Mother’s Day is still more than a month away, but that doesn’t mean it’s too early to start planning for the big day.

In fact, according to research from the National Restaurant Association, Mother’s Day is the most popular day to dine out for the entire year. Sounds like a day that you better be prepared for, am I right? You better believe it. 92 millions Americans will be eating out on the big day.

Is your restaurant ready for Mother’s Day? Here’s 10 Tips to make sure.

  1. Plan for the entire day. When it comes to Mother’s Day, you’ll be getting customers for brunch, lunch, dinner, and everything in between. You wouldn’t want to go all-out on an elaborate brunch, and then leave nothing left over for dinner. (Oh, and staff accordingly too.)
  2. Remember that Mother’s Day covers a very broad customer base. You’ll be seeing everything from entire families, to couples, to senior citizens. It’s a day about mothers, yes. But more so than a day like Valentine’s Day, where you’re pretty much exclusively catering to couples, Mother’s Day is an occasion that still draws in everyone else.
  3. Don’t forget to stock up on kids menus. From the same National Restaurant Association report, 44% of families with children under 18 will dine out on Mother’s Day.
  4. Plan for delivery/takeout. According to the report, 8% of customers in the U.S. intend on getting takeout or delivery from a restaurant. That’s about 21 million people.
  5. Promote your Mother’s Day dining affair ahead of time. Plaster it on your website, social media, and customer emails.
  6. Consider doing something that you wouldn’t normally do, such as offering a buffet or prix fixe menu. One of the spots I’ve gone to over the years with my mother only offers a buffet on specific holidays – Mother’s Day being one of them. It makes the idea of dining out on such a busy day much more palatable.
  7. Promote your gift cards in advance. As it turns out, 10% of mothers would like to receive a restaurant gift card for Mother’s Day.
  8. Start planning what your restaurant’s atmosphere is going to be like. Make sure you’ve planned all the decor out, and arranged whatever music you’re going to play – whether it’s a live band, DJ, etc.
  9. Offer something special for mom. Whether it’s a dessert or a glass of champagne, a complimentary gift is a great way to let customers know you care.
  10. Start taking reservations now!

Mother’s Day Marketing With CoGoBuzz

This Mother’s Day, CoGoBuzz is all you’ll need to digitally promote your restaurant. Our state-of-the-art digital marketing service promotes your restaurant’s biggest deals, specials, events, and more – straight to your customers’ mobile devices.

Powered by advanced WiFi, SMS, and Email solutions, CoGoBuzz is designed from-the-ground-up to engage and retain customers at the digital level, both in-store and out. Our service automatically produces full customer profiles for every customer that logs in to your in-store HotSpot, and then integrates them with your favorite marketing list, such as HubSpot, MailChimp, and Constant Contact. On top of that, CoGoBuzz comes loaded with a fully-digital, text-based loyalty program, allowing you to promote your Mother’s Day plans with a simple text message!

Check out the rest of our website to learn more about what CoGoBuzz can do for your restaurant!

What does your restaurant do for Mother’s Day? Let us know in the comments!