Running Promotions That Actually Drive Traffic

The Goal: Incremental Visits

A good promotion brings in customers who would not have visited otherwise. If a regular who visits daily uses your 20% off coupon, that is margin you gave away for nothing.

Target Slow Periods

Look at your analytics to identify your quietest days and hours. Run promotions specifically for those windows:

• "Tuesday 2-5pm: Buy one, get one half off"
• "Rainy day special: Free pastry with any coffee (when it rains)"
• "Monday morning boost: 15% off before 9am"

Types That Work

BOGO (Buy One Get One): Best for driving trial. Customer brings a friend who becomes a new regular. Your cost: one free drink. Your gain: a potential lifetime customer.

Percentage off: Simple and clear. 15-20% is the sweet spot. Below 10%, customers do not care. Above 30%, you are losing money.

Item-specific: "Free upgrade to oat milk this week" or "Free shot of vanilla with any latte." These move specific products and cost very little.

Types to Avoid

• Everything on sale: Trains customers to wait for deals
• Discounts over 30%: Not sustainable, attracts bargain hunters who will not return at full price
• No time limit: Creates no urgency

Measuring Success

Track three things during and after each promotion:

1. Redemption count: How many customers used it?
2. New vs. returning: Did it attract new faces?
3. Post-promotion retention: Did they come back the following week at full price?

On CafeRadar, each promotion has its own impression, click, and redemption metrics.