we are open from 4-10pm except for Friday and Staturday opened 4-11pm. It seems after 8 pm orders are few and far between. I was thinking of openning from 11:30 am to 9pm to pick up lunch orders as well as the dinner orders.
Anyone doing this. We have only been opened 6 months. Any suggestions?
In most residential stores you’ll find your busiest hours of operation from 5pm-8pm. That’s the industry norm. However, some stores get a little extra pop after the 8 o’clock hour. Why? Demographics.
Here’s what you should study:
How much of your population is between the age of 18-25?
How much of the 18-25 population is single?
How much of the single 18-25 population lives in rental houses or apartment complexes or mobile home communities?
Do you have a college campus?
Do you have a military facility?
How many hotels do you have in your delivery area?
How many motels do you have in your delivery area?
The reason you should study these key indicators is because these are your 8pm-Close customers. If it were my store (and I’m VERY aggressive when it comes to marketing) there is no way in Hell I’d close early. If you see a time period that’s slacking, don’t shy away from it… ATTACK IT!! Find the people in your area that eat after 8 and pound their doors with marketing material until they’re so fed up with you doing it that they’ll order just to keep you away! Make deals with the front desk people in your local hotels and motels where you give them a free pizza a week in exchange for them putting flyers in the rooms. You’ve got a new set of customers every night in these hotels, so don’t EVER slack off on the flyers over there. Make sure hotel management doesn’t slack off either.
Now lunch is another subject. When I first came into this forum I was struggling with lunch sales. Lunch is not easy and will sometimes go well, sometimes get on your last nerve. I’ve come up with some saavy advertising ideas and in the last 2 months I’ve increased my lunch sales from an average of $120/day to over $350/day. I’m still not satisfied with it but it’s a work in progress. The biggest advice I can give you about lunch business is, “Yes! open for lunch”, and “Make sure everyone in your area knows you’re open.” There are too many opportunities for large orders and catering and account orders not to. Hope this helps. -J_r0kk