5. Bundle Deals
6. Happy Hours
7. Loyalty Program
8. Limited-time Offers and Menu Specials
9. Vouchers and Coupons
10. Beep Gift Vouchers

1. Get X with Minimum Spend Y

Get X with minimum spend Y is a marketing promotion that helps you to attract customers by offering RM or % off if they spend a certain amount on an order. 

For example, 

• • Enjoy RM8 off with minimum spend RM40
  • Enjoy 25% off with minimum spend RM50 

This promotion helps you to reach higher-value customers based on the minimum spend amount you set.

Studies show that offering a big discount may motivate customers to impulsively buy more items than they otherwise would have, which will then increase the average order value.  

Our restaurant partners typically see a 7-10X return of sales generated for each ringgit spent on this promotion on Beep.

How can I set up the Get X with minimum Spend Y promotion on my Beep store?

You can create the promotions directly in StoreHub BackOffice or check out our step-by-step guide here. 

1. Login to your StoreHub BackOffice.
2. Navigate to “Promotions” on the left side menu.
3. Under “Discount”, choose the “Amount Off” or “Percentage Off” promotion that you would like to create.
4. Select the duration of the promotions. We recommend running your promotion campaign for at least 2 to 4 weeks so that more customers can discover your store on Beep.
5. Select channel(s) and store(s) you would like to include in this promotion.

2. Free Delivery

Malaysians love free delivery because it removes one of the biggest barriers in getting people to order from your restaurant.

Without free delivery, customers who are interested in ordering from you may check other stores that offer this instead.

This is in line with studies reporting that if restaurants offer free delivery, customers are 4-5X more likely to make an order.

The minimum order amount for free delivery should be slightly above the average order value. 

For example, offering free delivery with a minimum spend of RM150 can encourage your customers to spend more while helping you to cover actual delivery costs.

How can I set up the Free Delivery promotion?

To set up the promotion,

1. Go to Online Store > Store Setup > Edit Delivery Zone
2. Toggle on “Free Shipping for orders above or equal to” and input the minimum order amount for the promotion.
3. Click “Save” and that’s it! A blue banner will display on your Beep store.

3. Buy One Get One Free (BOGO)

What better way to attract more customers than with the word “FREE”?

Offering customers two for the price of one means they are enjoying greater value. It is a great way to boost your revenue too!

Instead of lowering the price of your products, just offer another item for free by selling it at its original price. For example,

• • A pasta that sells for RM20 has a RM5.00 cost. If you sell it at a 50% discount, you will earn RM5 in profit.
  • Instead of a 50% discount, the order value would be the initial price of a pasta with total cost of RM10, doubling the profit to RM10 compared to the 50% discount promotion.

To run this promotion, try choosing products with lower ingredient costs (e.g.: pasta dishes, snacks, etc) so that you can still rake in a profit on your sales.

How can I set up a BOGO promotion?

1. Create a new product you would like to include for BOGO promotion (eg: Buy 1 Free 1 Pasta) and a tag for the products (eg: BOGO). 
2. Go to Online Store > Store Appearance, create a new collection and name it as “Buy 1 FREE 1”.
3. Select the channel(s) and stores you would like to run the promotion.
4. Finally, under the condition(s) of the collection, select “Products with tags”, then add the tag to the collection to feature your BOGO product.

4. Flash Sales

A flash sale is a discount or promotion offered for a limited period of time. 

It creates a sense of urgency and triggers Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) so that your customers will purchase promptly.

Our restaurant partners who have participated in Beep Flash Sales generate an average of RM6 to RM8 in sales per ringgit spent.

We’ve also had restaurant partners who achieved up to 20x return of sales generated from flash sales!

Apart from giving your revenue a boost, flash sales are a great way to increase your brand awareness.

Create a theme or fun branded hashtag for your flash sales to get your customers hyped to order from your restaurant!

How can I run Flash Sales for my Beep store?

1. Create products for flash sales only and a tag for the products. 
2. Go to Promotion > Add a New Promotion.
3. Under “Discount Type”, select the type of promotion you want to run (eg: 25% OFF).
4. Select your channels, promotion dates, time and promo code name. For example, every Saturday, 2PM to 5PM.
5. Under “Apply to”, choose the tag under “Product with Tags”. The promotion will only be applicable to the products that are being tagged.
6. Go to Online Store > Store Appearance, create a new collection and name it as “Flash Sale”, for example “Flash Sale Code: 25OFF ”.
7. Finally, under the condition(s) of the collection, select “Products with tags”, then add the tag to the collection.

