Traditionally, Valentine’s Day is a busy Holiday for Roy’s Restaurants.  Driving traffic that weekend is as simple as emailing the database with a reminder.  So rather than be content with a filling every seat with romantic couples for a few days in February, we looked to find a way to drive incremental traffic before and after Valentine’s Weekend.  Using the Holiday as the hook, we asked our guests to Share Some Love with friends and family by sending a Roy’s e-card.  The e-cards were pre-loaded with one of three gifts—free Chocolate Soufflé, free appetizer or a $50 Gift Card.  In addition, we rewarded the top 10 Love Sharers with a $100 Gift Card.    The results far exceeded anyone’s expectations.

In just two weeks here’s what happened:

•Over 78,000 e-cards sent by our guests to their friends

•We acquired over 36,000 new email addresses

•Over 500 reservations using the free gift

Beyond the incremental traffic and massive ROI on the program, we learned something we had only assumed in the past.  When you allow your loyal followers to market your brand, they are more than willing to do it.