Jared Dev
Eating out is more popular than ever, in the US alone $1.8 billion is spent daily in restaurants across the country. However, despite that, restauranteurs have faced challenging times, with the pandemic impact still being felt. With close to 60% of new restaurants failing in their first three years, having effective strategies for increasing profitability are always an essential part of business planning.
As a new year starts, it is time to look at ways any restaurant can find new strategies to increase custom, save costs and operate more efficiently, so that they can see improved profits at the end of 2022. Here are 10 things any restaurant can do to make more money in the coming year.
1. Use Social Media
Getting your brand in front of potential customers has the biggest impact on increasing traffic for your restaurant. One the easiest and most effective ways of doing this is through social media. Why? Because that is where your customers are.
The average person spends a little over 2 hours using social media every day. They plan work, entertainment and yes, eating, on these platforms, and by being part of that conversation, your restaurant will see an uptick in attendance.
2. Let Professionals Handle Your Marketing
If you don’t think you have the skills or are unsure of the best approach for your marketing, whether that is on social media or through any other medium, seek help from experienced professionals. While often seen as an afterthought, in reality, marketing is at the heart of your business success.
In the same way you need the best chef possible, you need the best marketing too. Hire professionals, preferably a team that have experience in the hospitality industry or with restaurants specifically. They will know how to present your business in the most effective way possible, to the people most likely to visit your restaurant.
3. Implement Effective Inventory Control
One of the best ways of reducing costs, and as a result improving profitability, is to minimize food wastage throughout the business. Inventory control is an essential aspect of waste reduction, and today there are a number of options to help you with that.
Whether an all-inclusive purchasing and inventory platform like BlueCart, complex restaurant management solutions such as Craftable or Eagleowl, or a more focused inventory control solution such as COGS-Well, you can increase profits through enhanced efficiency and reduced wastage.
4. Embrace Home Delivery
Yes, you’ve spent not just money, but time and energy creating the perfect dining environment, but you shouldn’t ignore home delivery as well. Often, it’s not a case of people eating in instead of eating out, but additional custom.
By partnering with delivery services like Deliveroo, DoorDash, GrubHub and other alternatives so on, you increase sales, while also streamline your online ordering process and reaching new customers, as well as offering more convenience for your existing customer base.
5. Get involved with your Community
If the pandemic achieved one thing, it was to make people realize just how important the community they are a part of can be. By reaching out to the community, whether providing cash support to local initiatives, donating time in the form of cooking classes or other support, you will find that local custom will naturally increase.
6. Try a Themed Event
Attracting new customers is key to long-term sustainability for any restaurant, and one way of attracting new clientele is through themed events. Whether that is through an event focused on a specific demographic, such as a father-daughter evening, or something that plays to popular interests, a superhero or Harry Potter event for instance, you will be attracting new people to your business.
7. Diversify Through Branded Products
If you roast your own coffee beans, have a microbrewery to provide drinks for guests, even your own sauce recipe, you can turn that into additional income. Sell those products over the counter as well as part of the dining experience.
If you have built a very recognizable brand, you could create branded clothing, that has the added benefit of being free advertising whenever someone wears it.
8. Introduce a Loyalty or Reward Scheme
Competition is always increasing. As a restaurant owner, you must always give customers the very best experience possible to ensure they come back again, but by offering a loyalty or reward scheme, you can offer that extra incentive that can make all the difference.
They don’t have to be complicated, buy X number of meals and enjoy a free side or dessert, but you can make it more complex with one of the many software options available if you wish. However you organize it though, what a loyalty scheme does is encourage repeat business, and that means more profits for your business.
9. Optimize your Website
A website is an essential part of your business brand today. Statistics show that many consumers will check out a website before contacting a business, so it is crucial that they have a good experience when they do. Make sure the site is optimized, and don’t forget to include a call to action to encourage visitors to make a booking, provide their email (offer a small discount voucher for those that do), or other useful action.
10. Embrace Market Trends
Everything evolves, and diner’s tastes are no different. For instance, many customers are showing a preference for smaller dishes, preferring several mini meals rather than a single larger serving. Having these options on the menu caters to this trend without impacting current offerings and allows the business to deliver quality service to a wider audience.
Any of these ideas will help you increase profits in 2022, apply several together and you can transform your business. Remember, profitability is not just a short-term effect, by increasing revenues you can grow your business, helping you achieve business goals and secure your long-term future. As we have seen, this doesn’t necessarily need a large investment of time or funds, with even smaller changes having a significant impact on your business and paving the way to a prosperous future.