Creating a Memorable Dining Experience at Your Pizzeria

In today’s experience economy, customers need more than delicious food to decide a pizzeria is worth visiting again and again. Building an experiential dining environment that keeps customers coming back (and recommending that their friends do, too) is crucial to success in this highly competitive industry.

Here are some tips and tricks for creating a memorable experience at your pizzeria, from unique dining experiences your customers won’t forget, to utilizing technology to streamline the customer experience.

Some suggestions include pizza-making classes, game nights, live music, and more to create unique, memorable experiences for your customers. By putting yourself in the shoes of your customers and addressing their pain points, you can create a pizzeria that not only serves great pizza, but also makes great memories.

How Important is it that Customers have Memorable Experiences at Your Pizzeria?

People return to restaurants of all kinds for the experience, not just the food. A study by Acosta and Technomic found out that most people are looking for an experience when they go out:

66% of U.S. diners see mealtime as a chance to connect with family and friends.
63% enjoy the social aspect of dining out.
63% see eating out as a form of entertainment.
45% of diners consider themselves adventurous eaters.

These numbers make it clear that your pizzeria needs to focus on the guest experience as much as the food they eat. Among restaurants, pizzerias in particular are poised to take advantage of the experience economy since they have always been seen as fun, casual places to dine.

Tips and Tricks to Build Experiential Dining in Your Pizzeria

Know your brand: To create a consistent experience for your customers, your brand has to be crystal clear from the first interaction. Make sure your branding is reflected in everything from your menu design, to your decor, to your social media pages.
Focus on what you do best: As you build a memorable experience at your pizzeria, don’t forget about the bread and butter of what makes your restaurant a success.
Establish a differentiator: What sets you apart from your competition? Make sure your customers know about it. It could be a unique cooking method, locally sourced ingredients, or unusual toppings. Don’t have something that clearly sets you apart? Find something no other pizzeria in your area offers.
Make it fun: Offer a playful dining experience that complements your pizza. This could include live music, games, playgrounds, fun decor, or anything else you think your customers may enjoy.
Craft the environment: Your pizzeria's environment should be inviting and reflective of your brand. Pay attention to every detail, from the lighting to the music, along with what can be seen and heard from the kitchen. Consider offering different seating options, such as booths or communal tables, to let your customer choose the kind of experience they desire.
Smooth out the bumps: Consider tableside POS systems, kiosk ordering, and other technology designed to streamline the customer experience and avoid pain points like awkward waits. Easy modifications to orders and special requests mean that your customers will get what they want easily, freeing them up to focus on making lasting memories at your pizzeria.

Ideas for Making Mealtime Memorable

Plan theme nights for the purpose of building memorable experiences. Here are a few ideas to plan events that will make your pizzeria stick in customers’ minds.

Pizza-making classes: Teach customers to make their own pizzas, while emphasizing the quality ingredients and the careful preparation and process your pizzeria follows to make great pizza. Not only will customers have fun, memorable experiences, but they’ll come out of it feeling that they know more and appreciate more about your pizza.
Trivia night: A weekly trivia night with discounts or prizes for winners keeps customers coming back every week, and is a great way to get groups like school or sports groups involved.
Game night: Set up board games or card games in your pizzeria and encourage customers to play. This can be a fun way to attract families or groups of friends. Give out prizes or discounts to winners in board game tournaments to elevate the night to the next level.
Live music: Hosting live music nights with local musicians not only creates a fun and lively atmosphere in your pizzeria, but also enables you to develop relationships with new customers who come for the music but stay for the pizza.
Karaoke night: What’s more memorable than getting on stage to sting karaoke? The laid-back environment of most pizzerias is perfect for a karaoke night where customers can sing their hearts out while enjoying pizza and drinks.
Wine/beer and pizza pairing night: Pull in all the local wine and beer snobs in town by hosting a wine/beer and pizza pairing night. Customers can try different wines or beers with different pizzas, discovering favorite new pairings and having a great night at the same time.
Family night: Host a family night with kid-friendly activities and special discounts for families. This is a great way to attract families with children, and can easily be a recurring monthly event that guarantees a good income every time. Even better, you’ll be teaching a whole new generation of customers to love your pizzeria.
Movie night: Set up a screen and host a movie night with pizza and drinks. Attract movie lovers, keep customers entertained and paying for hours, and create a cozy atmosphere in your pizzeria that your customers will remember. Keep the restaurant open late to make it feel extra special.
Charity night: Hosting a charity night where a portion of the proceeds goes to a local charity is a great way to get new customers in the door who come in support of the charity. Furthermore, giving back to the community in this way creates goodwill.

Alleviate Pain Points Through the Customer Perspective

Address customer pain points by putting yourself in their shoes. Is there a long wait time to order or get your pizza? Do you hear conversation from the kitchen at any of the tables?

Experience your pizzeria yourself and ask trusted friends to do so as well. That way, you’ll truly know what your pizzeria feels like to a guest. Start by looking up your pizzeria online and on social media to be sure it’s easy to find. Is there an accurate and up-to-date menu with photos of signature dishes? Are contact information, location, and hours of operation listed?

Utilize user-generated content to tell you what your customers think is memorable about your pizzeria. A pizzeria with good shareability also gets free advertising. When customers see your pizzeria posted by friends and neighbors in their social media feeds, they’ll think about the fun they had, cementing the memory and making it more likely that they’ll remember your restaurant fondly.

Encourage customers to share their memorable experiences on social media platforms by creating a unique hashtag or offering a discount for sharing. Create shareable opportunities by setting up a photo backdrop or providing props. You can even encourage your waitstaff to join in the fun and take photos with guests.

Offer Unique Dining Experiences at Your Pizzeria

The pizza industry is as competitive as ever, so creating a memorable experience for customers is crucial if you want to win out. Delicious pizza matters, but on its own, it may not be enough to keep customers coming back.

Your pizzeria needs technology that streamlines the customer experience, unique dining experiences like game nights, live music, and pizza-making classes, and pizza that stands out from the crowd with unique tastes and textures.

Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Ask them what memories they’ve made at your restaurant. Take what you’ve learned in this article and from your customer data to build a restaurant that makes for an unforgettable experience.