Valentine’s Day is the second busiest day of the year in the food service industry. It is only bested by Mother’s Day each year. According to a National Restaurant Association survey, not only do 25 percent of Americans dine out that day, 31 percent of Americans love receiving gift cards as Valentine’s Day gifts.

The food service industry has a great job of attracting people who plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day. The real question is, how will your food truck capitalize on the opportunity?

Valentine’s Day Marketing Tips For Food Truck Success

Start Early

If you wait for the big day to arrive and then try to sell gift cards or promote specials your marketing won’t be in time to get the word out for you food truck’s Valentine’s Day success. Food truck gift cards are the top choice for nearly half of all men, then you should tell that to every woman who steps up to your service window, follows your social media accounts, reads your marketing emails, or visits your website and then ask them how many they would like to buy.

Offer Cooking Classes

Another way to get word about your food truck is to think creatively. For those consumers who may want to cook for their significant other instead of taking them out to eat, why not hold a cooking class to teach people:

  • How to prepare a special dish or multi-course meal.
  • A Valentine’s Day cocktail recipe.
  • Tips for meal presentation.

Create A Special Experience

If you expect to be especially busy on Valentine’s Day, what will you do to mitigate the wait or speed up how quickly tables can be turned? How will you reward employees for coming in and for handling the extra-heavy volume?

Special days call for special customer service. Transforming your food truck for Valentine’s Day could be the key to making it memorable and a true destination experience. Decorate your truck with a Valentine’s Day theme or even offer your customers soft romantic music while they wait in line for their meal.

Create A Valentine’s Day Special

Create a special that sets your food truck customer experience apart from the competition on Valentine’s Day. Consider:

  • Valentine’s Day menu. Special dishes, specially-priced combos, or unique non-alcoholic cocktails, etc.
  • Take out options for people who want to take a meal home.

RELATED: Marketing Truths ALL Food Truck Owners Should Know

The Bottom Line

On Valentine’s Day you’re not only competing with all of the other food trucks in your city for consumers, you’re also competing with all of the other options they have to get a meal. Every day food truck success depends on taking advantage of all the opportunities that present themselves and doing it better than the competition.

How do you plan to help your customers celebrate Valentine’s Day? Share your thoughts on this topic in the comment section or on social media. Facebook | Twitter