4 Things to Ask Yourself as a Restaurant Owner | The culinary arts are beautiful, but the business side is tough. Restaurant owners have to fight tooth and nail to build successful and lasting businesses. Indeed, around half of all new restaurants close permanently within their first two years. Only the best restaurants survive, and only the truly exceptional thrive.
There’s no single reason for the high rate of failure in the restaurant industry, but there are things you can do to prevent your business from suffering that fate. Success is a matter of asking the right questions and finding solutions. We took the liberty of asking and answering four of the most important questions for you in this short article.
- How can I reach more customers?
One question that keeps business owners up at night is, “How can I reach more customers?” If that’s not a constant question in your mind, it should be. The key to longevity in the restaurant business is constantly growing your customer base.
Social media is one of the best ways to reach your target audience and increase brand awareness these days. It’s a good idea to create a Facebook page or Instagram profile for your restaurant. Engaging with customers on social media is a great way to build personal connections and build a following. You could even become an industry influencer if your social media savvy enough. Moreover, influencer marketing is one of the best ways to introduce your brand to a wider audience. Effective Restaurant Social Media Marketing can help you to build a community around your business, strengthen ties with existing customers and advertise to potential customers too.
- What ways can I encourage customer loyalty?
Customer loyalty is golden in the restaurant industry. There’s nothing like having several regulars at your diner who you know by name and dish. Furthermore, the more personal your bonds with customers are, the better it is for business.
One of the best ways to facilitate customer loyalty is to offer an online or mobile app rewards program. The program could serve two purposes—encouraging repeat customers and increasing online orders. The key to creating a lasting and loyal bond with customers is to give them something extra for their business.
- How can I improve my menu?
The best part of being a cook is getting to experiment with new dishes and different ingredients. Indeed, one of the best ways to keep patrons returning is to change the menu a little bit now and then.
People like to be surprised. You could add seasonal items and make them part of promotions to create more interest in them. You could also introduce new items for taste tests to refine your menu and choose your stable items. Your restaurant is a business, but cooking is an art. Don’t be afraid to indulge your inner artist.
- How can I reduce waste?
Waste is one of the main concerns in the restaurant business. First of all, no one likes wasting good food. Second of all, restaurant waste can attract pests and even be bad for the environment.
A great way to reduce waste and your restaurant’s carbon footprint is with cooking oil recycling. Your old cooking oil can become biodiesel fuel and other valuable products. As the saying goes, “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”
Making your restaurant as good as it can be will be an ongoing process. It’s critical to continually work to improve your menu, customer service, and marketing efforts. You may never achieve perfection, but don’t let that stop you from working as hard as possible to achieve it.
