How Your Restaurant Can Stay Ahead of the Game
The restaurant industry is a very competitive one. There are franchises and take away restaurants everywhere, and around every corner. If you have a restaurant that is not part of a chain it can be quite challenging to stay ahead. One way to stay ahead is to have a niche, something that is different from the others and that will draw customers in.
This is how your restaurant can stay ahead of the game.
Have a unique set of dishes on your menu. Make dishes that no one else makes. There is a particular restaurant in my area that offers Mediterranean dishes with a high flavour twist and in large portions. The meals are delicious and people return to try all the other dishes.
Add a value service. This could be anything that you offer for free. This could be a free cup of coffee with a breakfast meal or unlimited refills of cool drink when the customer orders a particular lunch meal. You could run a buy one get one free promotion that encourages people to come in groups. By enticing them with an offer you will notice that they will also order other items from your menu, thus increasing your sales.
Be child-friendly with a playground. Most people have families, mostly with small children. Add a safe playground area with a supervised nanny who can watch the children while mommy and daddy enjoy their meal. A playground could make the difference between a family choosing your restaurant or another one nearby.
Offer a reward scheme. Encourage customers to sign up to a loyalty scheme with your restaurant where they receive a free meal on their birthday or a discount on their tenth meal.
Update your restaurant. Decide on an interesting theme for your restaurant that people will enjoy escaping to. There’s a restaurant that has a 70’s diner crossed with modern decor theme. It creates a comfortable setting that is fun and light hearted. Customers return to enjoy the ambience.
Invest in quality commercial catering equipment. If you have the best catering equipment to slice, dice and prepare your food, customers will notice. The right catering equipment will ensure that you have consistency with every meal because you will be able to control the timing and portion size for each prepared meal.
In such a competitive industry it is essential that you stay ahead by taking a long hard look at your restaurant and making the necessary changes to attract more customers and ultimately stay in business.