Tips and Tricks for Restaurant Owners
Running a restaurant is anything but simple. Nothing can guarantee your success, but you can definitely increase your chances with these very important pieces of advice. Tooliers has some tips and tricks for restaurant owners, in order to make your life easier.
1. With your menu as the focus of your restaurant, don’t list your prices in a column down the side of your menu. Also remove the currency sign ($, £, €). By leaving the price only in numbers, your guests will likely spend more. This allows your guests to focus on your food, rather than on price – leading them to choose what they really want to eat, instead of the cheaper option. Simply place the price after the description of the item.
2. Why aren’t your guests coming back? Perhaps you need to take better care of them. Train your staff so they are more attentive and courteous to your guests. By training your staff, you are empowering them to deliver a premier experience along providing them with a sense of purpose, which your guests will appreciate.
3. Do you play music in your restaurant? Well, depending on the type of restaurant you have, you need to choose the right music to create the right atmosphere. Remember not to play it too loudly, because you’ll end up disturbing your guest’s experience. Also, don’t use the radio! You can use radio only if you own a café, not a restaurant.
4. Want more traffic to your website? Adding a map to your site can boost local search results! Google and other services can help by making available embedded maps on your website. Allow those visiting your website to visually find your restaurant.
5. Did you know that 60% of restaurants fail within 3 years? In order to be a part of the other 40%, when opening a restaurant, you need to have enough capital to sustain your business for at least a year.
6. Do you need to provide your employees a reason to stay? Give them the opportunity to earn incentives or bonuses, because you don’t want them to leave you when you need them most. You can also use team building exercises to help and motivate them to work together.
7. Nowadays, social media creates the perfect environment for people to connect with each other, brands and restaurants. Make the most of your social media presence. You can start giving, for example, 10% discounts via Facebook, Twitter or Foursquare. Not only will you get more people as your audience, but your sales will also increase.
8. The menu is the center of your restaurant’s universe. Does your menu mention the preparation method (braised, seared, oven-roasted)? This keeps guests focused on quality and not on prices, which could lead to 27% sales increase. Use convincing, but realistic descriptions, for your customers to feel good about their choices.
9. Don’t forget about your menu’s design! It is proven that restaurants which list the most expensive items at the top of the menu have better revenues. If you use this tip, you will see your guests buying more. That is because compared to the first items, the others seem reasonable. This also works if you list the expensive dishes on the right side of the menu, since people have the tendency to look there first.
10. Transform your slowest night into cash generator. Determine your slowest night of the week and create a special offer to increase sales during that night. By having a special offer, you’ll attract guests that would have otherwise not come into your venue and you’ll generate more cash. You can offer a buy-one-get-one-free night, or bring a jazz singer, or organize a comedy night, or even some sort of bingo night. You know what your guests enjoy best.