5. Bundle Deals

Bundle deals are packages that combine two or more products with a price lower than purchasing each product separately. 

A classic example of a bundle deal is the set meal of fast food restaurants. For instance, a set meal consisting of a hamburger, drink and fries costs less than buying each of them à la carte.

Customers may end up spending more than they initially intended to because bundle deals offer greater perceived values.

How can I create Bundle Deals on Beep?

To run this promotion, you can bundle a mid-priced product with other lesser-known products, and offer a 10% to 20% discount to the full price of the bundle.

For example, a set menu that includes a main course, drink, and an appetiser or dessert.

Here is how you can do it in your BackOffice:

1. Create a new bundle product and create a tag for the bundle.
2. Go to Online Store > Store Appearance, create a new collection and name it as “Bundle Deals”.
3. Finally, under the condition(s) of the collection, select “Products with tags”, then add the tag to the collection to feature your bundle deals.

6. Happy Hour(s)

Happy hour is the happiest time of day – when drinks, snacks or appetisers are discounted at bars and restaurants.

It has been one of the most effective promotion strategies to attract the after-work crowd and drive traffic to your store. 

According to Nielsen, eateries generate 60.5% of their average weekly sales from happy hour(s) with higher average order value.

This strategy is a win-win for both you and your customers. Customers love it because they can save money on happy hour drinks and food specials.

At the same time, it helps to boost sales and generate more buzz about your business, helping you to attract new customers.

Even though the pandemic has limited opportunities for eateries to run happy hours in-store, you can still run your own happy hour(s) on Beep!

Here’re some happy hour ideas to help you get started:

• Provide value-priced food and drinks options that customers are easily drawn to.
• Offer shareable dishes (e.g. platters, bundles).
• Offer new, seasonal or special menu items.
• Theme up your happy hours, e.g.: Fishy Fridays where all fish items on the menu are discounted.

How can I set up Happy Hour(s)?

To set up happy hours on your Beep store, 

1. Create the products you would like to include for promotion and a tag for the products. 
2. Go to Promotion > Add a New Promotion.
3. Under “Discount Type”, select the type of promotion you want to run.
4. Name your promotion, for example as “Happy Hours Promotion 15% OFF (Available from 3PM to 6PM, everyday)”. When customers key in the promo code, they will see this promotion name.
5. Select your channels, promotion dates, time and create a promo code. For example, every Wednesday, 3PM to 6PM.
6. Under “Apply to”, choose the tag under “Product with Tags”.
7. Go to Online Store > Store Appearance, create a new collection and name it as “Happy Hours”. (Eg: Happy Hours 15% OFF ).
8. Finally, under the condition(s) of the collection, select “Products with tags”, then add the tag to the collection to feature your happy hours products.

7. Loyalty Programme

If you want to establish a long-term relationship with your customers, run a loyalty programme. Loyalty programmes allow you to:

• Build relationships with your customers
• Retain, reward and win more customers
• Collect your customer data

According to Gartner, 80% of the future revenue comes from 20% of your existing customers, whereas a study by Harvard Business School reveals that an increase in 5% customer retention rate increases profits by 25% to 95%. 

With StoreHub, you can set up and run Beep cashback loyalty programme for both in-store and online food delivery.

Customers will receive cashback in their accounts after purchasing, and they can redeem their cashback when they make their next purchase.

By activating Beep cashback, you will be able to: 

• Grow your revenue “automatically”. Businesses that run a loyalty program generate 30% more sales than those who don’t.
• Build a customer database. Your customers’ mobile phone numbers are automatically collected when they claim their cashback.
• Engage with your customers via SMS. Send your customers promotions or entice them to return via SMS!

How can I set up the Beep cashback loyalty program?

You can enable Beep cashback easily in just a few steps:

1. In your BackOffice, go to “Loyalty” on the left side menu.
2. Click “Enable Now”
3. Set the amount of cashback (eg: 5%) and the limit of earning cashback per day. That’s it!

8. Limited-time Offers and Menu Specials

A restaurant’s menu is one of the most important differentiators in the F&B industry. 

If a restaurant only offers the same menu items throughout the year without creating anything new, customers would quickly grow tired and look for new choices elsewhere.

