As a restaurant owner, achieving success should be one of your main goals, but as we all know that’s easier said than done. However, there are little things we can strive for that will help bring us and our business one step closer to success; one of which being driving repeat sales to our establishment.
While it’s easy to assume that a restaurant’s main income stream comes from new customers, the truth is repeat customers are what brings in sales for most restaurants. In fact, it will actually cost you more to bring in a new customer than to simply keep an existing one. And yes, while attracting new customers is important, what should also be considered is how to turn those customers into a loyal army of followers for your restaurant. And doing so doesn’t require a complete upheaval of what your restaurant is currently doing. All it needs is a few tweaks here and there and you’re good to go.
For starters, let’s have a look at your menu. Every restaurant has one. But if you want to make your restaurant stand out just a little bit more than your competitors, it’s wise to opt for a digital menu especially if you want to drive repeat sales. Having an interactive digital menu makes it easy for customers to see all their options upfront as they won’t have to go back and forth with a server on what is and isn’t available in your restaurant. Having a digital menu also makes it easier for your customers to place their orders and reduces the risk of human error messing up said order. All this can be seen as attractive to customers and makes them feel more inclined to come back to your restaurant, which in turn boosts your sales immensely.
Now let’s look at your tables. The table your customers are going to eat at says way more about what dining at your restaurant is going to be like regardless of any other factors. Just think, would you like to eat at a messy or unclean table? Ensure all your tables are kept clean and it’ll encourage more people to dine in with you. You can also consider adding technology to your tables. Something as simple as QR ordering so customers don’t have to wait for a waiter during peak hours is enough to convince customers to keep coming back knowing their needs will be met promptly.
At the same time, it’s important to build your online presence if you want to keep bringing customers back to your restaurant. Consider adopting a loyalty program or offering special discounts in exchange for user generated content from your customers. With the loyalty program it encourages customers to keep coming back to accumulate points and redeem rewards, whereas the user generated can be used as free advertising to spread word about your restaurant to more circles than you can imagine! Furthermore, user generated content helps foster trust for your restaurant by providing tried and tested proof of its selling points which can further encourage customers to stop by and grab a bite. In fact, a 2020 report by Mention Me found that 51% of consumers trust brand recommendations from friends and partners more than anyone else.
By revamping certain key areas of your restaurant and convincing both new and existing customers to stay, ultimately what you’ll see is restaurant sales going up in line with your profits.
For best results, use a combination of the ideas we shared, and leverage off EasyEat’s one-stop cloud based POS system to help streamline your efforts so they are not in vain. Book a demo today by clicking the link below! We look forward to hearing from you! https://bit.ly/3NDmti5
