Sell More Raffle Tickets at Community Events by Elizabeth Kelly
One way a business can get customer loyalty and retention through a raffle is by having a representation of the business with the raffle at community events. Community residents who attend a block party for example, may enter a raffle to win a free meal at a new restaurant.
A new restaurant may not be seen right away by all of the residents of a city depending on where it is and without traffic a restaurant will not succeed. Exposure is very necessary and if it is a new restaurant there may not be a large advertising budget as they are starting up.
A community event is a win-win situation. While some people may think they have very little chance of winning the raffle there is another approach related to the raffle that would help the restaurant with a marketing strategy as well. The restaurant could promote itself by providing small samples of things from the menu. Those samples would give people an idea of what they can expect from the restaurant and what the food is like. If people like the food they will enter the raffle and they may also be encouraged to go to the restaurant just based on the samples they tried whether they win the raffle or not. It may also help if each person that enters the raffle gets a customer loyalty punch card.
The block party raffle gives them their first punch and with each visit they receive additional punches based on the amount of their purchase. Once the punch card is complete they may receive a discount or a smaller free item on their next visit. Customers like the idea of saving money or getting something free, so this would be a way to have customers continuing to come back.
A loyalty program like this would also help with word of mouth business. Other people always tell a friend when they have won a raffle or any contest, telling that friend leads to questions like “oh how is the food”? or “Where is that”? If you tell that friend how good the meal and service were, they are more likely to try it as well and now you have just brought more business to the new restaurant.
People are more likely to go to a new restaurant if that business supports the community it is in because they feel a business like that would treat the customers very well. If you are able to get a good reputation based on how you treat your customers and a good review on the food you provide, as business owner you can virtually expect success for many years to come.
All of that success was based on one small idea and a lot of small raffle tickets that should equal big profits, big loyalty and big smiles from your customers and the corporation.