Boost Lunch Sales with the Office Crowd
A busy day in the office can leave little time for lunch, which is why the office crowd is increasingly reliant on foodservice. However, at times it can be difficult for them to leave the building, whether it’s because of tight schedules or not wanting to venture out in poor weather conditions. Regardless of the reason, here are some ways to attract diners in a busy workplace:
- Drop by the office. Sometimes there isn’t a long enough break between meetings and deadlines for employees to go out and buy lunch. That’s why some operators are meeting customers at their workplace. Fast-casual chain California Tortilla, for instance, sells grab-and-go box lunches in the lobby of an office building near one of its Virginia stores.
- Distribute menus and coupons. Chances are that not everyone is familiar with the restaurants in their work area. Leaving a few menus in the building provides publicity and keeps the restaurant top of mind when diners are considering lunch options. Advertising group discounts and catering services or promoting on websites, such as Groupon, can further grow customer bases by enticing them with savings. Also consider partnering with local companies to offer special deals to their employees.
- Tap into office delivery. Foodsby is a solution for operators who want to reach off-premise diners while curbing the costs of third-party delivery. This Minnesota-based start-up targets office buildings with 200+ people and allows customers to order via app or online from a rotating selection of restaurants. Unlike partnering with Grubhub or UberEats, operators don’t have to pay high fees.
Corporate spaces provide excellent opportunities to reach high volumes of people in need of a quick lunch. By increasing the flexibility of how they approach this daypart, operators can work with the realities of office life to maximize revenue.
How does your restaurant improve its lunch sales? Let us know your tactics on Facebook or LinkedIn. To find more best practices, check out our Tips page.
SOURCES
Glazer, Fern. Driving lunch traffic in a work-from-home world, Nation’s Restaurant News, July 2019.
Niksa, Matthew. Foodsby zeroes in on office lunch deliveries, carving niche amid a boom, Star Tribune, August 2019.
Wimpsett, Emily. Seven Strategies to Increase Lunch Sales, QSR, January 2018.
