In 2020, COVID-19 turned the coffee shop industry on its head. Since June of last year fell during the thick of the pandemic, many people were unable to celebrate Father’s Day in its fully glory.
2022 should continue to see a closer return to normalcy. Yes, the pandemic remains a hurdle for businesses and customers alike to navigate, but with the number of cases waning and vaccines rising, we should be able to give all the dads out there the Father’s Day they deserve!
While Father’s Day is not generally considered a massive holiday in the restaurant industry like, say, Mother’s Day is, that doesn’t mean you can’t take advantage of it at your coffee shop.
Looking for ways to celebrate all the dads out there while boosting sales? Check out our ideas for how coffee shops can maximize Father’s Day.
Offer Fun Promos and Specials
The whole point of Father’s Day is to share it with the man who raised you. Make it easier for customers to get their day started on the right foot with promos that encourage them to bring in their dad.
Some ideas:
- Free drip coffees for dads (with a purchase of something else)
- Fathers get a free coffee drink of equal or lesser value
- Double loyalty points if you bring in dad
- Free muffin if you bring in your son
- Every father-son combo gets entered into a raffle for a fresh new pair of Air Monarchs
Set Out a New Menu
Nothing commemorates a special occasion like giving your customers whole new menu design. Tailor your menu to fit Father’s Day with special dad drinks, dad trivia, and dad jokes (more on that below). It lets your customers know that you put some real thought into the day’s festivities, and you have the materials to prove it.
Designing a new menu can be tough and time consuming. If you’re strapped for time or design expertise, menu template services make the process easy with thousands of predesigned menus to choose from and customize in minutes.
Want to put out a new Father’s Day menu, but don’t feel like paying for prints? Well customers have grown very accustomed to using QR codes over the past year and pulling up digital menus on their phone. Simply design a new menu, publish and link it to a QR code.
You’ll reap all the festive benefits with none of the added costs.
Post or Solicit Dad Jokes
There’s nothing that invokes more joy in a father than the perfect dad joke. By facilitating the flow of dad jokes at your coffee shop, you can create an environment that truly celebrates fathers.
You can either post the jokes up around the store with stickers or flyers, or you can put a little sign up at checkout encouraging customers to share their favorite dad jokes with the barista. Trust me, everyone has one.
Looking for a way to add an extra incentive? Give them loyalty points or a free coffee if the dad joke passes muster (That’s something Dad’s say, yeah?)
Here are a couple of my favorite coffee-related dad jokes to get you started:
What do you call a sad coffee?
A despresso (hold for applause)
Hows does Moses make his coffee?
Hebrews it
How did the hipster burn his tongue?
He drank his coffee before it was cool
Hype It Up
However you choose to celebrate Father’s Day, you’ll need to spread the word. These types of promotions serve as a wonderful means to stand out from your competition, but all those dads need to know where they can find a special deal on a cup of joe, just for them.
We’ve found the best strategy is a mix of digital and traditional marketing. Blast the news out on your social media, website, etc., but also perform some more traditional onsite marketing. Post flyers up in your window. Maybe make a sandwich board.
Coffee shops are not known for holiday celebrations the same way that restaurants are, so you’ll have to get the word out. The good news? Since these promotions are unusual coming from a coffee shop, they will stick in the minds of your customers easier if you can put the promotion in front of them at least once. You have less competition for their attention.
Mark Plumlee is the Content Officer for MustHaveMenus. He enjoys writing about trends in restaurant marketing and design
