You fill slow days by giving your regulars a concrete reason to come then. It could be double stamps on Tuesdays, an offer for a certain time window or news that only applies that day. The prerequisite is that you know which days are slow and that you can reach customers when the time comes.
This guide covers how to find the quiet times, which offers work and how to tell people about them without nagging.
How do you know which days are slow?
Start with facts. Look at the till report or the bookings over a few weeks and note which weekdays and times have the fewest customers. You will often see a pattern: Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday evening or the days after a weekend.
Tell two things apart:
- Quiet time you can fill. You have staff and premises, but few guests.
- Quiet time you should not try to fill. Season, weather or public holidays can be naturally empty.
Pick one or two times to work on. Trying to fix everything at once usually fails.
Which ideas work?
- Double stamps on a slow day. The customer gets two stamps instead of one on that day. It costs you little, because it only rewards visits you would not otherwise have had.
- An offer for a time window. “Coffee and a bun for 49 SEK between 2 and 4 pm.” Limit it to the time you want to fill.
- Sneak peeks for club members. Tell them about a new item or a tasting that is only available on a certain day.
- Something for two. “Bring a friend” brings one extra person and a new chance to get a new customer into the club.
- A booking perk for quiet times. A small gift or extra service if the customer books a quiet slot.
- An event or theme. Live music, a tasting or a workshop that draws people on that very day.
- Remember those who lost track of you. A short note to customers who have not been in for a while, with a small reason to come back.
How do you reach customers?
A good offer does not help if nobody knows about it. You have three routes, and they complement each other:
- At the till and on the stand. Staff mention the offer at payment. It costs nothing.
- A message on the card. With Fidelia’s Pro plan, 599 kr per month excl. VAT, you write a title and a short message that appears on the lock screen in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet. You can choose who gets it, for example everyone, those with a reward waiting or those not seen in 30 days, and schedule it in advance. Read more in push notifications without annoying people.
- Newsletter. An email in advance about the week’s offer, see a newsletter for a local shop.
Both messages and emails only go to customers who ticked the news box when they joined. How often you send matters, see also reminders when the customer walks past.
How often should you offer something?
Often enough for customers to learn the pattern, rarely enough for the offer to still feel special. “Double stamps every Tuesday” becomes a habit, while a new offer every day becomes noise. One fixed offer on a fixed day is easier to remember than many different ones.
Take care not to crowd out your own busy days. Design the offer to attract the time you want to fill, and not to make customers move their usual visits there.
How do you measure whether it works?
Compare the same day before and after, preferably over a few weeks. Look at the number of visits, not just sales. If visits go up on the slow day without going down on other days, you have won extra customers. If not, adjust the offer or the time. Also count the cost of the offer, see what a reward really costs. If you want to give your best customers something extra, look at VIP tiers.
Summary
Slow days are filled by regulars who have a reason to come. Find the empty times, pick a simple offer, tell people about it at the till and on the card, and measure the result. Start small, with one day and one offer, and build on what works. See the pricing for what messages require.