The art of creating promotions without going bankrupt

Anyone who has ever run a business has at some point wondered how to attract customers, build their loyalty, and make them come back again and again.

In highly competitive niches like food delivery, simply offering a "good product" is no longer enough. Let’s be honest: the market is already overflowing with “just good” options. You need to win over customers with a special approach—and with special offers that seem much more attractive than those of your competitors.

Let’s break down whether promotions are really that important, which ones are absolutely essential for you, and how to design them so that your guests are satisfied and your budget remains intact.

"I don’t need promotions at all!"

"I have a unique product, people will buy it anyway." 

"My chef cooks better than the competition, so all the customers are mine anyway."

"Promotions only attract freeloaders, and I need paying customers."

Many delivery service owners believe they don’t need promotions at all—that they are simply better, higher quality, more premium, and customers will intuitively understand this.

Spoiler: No, they won’t.

Moreover, they may never even find out you exist. Simple advertising like “We’re open!” rarely brings results, unless you’re the only place in town. You need to hook your very first guests with an offer so attractive that they not only notice you, but place their first order. Only then will they be able to appreciate your quality. And how else can you get that crucial first trial, if not through a promotion?

Refusing to run promotions also won’t protect you from “freeloaders” or consumer extremism. Believe me, if someone wants to get free food, they’ll find a way: claim they found a hair in the dish, shake the box before opening, or later write that they got food poisoning. These things can and should be dealt with, but eliminating promotions is not the answer. Don’t deprive your potential loyal customers of a pleasant welcome gift and the chance to become your devoted fans.

Ultimately, every promotion should have a clear strategic goal. Never launch a promo just for the sake of it, or you won’t see any real return. You must know exactly what problem each specific offer is solving.

At the very beginning, every small business needs a boost—that’s why we launch a customer acquisition campaign. Once people know who you are, it’s time to retain them. We implement retention promotions to encourage repeat purchases and build brand loyalty. Are sales dropping? That’s when tools to increase the average check come to the rescue. When all processes are running smoothly and you’re ready to open a new location, the whole cycle starts again.

"Alright, you’ve convinced me. What promotions should I run?"

Unfortunately, there’s no magic bullet here. Randomly throwing around discounts won’t work—you’ll have to do some calculations. To make this process easier, here’s a step-by-step plan for smartly developing offers for your customers.

Step 1. Analyze your competitors

This is a critically important stage. Make a list of your direct competitors and analyze their active offers. Write down the discounts and bonuses that almost every establishment in your city is offering.

Tip: Analyze both large national chains and local spots. Chain giants don’t always account for local market nuances and often launch nationwide campaigns that may not work in your specific area.

If you notice that certain promotions are repeated everywhere, feel free to implement them yourself. This will keep you in the game, as customers will compare you to others. The standard basic set includes:

• Birthday discounts
• Tiered discounts depending on order amount
• "Happy hours"
• Free delivery when a certain amount is reached
• Bonus loyalty system

During your analysis, you may notice places offering huge discounts and overly generous gifts. Don’t copy them, but keep an eye on these businesses—they’re likely only a few months away from closing.

Step 2. Choose items for promotions

Before giving a discount on anything, you must know the exact margin of each dish on your menu. This is the only way to understand which items can withstand a promo and which ones absolutely cannot be discounted.

Ideally, a good product margin is considered to be around 30% (meaning your cost for that item is 70%). The lower the cost, the better.

Dishes with a margin of 30% or higher are your main candidates for promotions. If you can’t achieve these figures for at least half of your main menu (not counting add-ons: sauces, drinks, or snacks), it’s time to reconsider your pricing, ingredient sourcing, or your entire business model.

• New items: Always include them in promotions. To encourage guests to try a new dish, offer a small discount and place a banner on the main page.
• Products with a short shelf life: If you have ingredients that need to be sold quickly, put them on promo. This will increase demand and reduce write-offs.

Step 3. Distribute promotions by category

How do you know which promotions you really need? Let’s divide them by business goals:

1. Initial sales (customer acquisition)

Give gifts, welcome points, or discounts on the first order. There are several ways to manage this process:

• Loud launch: Run a powerful, widely announced one-day promotion. You’ll probably break even or make a small profit, but you’ll reach the maximum number of locals in a very short time. If your food is really good, they’ll definitely come back.
• Soft launch: Make the promotion more modest, but extend it for the first 2–3 weeks after opening. This allows you to gradually build your customer base without overloading the kitchen.
• Permanent welcome: Keep a small but constant introductory offer for new customers. This ensures a steady flow of new users without sudden spikes.

