So your restaurant is doing negative each month. What do you do now?
Don’t start panicking just yet. While it may be scary to know that your restaurant isn’t doing as well as you expected monthly, a few simple fixes in some key areas are likely all you need to turn those negatives into positives.
#1: Revamp your menu
Take a look at your menu. Are there dozens and dozens of items for customers to choose from? That may be what’s bringing your restaurant down. Contrary to what most of us would think, having too many options to choose from is more likely to put customers off than bring them in. Consider reducing the size of your menu. To do this, carefully analyse your sales to figure out which dishes are your bestsellers. Once these signature dishes have been shortlisted, get rid of the rest and focus on promoting those select dishes. What this does ultimately is give you a menu that performs well and makes your signature dishes the stars of your restaurant. Not only does this reduce operating costs, but it also lets your staff focus on making those selected dishes stand out and be the best they can be.
#2: Consider going digital
Let’s be real, almost everyone and their moms are going digital and utilising the online world these days. And with this new wave of online life comes new ways of bringing your business traction. Take Instagram for example. These days a simple Instagram story or reel can hold more weight than your typical review or write-ups that most restaurants strive for. Furthermore you can also consider offering takeaway and delivery services through third-parties to further encourage customers to consider your restaurant the next time they’re looking for something to eat.
#3: Spruce up your scenery
While you don’t necessarily have to remodel your entire restaurant, a few small changes here and there can really make a big difference in improving your restaurant’s ambience and making it more welcoming and friendly for customers. You might want to consider changing up the lighting within your restaurant or adding a nice mural to one of your interior walls. This will encourage people to want to stop by and take a few pictures, and with some smart social media advertising can bring in new customers too.
#4: Entice your existing customers to keep coming back for more
One way you can convince your existing customers to keep on coming back to your restaurant is by rewarding them for their loyalty. And what better way to do this than with a loyalty program. Adopt a POS system that helps you collect customer data and turn that data into a stellar loyalty program. The more attractive the rewards are for your customers, the more likely they are to keep coming back and even bringing their friends with them to experience the benefits for themselves.
While it may feel like it, doing negative is not the end of the world for your restaurant. As you can see, with a few small changes here and there to your restaurant and the operations surrounding it you can turn the whole situation around in your benefit. Ultimately it’s important to sit down and analyse which methods would help your restaurant the most and stick to them.
Keen on taking the first step towards digitization for your restaurant? EasyEat is here to help! Get in touch with us by clicking here to book your FREE demo! We look forward to hearing from you!
