By Jacob Wilson, Contributor
For some, the restaurant industry can be a lucrative one, especially in emerging markets and appealing tourist destinations that attract foodie travelers from across the globe. For most, however, the restaurant industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world and profit margins can be tight.
This is an industry where new businesses are popping up at every corner, but where restaurants are also going under due to the sheer pressure of their competitors. It’s tough to be competitive with your menu prices while offering stellar service and world-class dining experiences. This is also why growing a small restaurant business can be a daunting, cumbersome, and oftentimes an unrealistic task.
The main issue restaurant owners face is the lack of available funds to expand safely. Running a restaurant requires constant financial investments, which is why today we will be going over some smart and affordable tips that will allow you to grow your restaurant business with limited resources.
Create an Appealing & Influential Brand
When an industry is this competitive, and when the customers have such a wide variety of establishments to choose from all of the city, it pays to have a recognizable brand. Now, building a unique brand identity is not just about getting a graphic designer to create a recognizable logo, because the modern diner doesn’t just care about the visuals. They also put great emphasis on the entire brand experience. The brand is what sets you apart from your competitors, even though your chefs might have superior cooking skills and your waiters are the embodiment of professional yet friendly demeanor.
Creating a compelling brand experience means that you have to create a set of unique values that directly resonate with the hearts and minds of your target demographic. After all, customers love the brands that stand up for their own causes.
Next, you will need to create your brand’s personality and its unique tone of voice that you will use in all of your offline and online marketing materials, as well as in the establishment itself. Along with your unique visual identity, these factors will allow you to attract the attention of customers as well as the media.
Solidify Your Restaurant’s Culture & Invest in Talented Employees
Every business regardless of its industry or niche needs to have a positive company culture. This culture should permeate the workplace, and make it known to the employees as well as your guests that this is a place where comfort, safety, quality, and trust reign.
It all starts with the way you treat your employees. Your customers can sense the “vibe” of the room as soon as they sit down, and while it will be the dish itself that will ultimately decide whether they’ll come back, their decision will start to form as soon as they enter your restaurant.
This is why you should invest in your employees. You not only need to employ quality chefs from the start, but you also need to create a thriving work environment for your entire staff, to ensure that their satisfaction and positivity will carry over to your customers and your brand. Equality, fair wage, honesty in communication, and positive leadership should be the pillars of your restaurant’s culture.
Don’t Invest Your Own Money
When it comes to growing your business, we can’t skip the topic of money. You need to invest financial resources in the expansion of your restaurant, whether that means to expand the physical space, opening a new location, or enriching your menu and service with new dishes, drink options, and features. That said, common mistake business owners make is investing their own money and livelihood in this venture.
Yes, you should make some sacrifices, but you need to keep your personal and business finances separate. You can reinvest your salary back into your restaurant, but you have to find ways to improve your personal financial stability until this process is complete and your investment has paid off. Obtaining a favorable personal loan with a small interest rate is a great way to do this if you’re already paying off a business loan for your restaurant, for example.
Inspire Guests to Leave Positive Reviews
Success in the restaurant biz is heavily dependent on the opinions of your customers. But it’s not just about the word of mouth aspect of it, it’s also about making sure that these positive opinions and experiences reach a wide online and offline audience. This is why you need to inspire your customers to leave positive reviews on your website, and other relevant sites around the web.
This is called user-generated content, and you need to engage with your customers online and offline to get them to create this content for you. You also need to develop a reward program as an incentive to those who actually go the extra mile to write their reviews and tap on those five stars.
Focus on Effective Marketing Tactics
Last but not least, there is no denying that marketing can be quite expensive, so if you’re trying to grow your business on a limited budget, it’s important that you invest only in those effective marketing tactics that are guaranteed to get you results. So, get a prominent figure in your community to dine at your restaurant, host relevant local events, write interesting stories on your blog, talk to your social media following, and implement SEO into your site to rank higher in all relevant search engines.
Wrapping Up
Growing a restaurant in this competitive market takes money, yes, but there are also some smart ways you can achieve your goals without breaking the bank. With these tips in mind, you can allocate your financial resources towards the most effective growth tactics, and expand your business safely and efficiently.
About the Author
Jacob Wilson is a business consultant, and an organizational psychologist, based in Brisbane. Passionate about marketing, social networks, and business in general. In his spare time, he writes a lot about new business strategies and digital marketing for Bizzmark blog.