2. Stimulating repeat sales (retention)

• Discount on the next order: A coupon with a discount or gift for the next order greatly increases the likelihood of a second purchase.
• Newsletter subscription: Offer guests to subscribe to your news via email or SMS in exchange for a small bonus (e.g., welcome points). With a subscriber base, it’s much easier to work with repeat customers and remind them about you.
• Happy hours: A great way to boost sales during the midday lull—usually from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm on weekdays. This keeps the kitchen busy during downtime and attracts repeat orders, for example, from remote workers.

3. Increasing the average check

• Discounts based on purchase amount. Find out your average check and add $3–4 to it—this will be the amount from which you give a discount or a gift. Don’t be greedy: if you set the threshold too high, the promotion won’t work.
• Free delivery based on purchase amount works the same way as a gift for a certain amount. Almost every delivery service has this promotion, so be sure to include it. Also, remember that you pay the courier, so choose an amount that won’t make it painful to pay salaries. If your courier charges more than $4 per delivery, change your courier—they’re taking most of your profit.
• Birthday gift, if you set a minimum purchase amount. And don’t forget that birthday orders are often for a large group. In this case, it’s more profitable to give a gift than a discount. Let’s do the math: a birthday order is placed for $65. You give a 15% discount to the birthday person. From your 30% margin ($19.50), you subtract 15% ($9.75), and from $65 you’re left with $9.75. Suppose you give a pizza as a gift, which costs $6.50. For the guest, it’s $6.50, but for you, its cost is 70% ($4.55). Thus, with a discount you earn $9.75, and with a gift—$14.55, which is about 49% more. Unfortunately, this scheme doesn’t work with small purchase amounts; you need to calculate each promotion and be sure you’re not losing money.

4. Increasing customer loyalty

• Discount for pickup: We strongly recommend launching this offer. You lose nothing, but gain a lot. If a customer orders delivery for €13, you pay the courier a nominal €2.50. That’s almost 20% of the order value. If you give a 15% discount for pickup, the customer benefits, you save on delivery, and you get a very happy, loyal customer.
• Bonus accumulation system: Usually, it works like this: the customer receives 5–10% cashback in points from each purchase, which can be used to pay for part of the next order (but no more than 20–30% of the check). With an average check of €20, the customer accumulates €1–€2 per order. To accumulate the maximum discount of 30% for the next order of €20 (i.e., €6), they need to make 3 to 6 full-price purchases. Set point redemption limits so that even at the maximum discount, your margin remains safe (usually the limit is 20–25% of the total check amount).
• Gifts for reviews: Motivate guests to leave reviews on platforms where you lack presence (for example, Google Maps or Trustpilot) in exchange for a nice bonus on their next order. This improves your local SEO, increases trust among new customers, and delights regulars.

Step 4. Final checklist before launch

Before you hit the "Publish" button, check your promotions against these points:

• Simplicity and transparency: Make sure promotions don’t contradict each other. Avoid complicated mechanics—the more conditions a customer has to meet, the less likely they are to use the offer.
• No promotions for the sake of promotions: Every offer should solve a specific business task (KPI).
• Use promo codes: This is the easiest way to track which campaigns bring real sales and which are ineffective.
• Be generous, but reasonable: The reward should match the effort. Don’t require a customer to order €100 just to get a free sauce.
• No total freebies: Always set a minimum order amount to activate any gift or discount.
• Give sincerely: A discount is your gift to the customer. If you feel sorry for the money, it’s better not to run the promotion at all.
• Don’t use giveaways for direct sales: Social media giveaways work great for brand awareness, but they rarely bring quality and fast sales.
• Check the technical side: Make sure all promo codes, banners, and discounts work correctly on the website and in the mobile app.

"I launched a promotion, but there are no orders!"

If you just set up a promotion in the system and don’t tell anyone about it, nothing will happen. You need to use all available communication channels:

• Visible banners on the website and in the app
• Posts and stories on social media
• Email newsletters and SMS notifications
• Push notifications in the app
• Targeted advertising (Meta, Google)

Announcing a promotion is only half the battle. The other half is creative presentation (visuals, text, delivery). If a promotion isn’t working, it’s hard to immediately tell whether the problem is with the offer itself or with a boring banner. Run A/B tests with different creatives for different audiences. Scale what resonates with your audience and turn off ineffective options.

Tip: If you want to delegate this task to professionals, you can trust FoodSoul. We will select the ideal promotion mechanics for your business model and set up targeted advertising on all effective platforms so that your offers are seen by those who are ready to place an order.

In conclusion

You don’t need to flood your website with dozens of discounts all year round. Balance is key. If you remove promotions altogether, part of your audience will go to competitors who know how to show customers their value.

Rotate offers, analyze sales data, and scale what works best. The main thing is to keep everything under control and clearly understand why you are launching or disabling a particular campaign.

Track your performance month over month and year over year. Watch your competitors and trends, stay visible in the information field, and always listen to your audience. Collect feedback, adapt, and stay flexible.

Wishing your business success!

Best regards,

Elvira, FoodSoul Marketing Specialist