A limited time offer means a special menu item that is available for a limited period of time only, for example, seasonal menus. Limited time offers and menu specials can help you to:

• Bring in new customers
• Test new menu items
• Keep loyal customers coming back

Technomic even reported that:

• 43% of customers think it is important for restaurants to offer new, seasonal or special menus throughout the year.
• 26% of them are willing to pay more for those special menus. 

If you are looking for ideas to design a special menu, consider partnering with other food businesses!

Here are a few examples:

1. Ice Dream Cafe (IDC) X Sugar and I – Malaysia’s first donut flavoured ice cream (Credit: Sugar and I)
2. Strangers at 47 X myBurgerLab – Truffle Chicken Burger (Credit: Strangers at 47)
3. Niko Neko Matcha X Royce Malaysia – Matcha Chocolate Bar (Credit: Niko Neko Matcha)

9. Vouchers and Coupons

A voucher or coupon is usually printed as a small piece of paper that gives the holder a special discount. They are great marketing tools that can help you:

• Drive repeat purchases
• Increase customer loyalty and retention
• Increase brand awareness

Restaurant owners usually focus their marketing efforts on new customer acquisition to increase their revenue, however, what they don’t realise is that customer retention can be more profitable for your restaurant.

Higher customer retention means a larger loyal customer base. A survey by BIA/Kelsey reported that:

• Over 50% of their annual revenues were generated from loyal customers. 
• Loyal customers spent 67% more than new customers.

How can I create Vouchers and Coupons?

You can easily create them in your BackOffice with just a few clicks.

1. In your BackOffice, go to Promotions > Manage Promotions, click ‘New Promotion’.
2. Under “Discount Type”, select the type of promotion you want to run.
3. Select your channels, promotion dates and promo code name.
4. If you wish to limit how many times a customer can use the promo code,  enter the limit under “Usage Limit”.
5. Print the promo code as a voucher, coupon or thank you note.
6. Include it in the food packaging of your customers. Done!

Your customers will now be able to use the vouchers for their next purchase. Start creating your own vouchers or coupons today to drive repeat purchases!

10. Beep Gift Vouchers

Did you know that Beep has a Gift Voucher feature that allows you to sell gift vouchers (valued between RM5 – RM50) to your customers?

These Gift Vouchers can be accessed via your unique link here:

accountname.beepit.com/voucher

The gift voucher will be sent to the recipient’s email address upon purchase, which they can redeem online within 60 days by entering the gift voucher code before checkout. 

The demand for digital gift cards has been growing strongly in Malaysia, especially due to the limitation of visiting or gathering during the pandemic. 

Globe Newswire reported that the gift card market in Malaysia will increase from US $1,015 million in 2019 to US $1846.6 million in 2024. 

Offering Beep Gift Vouchers to your customers can help you: 

• Increase sales and generate cash flow even before you start providing products, regardless of whether the vouchers have been redeemed.
• Bring in new customers, especially when the Gift Vouchers are given as actual gifts.
• Promote higher average order value. Studies show that 80% of customers who buy gift vouchers usually spend more than the value of the voucher.
• Improve brand awareness. Customers can share love for your food and brand to their loved ones via Gift Vouchers, promoting word-of-mouth.

How can I set up Beep Gift Vouchers?

The Beep gift voucher feature is automatically activated in your store upon going live on Beep. Need more information? Just follow the guide here to help you get started!

So, what’s next?

Congratulations! You have completed the first step of learning what promotional strategies you can use to boost your sales. 

Promotions are a powerful tool that, when used correctly, can help you generate high return on sales. The next step, then, is making sure your customer base knows about your promotions.

Check out our Beep Delivery Success Playbook now to learn more! 

This playbook includes 10 different topics which will guide you through everything you need to know to run a successful food delivery business (including two bonuses):

1. Perfect Your Presentation
2. Getting Delivery Settings Right
3. Digital Presence
4. Plug Into Your Customer Database
5. Blast Your Message
6. Customer Loyalty
7. Types of Content
8. Frequency
9. Paid Digital Ads
10. Form Partnerships: Making Mentions

Bonus for Beep Restaurant Partners

Psst… Here’s a bonus for you:

We’d love to know what promotions you are running! Fill up this form here for a chance to get featured on Beep (or save the link for later)!