6 Essential Tips for Restaurant Owners
Restaurant owners can have a busy time organising staff rosters, food orders, finances and having a rapport with their guests. In particular to starting a new restaurant, there are learning curves along the way, and you really want local residents to try out somewhere new. For your restaurant to become a popular hub, you need many options, a great atmosphere and a way to get people talking. Thus, here are our top six essential tips for restaurant owners to get you started.
1. Optimise Social Media
Food, glorious food. A restaurant is a perfect business for Instagram, as creating great dishes that look aesthetically pleasing is already a must, and they can also be shared for all to see. Consumers, especially locals who want to try out somewhere new, often search on Instagram to get an idea of what the food looks like, how large the portion sizes are, and what dishes look good to order before they even get through the door. We cannot forget the technological advancements of our society, where posting meals before they are eaten is essential. Instagram is an easy way to get locals involved, as they can follow the business and easily find out about the specials. Why not have your Instagram written on your cards or at your checkout machine to get more people involved? You can also create competitions on Instagram and repost the photos your customers share for engagement.
2. Know Your Target Market
Who is your restaurant for? Local families, a couple on a fancy date night, or young teens? This is determined by your restaurant atmosphere, and also by the neighbourhood your restaurant is located in. For example, a newer residential area near a primary school is bound to be filled with many young families, thus, having many children’s food options will be essential for bringing in a consumer base. If the restaurant feels more formal with dim lights and jazz music, there is definitely more of a couples atmosphere about it, so you may want to expand your liquor and wine menu.
3. Organise Your Menu
Have a well thought out menu concept. Everywhere has an avo on toast, and every Italian restaurant has a Spaghetti Bolognese. How are you going to stand out? Firstly, invest in a great head chef to coordinate a well-designed menu that is different from local competitors. Ensure your produce is of high quality and be smart about not having too many ingredients. Try to organise many different dishes with a combination of the same few ingredients for a more cost-effective, manageable kitchen. Whilst people do want choice, too many options can become overwhelming for consumers and lead to cognitive dissonance when they order. Moreover, ensure if your menu has cultural food names, there is a description of its contents underneath to avoid your staff spending precious time explaining the same things over and over again. Check there are foods for dietary requirements always, and you will want to refresh your menu items at least yearly. Have seasonal additions and remove less popular dishes to be dynamic.
4. Have Payment Options
Consumers can feel really restricted in places that are cash only or do not offer bill splitting. If you want to get big groups into your place, know that having a EFPTOS machine from companies like Westpac or Square Up handles split payments and multiple types of cards like American Express is essential. You want to make the experience as seamless as possible for your consumer to encourage them to return. And do not forget to have a tip jar on the side, those small notes and coins do add up!
5. Make it Personal
The key for a restaurant owner is to personally know their major customers by name, and even have a chat to them for feedback when possible. Customers like to feel valued, so if your wait staff have their favourite wine waiting for them upon arrival or remember their coffee order at the end of the night, it can make a huge difference to your success. That customer is more likely to rave about the quality of your restaurant service and perhaps bring more friends. Not only that, a tight-knit staffing group is of high importance so organise occasional team-building events, and have regular meetings so everyone knows what to do and how their team can work most effectively. You do not want to end up with three people at the door and only one person rushing around taking orders at every table, thus talking about key roles and strengths is essential.
6. Embrace Criticism
Knowing how to handle an unhappy customer well can set an example for your wait staff, and maintain a positive reputation online. If you do receive a negative review, try to encourage the person to come back and retry the meal free of cost. Ensure this time everything goes perfectly, and then ask them to write a follow up to their review. This way, the customer is incentivised to come back and try again, and anyone who views the negative review can see that it is rectified. Free coffee or small dessert will not set you back much, but it can keep a relationship with the customer if something does not go to plan.
Overall, having a dynamic restaurant with an atmosphere that suits the target market is essential for a good restaurant. However, it is the personal relationships with staff and customers that really make a restaurant successful. By following these few steps, you as an owner can make sure your restaurant is running as smoothly as possible, and that the most positive experiences are enjoyed.