Got a good thing going...lookin for help...

[system]

Hello fellow pizza peeps…I’m a long time lurker, first time poster.

I have been open almost 2 yrs now and things are pluggin along thanks to many things including much help from pmq.
I am open 6 days a week and consistent at 6-7k/wk. I operate a small(20seat) 70% del/co 30% eatin in a town of about 6,000 people. I have read KK’s blackbook and am a believer in not discounting my above average product but rather adding items of value to add on to create specials or deals for the night/wk. etc…

Here is my dilema…
about 3 months ago i started exploring constant contacts and building an email list. I had 100 before I knew it and was sending out weekly newsletters with the regular specials, new info, etc. I always added a coupon, but never really gave it the “value” i could have. Another month went by and I didnt really seem to be getting the response I thought I should, so one night I made an email and sent it out to only"certain" online friends(actually my whole list) and gave them 1 week to redeem a coupon for a large 2 topping pizza+caeser salad+garlic knots for $10 !!! ( menu price =large 2 topping $15, Caeser Salad $4.50, Knots $2.00 = $21.50 )
Well needless to say my email list had grown to 200 in the next week and 60 people took advantage of the deal in the first 4 days. This was 2 wks ago and since i have had about 100 new additions to the email list. I have been reluctant to change the offer because of the great response. When most customers redeem,they say they love the deal , and I am seeing the same 45-60 customers/families each week repeatedly redeem these offers. I know this is not the worst problem but i am starting to wonder how I can change the deal to more of the “Value added” approach I normally do by having them order full priced pizzas and giving them a salad and knots or cannolis or something else cheap instead of only collecting half the cash!!!
I realize i have their attention now (and maybe seeing them once each week in this winter recession is not all that bad, but I hate to let them keep getting such a deep discount, Im afraid they might only come when there is that deep discount offer.)
I just wanted to reach out and see what yall thought.

Thanks
Ian
pepperonigrillnc.com

 

[pizza_garden]

One tack you can take is to do nothing for a while. Let the offer expire and take your time on developing your next offer. Do something different. If you constantly run a special, it’s not a special and it becomes your normal pricing. You have then lost the urgency on any future specials, and what do you do after that? You only cut your own throat by cutting even deeper again.

Come back to it later and rotate some other marketing, such as company lunch specials, second pizza 1/2 off, free drink without them knowing it was included, bonus side orders with normally-priced pizzas, etc. Mix it up and be prepared to offer your special next time with great service and smiles, and most of all, great pizza.

You need a reason to advertise. Advertising blindly and repeatedly with the same offers over and over does nothing but cheapen your business and image. Offering a special new pizza flavor will always attract your base customers, and most of them will appreciate your effort to make something new and attractive.

Good luck and have some fun and laughs along the way!