5 Super Bowl Pizza Marketing Tips to Score More Sales

The big game is less than three weeks away.  On February 2nd, people from all over the US will gather together to root for their favorite team to become Super Bowl champion in this celebrated American tradition. 

This day is a huge one – consumers estimate they’ll spend around $81 each on game day, with a large part of that coming from food sales. Pizza is an undisputed staple and represents a huge opportunity for pizzerias to grow sales and please customers by implementing a Super Bowl pizzeria marketing strategy.  However, the competition is stiff, and pizzeria owners must go the extra mile to win business and capture more sales.

Here’s how:
1. Host a Game Day Event 
People want to gather with family and friends, but not everyone wants to host. They are often looking for a fun place to watch the game. By arranging your own game day event, you can get customers in the door and increase your chances of scoring big sales.

If you choose to host an event, you’ll need to promote it. To get the word out, leverage email or text lists that you generate through your pizza POS system for existing customers, or run social media ads to bring in new ones.  Promoting your event through Facebook works well for local gatherings such as these. 

If you don’t have enough seating for a sizable indoor event, consider hosting a tailgate in your parking lot instead. Using an outdoor screen or projector lets fans view the game and gives them space to relax and mingle. Leverage a tablet POS for servers to collect orders while your staff circulates the area. 

Creating a fun space for fans to hang out can increase your sales and strengthen your relationships with your customers. It also allows you to expand your reach as customers bring their friends to celebrate with them. 

2. Create a Specialty Item or Limited-Time Offer
Entice consumers to order from your pizzeria with a special game-day treat or offer that they can’t normally get any other day of the year. Limited-time offers (LTOs) are proven way to increase revenue. Steve Jackson, CEO of Hungry Howie’s Pizza notes that after launching LTOs, they saw “a boost in traffic and sales across our stores.”

Themed LTOs, like football-shaped pizzas, can be a fun party hit. Try offering a special topping, side dish, or party-sized platter and promoting it beforehand.  By implementing a Super Bowl pizza shop promotion or treat, you can help grow awareness and anticipation, building interest before game day. 

3. Offer an Incentive for Ordering Ahead
It’s no secret that online orders for pizza and requests for delivery ramp up on game day. To prevent an overwhelming rush of orders at kickoff, let your customers know that they can (and should) order their pizzas ahead of time. By doing so, they can set a time for it to be delivered hot and fresh right to their doors. 

Offering a discount or add-on special can incentivize customers to plan ahead. A free order of breadsticks for every two pizzas, or an extra topping for every three can bring in enough pre-orders to ease the rush and help you maintain a great customer experience. If that isn’t enough, a third-party delivery service like DoorDash can be supplement your delivery drivers and keep your customers happy. This is a great way to lock in sales early, helping you plan ahead with pre-booked orders. 

4. Make it Personal
Customer communication through personalized marketing messaging is an effective way to grow a loyal customer base. Customers no longer respond as well to traditional marketing methods like they used to. Broadcast advertising often reaches consumers that aren’t interested in your offers, driving up costs and lowering the effectiveness of your marketing spend. Instead, it’s time to get personal. 

Data from your pizza POS can help you determine customer ordering habits, see who ordered from you on game day last year, and see what types of items they were most interested in. Historical data clues you in on the types of customers that are more likely to want what you’re offering. 

Send a personalized email or text to loyal customers. Let them know you appreciate their business, and are ready to serve them again in 2020. These customers already love your food, so a small discount or special offer crafted just for them could be the extra nudge they need to place the next order.

5. Try Advertising in a New Spot
As a successful restaurateur, you should understand the marketing and promotional efforts that work best for your pizzeria. While it is smart to stick to what works, it’s always good to step outside of the box and try something new, especially during special occasions like this. 

Maybe you cater to local college students. This crowd is known for responding well to personalized marketing, so tailor your efforts with direct advertising messages to get the best results. However, you don’t want to ignore the rest of the community who is looking for a pizza place for game-day catering.  Branching out and advertising through different channels like Facebook, print ads or even newspaper coupons may help capture a new audience that drive profits on game day to new levels. 

Preparing Your Pizzeria for Game-Day Success

You’ve planned your promotions and gotten the word out and you’re expecting a significant increase in traffic. The final step is to make sure you’re prepared to handle the influx of customers and provide them with a great game-day experience. It’s good to follow a checklist to ensure you’ve covered all the bases. 

Some additional steps to include: 

• Make sure you’re staffed properly based on historical sales volume and have a contingency plan for last-minute sick calls. 
• Use historical data to estimate your inventory needs and make sure you order enough extra stock. 
• Optimize your online ordering and delivery operations so that your staff can work efficiently.
• Leverage an industry-specific point of sale system to ensure that operations run smoothly. 

Marketing your pizzeria for game day is a great way to help bring in new customers and foster loyalty. You can make it successful by providing a great experience to each and every customer that comes through your door or places an order on your website. 

HungerRush can help provide this experience by optimizing your restaurant with a point of sale system designed specifically for pizzerias. If you are looking for a POS systems with all the functionality required to meet high customer expectations, request a demo with HungerRush today!