The Chinese New Year is one of the most important and festive occasions for many Asian families. It is a time to reunite with loved ones, enjoy delicious food, and celebrate the new year.
For restaurant owners, it is also a great opportunity to attract more customers, increase sales, and build loyalty.
But how can you make sure your restaurant is ready for the Chinese New Year rush? How can you manage your bookings, inventory, menu, and customer service efficiently and effectively?
How can you create a festive and memorable experience for your customers that will make them come back for more?
In this article, we will share with you some of the best tips and tricks to prepare your restaurant for the Chinese New Year and make it a success!
Here’s what you can do to get started:
Strategic Reservations and Bookings
Chinese New Year is a lively and festive time, and many families want to dine out and have fun. This is especially true for the reunion dinner, which is the night before the new year starts.
Many people book their tables early, and some even do it 3 months ahead! To make sure your restaurant doesn’t miss out, you need to have a good booking procedure.
Click2Book, our reservation software, can help you with that. It can automatically take bookings, manage tables and inventory, and save you a lot of hassle.
It works on a web app that connects to your website, so your customers don’t need to download any apps, which makes them more likely to book.
You can also add festive branding to create a festive mood, which can lead to word-of-mouth marketing and more customers after the reunion dinner.
Not to mention, you can encourage early reservations through early bird promotions! Early bird promotions can include:
- Tiered Discounts (5 pax and get 10% off, etc.)
- Hampers (hampers are a traditional way for many Asian families to show appreciation with gifts).
Recently, more and more people are booking their tables in advance, as per this news article!
Also, since reunion dinners during the Chinese New Year usually involve a lot of people (around 4-10) per table, charging a deposit is a smart idea to prevent no-shows and revenue loss! Our platform can help you with that as well.
Feel free to click the button below to check out our amazing live demo!
Incorporate a Prix Fixe (Fixed Price) Menu
Chinese New Year is a time when most Asian families go out to eat and celebrate.
A prix fixe menu can make it easier for restaurants to serve dishes quickly.
Having too many dishes to choose from can be a hassle for your kitchen – think about how hard it is to make individual dishes for hundreds of large tables every night.
A fixed menu (prix fixe) can help your kitchen send out orders faster and better. You can also save money because you know what dishes you need to make the most.
This is where our booking system helps, with your booking data, our CRM can tell you how much of each ingredient you need to order in advance based on the number of bookings, fixed menu data, and so on.
You can save a lot of money by ordering the right amount and buying in bulk!
Utilize Your Loyalty Program To Its Maximum Potential
Make the most of the Chinese New Year rush by using a good loyalty program that helps you sell more and also get data and keep customers.
You can start by grouping your existing customers by their data and behavior, using your CRM system for age, likes, and spending.
Make loyalty program offers fit each group, like new, regular, or VIP customers, to make them more attractive. This way you can provide a more personalized experience and prix fix menu for your customers.
If your customers find out that there’s a certain demographic of customers that have a small family size, it would make more sense to promote your prix fix menu for 3-4 instead of having the 5-6 people one by the default option – ultimately reducing your membership marketing costs!
You can also connect with your customers through different ways—email, SMS, social media, or mobile app—to tell them about your Chinese New Year deals, and events.
Make a community and bond by showing your loyal customers on social media, inviting them to special events, or asking them to tell their friends and family.
You can also check and improve your loyalty program through special events like these by collecting customer feedback. Since events like these are targeted mostly to a certain demographic (Chinese New Year for Asians), you’re able to collect data that’s accurate to a demographic.
It’s the same for other festive seasons like Diwali for Hindus or Christmas for Westerners!
Prioritize VIPs and Loyal Customers
Chinese New Year is a busy time for restaurants, but that doesn’t mean you should neglect your VIPs and loyal customers. They are the backbone of your business and deserve to be recognized and rewarded.
According to data, loyal customers can account for 51 to 71% of the total sales of restaurants in the US! Not to mention, it is much cheaper to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones.
So, during the Chinese New Year Festive Season, make sure you analyze your CRM data and identify your loyal customers. Then, offer them some perks, discounts, or upgrades based on their tier.
For instance, your top customers might get a free room upgrade with complimentary drinks, while the tiers below that might get free desserts, and so on.
This will make your loyal customers feel appreciated and encourage them to come back again and again!
Try Out Traditional Chinese Interactive Experiences
Celebrate the Chinese New Year with a spectacular Lion Dance show in your restaurant. The Lion Dance is an ancient tradition that brings good luck and prosperity to not just your business but your customers as well!
Consider hiring a professional Lion Dance team to perform for your customers during peak hours. We’re confident they will wow your customers with their special costumes, lively music, and graceful movements.
You can also invite your customers to join in the fun by feeding the lions, which will make them feel more involved and excited.
You can also show your gratitude and generosity to your customers by giving them red packets, or “hongbao,” during the Chinese New Year.
Red packets are red envelopes with money or gifts inside that are given as a sign of respect and blessing.
You can customize your red packets with your restaurant’s logo or a festive design. Many big corporations like banks and companies in Asia do this for branding and loyalty.
Inside these red packets, you can put special offers, free desserts, or small tokens of appreciation!
You can also spice things up by having a lucky draw where some red packets have extra special prizes, which will attract more customers and create more excitement.
Another thing you can do is to introduce some spark and excitement to your restaurant with simulated firecracker experiences.
Firecrackers are loud and colorful explosives that are used to scare away evil spirits and celebrate the new year.
You can recreate the firecracker experience in your restaurant without the safety risks by using sound systems and screens.
Just play firecracker sounds and display firework images at certain times, creating a festive mood and atmosphere!
Conclusion
As you can see, there are many ways to prepare your restaurant for the Chinese New Year and make it a success!
By following these tips, you can make sure your restaurant runs smoothly and profitably during the Chinese New Year, and also delight your customers with a unique and enjoyable experience.
So, what are you waiting for? Start planning your Chinese New Year strategy today and get ready to celebrate!
Why not try out our restaurant booking software (Click2Book) that allows you to manage your bookings and inventory efficiently? Take a look at our product page to find out more – no strings attached!
Hey there! I’m Jeffrey Hau, and my journey in the digital world started after I wrapped up my psychology degree at UCLA. Imagine coming back to the bustling streets of Hong Kong from the tech haven of Silicon Valley – it was a whirlwind of inspiration! Seeing how social media platforms were evolving at breakneck speed and realizing the limitations of traditional advertising in this digital age, I decided to dive in.
In 2012, I laid the foundation of Prizm Group. From our humble beginnings, we’ve now blossomed into a global powerhouse with a team of over 200 passionate professionals. Our HQ is right here in Hong Kong, and we’ve spread our wings to SG, AU, NZ, JP, and China.
As a digital problem solver, our team found that several industries are in need of reservation systems, especially for F&B, Hotels, Beauty, and Medical sectors. Our digital magicians started crafting reservation systems tailored to cater to these specific needs. We extended our expertise to e-commerce, voucher management systems, and campaign management systems, combining them into KlikNRoll – an all-in-one solution. We deep dive into various industries, understanding their unique challenges and developing innovative solutions.
We’re not just a company; we’re your dedicated partners in transforming how you navigate the digital landscape. Our passion lies in providing businesses with intuitive and tailored solutions using KlikNRoll’s powerful capabilities.
Ready to embark on this exciting digital adventure with us? Let’s make your brand stand out in the digital jungle!
