Does your restaurant have the right soundtrack? You’ve carefully curated the wine, beer, and cocktail list to suit your menu, but did you give serious thought to the music? If you’re playing the wrong music or simply playing none at all, you’re definitely missing out on revenue.
1. At lunch, play fast music.
A study found that playing fast music increases table turnover. That means more guests per table at every lunch shift. Beware, this can backfire if you don’t have a busy spot. If your guests are few and far between, in and out means less money spent per guest.
Try a song radio based on OK Go's: Here It Goes Again
2. For dinner, slow it down and play classical.
This recommendation also comes backed by science. Classical music encourages diners to spend more than if they had heard pop music or no music at all. Typically, restaurants saw a bump in starters and coffee.
Try this awesome playlist from Spotify: Mellow Classical
3. Play soft music for better food and service reviews.
When you use soft lighting and soft music, diners have a better experience overall. Guests report higher levels of satisfaction with both service and food and drink. One caveat, diners eat slower and order less food. If you have high priced menu items, this can be an effective strategy to making sure your guests feel they’ve gotten their money’s worth.
For a change up from classical try: Stress Relief
4. Let the music fit the mood!
If you’re running a sports bar, or busy bar in general, your guests aren’t going to want to hear classical tunes. Instead, play drinking songs. Visitors tend to stay longer and spend more money.
Spotify has got you covered: Drinking Songs
5. If you’re running a bar, pay attention to volume.
A French study found that men drank more and faster when the sound volume was raised from 77 decibels to 88 decibels. So play it loud! Just make sure your bartenders are seeing to it that your guests aren't overdoing it.
There are other music distributors of course like Pandora, Google Play Music, Jango and plenty others. Though here at the Rail, we're crazy about Spotify.
Additional Resources:
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201407/the-psychology-restaurant-music
http://foodpsychology.cornell.edu/discoveries/music-and-light
http://www.le.ac.uk/press/ebulletin/news/havingtherighttaste.html
http://www.learningpsychology.net/(Unconscious)-Influence-via-Music-Good-Music-Good-Business.html