Growing your restaurant can be pretty challenging because of increasing high-end competition in the market. You need to attract new customers while retaining the existing ones and to keep up with current market trends.
This sounds like a lot but don’t worry; All you need is some great strategies to grow your restaurant business. So in this post, I’ll tell you how you can ensure that your restaurant is on a path of success.
What's In The Post
How To Grow Your Restaurant Business – 12 Smart Strategies
Below, you can explore 8 smart strategies that can help you to grow your restaurant business:
1. Create An Online Presence
The moment the food is on the table, people tend to take pictures and post them online. Now, as a restaurant owner, you can use this opportunity to expanding restaurant businesses by grabbing some social media attention.
Level up things by creating social media pages and promoting your restaurant by posting tempting food pictures. But here’s a catch: don’t just post the pictures, make them drool and tag those who have dined in your restaurant.
You can use this attention to inform potential customers about your delectable range of menu items, offers and rewards. This will attract new customers upscaling your sales and growth.
Another thing I always recommend doing to improve the visibility of your restaurant is to set up a Google page. With this savory move, epicureans can easily find all the details about your restaurant.
Now imagine; food fanatics craving the best Mexican cuisine, turn to google for some guidance. That’s when having the google page helps the best Tex-Mex restaurants, ensuring the name pops up right at the top of the search results.
2. Beautify Your Restaurant
Imagine you are entering a restaurant with alluring lights, bright colors, and fancy table cloth placed on tables with cute chairs. I know it will be like a love-at-first-sight scene and you need to bring the same at your restaurant.
Design your restaurant so that people can’t resist visiting your place. You can captivate customers with beautiful themes and color palettes.
For designing impressive restaurants, you can go for some retro vintage vibes and let customers get a little nostalgic. The idea is to make your restaurant Instagram perfect and enjoy the increased foot counts.
If customers enjoy food in an aesthetic environment, it will add value to their dining experience eventually hitting profits.
3. Optimization Of Menu
You may not know this but you can actually persuade customers to order specific menu items as per your preference. To master this trick, optimize your menu to serve high-priced menu items and earn greater profits.
For this, you should curate your menu card which is simple yet attractive at the same time. You can use tempting food pictures or write appetizing descriptions of menu items.
Another secret that no one will tell you is to hand over the bar menu along with the food menu. This way customers tend to order drinks at the start and may ask for another round as well.
You can also experiment with QR menu cards to provide a seamless ordering process for your customers and they are also a trend now-a-days.
Also, try breaking the monotony of your menu items by introducing new and tempting cuisines. Let the customer savor different flavors and enjoy something new on their table.
4. Ask For Reviews
People often check the reviews to ensure they enjoy good food and ambience. Therefore, you should always encourage customers to drop reviews after their dining can help people to know more about your restaurant.
It will even help you get better insights and validate the information for the customers before visiting the place for real. So let’s say, if someone leaves a negative review, you can ensure that the problem area is fixed.
By addressing these concerns and making improvements will help you earn brownie points for diners. So, go ahead and request your customers to spare a minute and drop a review based on their experience.
5. Offer Loyalty Programs
Earning loyalty from customers may feel similar to convincing someone to be your lifetime partner. However, you can make this happen by simply introducing loyalty programs.
By rewarding your customers for their loyalty you are able to attract new customers and retain them as well, which eventually lays the foundation of your restaurant’s growth.
For this, you can offer loyalty points on every purchase that can be redeemed for other menu items. Or maybe give a free menu item after a certain number of purchases.
Customers are like a cat, reward them and they will always come back to you.
6. Organize Events and Promotions
Have you ever been to places where along with food, you get to enjoy good live music or a fun event? I am sure that you would spend some extra time and money to stay a little longer. That is what as a restaurant owner, you need to implement.
Organize events and host parties and give your customers another reason to visit your restaurant. Give them a little buzz and you will be amazed by the response.
For instance, you can set up a stage and organize live music or host events to create a buzz.
You can even introduce happy hours or collaborate with local artists or celebrities and let them showcase their talent. This way new customers are enticed to visit your restaurant and may stop by later in future as well.
7. Enhance Customer Service
To make your restaurant thrive, it’s just not the food you serve, but also about the entire dining experience. From the moment customers walk in and the time they leave, they should enjoy the food and have a good time.
I personally prefer a restaurant where the staff members are friendly and their service is top-notch. This is because good food with good service will always leave a remarkable memory. Nevertheless, for the restaurateur, it helps them to gain loyalty and increase revenue.
Also, satisfied customers always come back with their loved ones. That’s why it is important to train your staff properly so that even introverts like me are comfortable while placing orders. On top of that, happy customers become your personal promoters.
8. Provide Online Delivery System
Why not let your customers enjoy your savory menu even if they are sitting at their homes? Now you can cater to a whole new section of customers by providing an online delivery system.
Let customers order directly from your restaurant through your website or app. Provide the complete menu along with features to place orders and pay directly using common payment modes like debit cards, credit cards, Apple Pay and more.
To encourage them to place online orders, offer rewards and discounts. You can collaborate with leading delivery platforms like Grubhub, Ubereats, and DoorDash for seamless delivery.
With this service, you are not only serving food at your restaurant but also boosting online sales.
9. Offer Catering
The world of catering is huge and as a Restaurant owner, you need to try your hands in catering. Catering can help you to earn more revenue and also attract new customers.
It not only enhances the customer experience but also builds customer trust.
Just think, how many times have you attended a party and liked the food by the caterer? This may have happened too many times.
The next thing we are doing is asking about the caterer’s information, right? So this not only grows your catering business but people would also love to visit your restaurant on other days.
10. Private Dining
Hosting private dining is a great idea if you have a separate banquet space. Even if you have sufficient space in the corner for dining then you can consider private dining.
Private dining not only adds value to the customer experience but also shows the versatility of your restaurant. Through private dining, you can ensure that people can dine in your restaurant for different purposes.
There are times when I search for private dining options and am unable to find a perfect fit. So, make sure you reach out to the potential customers and provide important information like your services, prices and offers.
You can have special menus and themes for private dining. You can even announce different offers and deals that attract customers to choose private dining for their special occasions.
11. Collaborate With Influencers
We already know that social media is a great way to persuade people to visit your restaurant. Now, you can use the same and plan to collaborate with different influencers.
Your restaurant can also have better visibility and earn customer’s trust. For this, influencers can share aesthetic pictures of your restaurant along with tempting food images and post them online.
They can further share their personal experiences which helps in building credibility and authenticity. The views shared by influencers can help people to decide and eventually, they will visit your restaurant.
So, connect with the next influencer you encounter and let them help you drive sales and grow your business.
12. Upsell and Add Ons
What if you make some suggestions to the customer and increase your revenue? Sounds fascinating, right? This is what upselling means.
For this, you need to have trained staff members who can subtly make some suggestions according to the customer and make them spend more.
Another thing that you can try is providing food samples. After tasting different menu items, customers tend to order the items based on their liking.
Upselling and add-ons will help you to increase your revenue and foster your restaurant growth. So let your customer upgrade their purchase and boost your profits.
Conclusion
I am sure that by following these simple yet effective strategies you can successfully grow your restaurant business. Ensure that customers are having a good time and watch them come back to you. I will be back soon. Until, next time.
Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs]
Is Online Presence Necessary For Running A Restaurant Business?
Yes, having an online presence is necessary for running a restaurant business. You can easily reach out to a larger audience and improve your visibility.
Why is Designing Your Restaurant Important?
Designing your restaurant is important to give customers a pleasant and aesthetically pleasing experience. The design and style of your restaurant can directly attract customers before they even eat your food.
How Can You Retain Existing Customers Of Your Restaurant?
To retain existing customers, you can consider offering loyalty programs. Introduce discounts and rewards based on their purchases, and your customers will come back again to avail the offers.
Does Having a Delivery Option Increase Restaurant Revenue?
Yes, if you have the delivery option, you can easily tap into a new section of customers who prefer ordering online. You allow customers to enjoy food wherever they want at their convenience.
