5 Strategies to Help Grow Your Restaurant Business

Over the past few years, we’ve seen rapid growth and operational shifts in the restaurant industry. Fueled by strategic growth investments, many smaller organizations are beginning to grow into multi-unit operations.

These areas of strategic growth include a focus on:

• Customer experience
• Digital marketing
• Technology
• Food traceability
• Culinary innovation

We’ll expand on each of these topics and provide guidance on how to manage the process and costs associated with implementing any of these strategies.

Customer Experience

Optimizing the customer experience has evolved into a significant factor in consumer marketing.

A dedicated customer experience department will define and enhance the customer journey. Adopting this customer-centric function is an important step in evolving your brand’s approach to marketing and operations improvements. Through analysis of customer feedback from reviews and surveys, a customer experience department can identify:

• Deviations from brand standards
• The need for additional training and support
• Opportunities for innovation and improvement

The overall purpose of the function is to understand and exceed customer expectations, deliver extraordinary service, and foster loyalty and satisfaction, which directly impacts revenue growth.

Focus on Omni-Channel Experiences

Omni-channel is a strategy of providing seamless integration between the diverse ways customers interact with a brand and make purchasing decision. Understanding and optimizing each of the customer touchpoints is essential to influencing the customer’s decision-making and fostering brand loyalty. For example, on the way to work, a customer may listen to a podcast ad, which may pique their interest and entice them to visit a restaurant’s website and investigate their menu offerings.

Digital Marketing

Offline marketing is expensive, not easily customizable, and its impact is challenging to measure. While some cost-conscious consumers still enjoy receiving a coupon or physical advertisements, most consumers are now more attuned to receiving their information from online sources. It’s no surprise that these changes have resulted in most brands, especially restaurant brands, to expand their digital marketing teams.

E-Commerce and Social Media’s Impact on Restaurants

While an organization’s specific approach to digital marketing may vary, there are some areas in your marketing department to consider expanding to remain competitive. E-Commerce tops this list. Now more than ever, customers are researching and purchasing food products through the means of online technology. This trend benefits smaller restaurants, which can more easily compete with larger brands for customers, since they can reach more broad audiences.

Another important trend to consider is social media and influencer marketing. With a social media marketer, you can create more genuine connections with the community and foster brand connections. As more consumers identify with the brands they purchase from, embracing community and online presence is more important than ever.

Technology

Investing in technology remains fundamental in the modern restaurant industry and creating the best experience for customers. Customers are highly motivated to make purchases when it is convenient; top restaurants are investing in making the purchasing process fast and easy.

From digital menu boards to delivery driver management systems, advancements in technology are occurring rapidly. An in-house software engineer can help your organization tap into new trends, such as self-service kiosks. This technology allows for reduced wait times, improved order accuracy, and increased sales.

We’ve also seen a rise in the use of cloud-based POS systems, which allow servers to input orders at the diner’s table. This ensures customer orders are entered and billed correctly.

How Artificial Intelligence is Supporting Restaurants

A third area to consider investing is in leveraging AI for data analytics. Whether your AI model is interpreting complex data inputs from sensors, or formulating improvements to menu items, the technology can uncover valuable insights to provide timely information on ever changing consumer trends. Investing in these technologies are paramount to improving efficiency, innovating, and keeping customers happy.

Food Traceability

Customers are demanding more information about the origins and quality of the food they consume, and government regulations have provided even more focus on the matter. Restaurant companies are investing in food traceability technologies, which allow professionals to track a menu item’s ingredients through the supply chain to identify their origin.

Blockchain and DNA sequencing of a food product helps verify the authenticity of the product and trace it to its origin. In the event of outbreaks or food recalls, affected foods can be timely and accurately identified with this information. This information can also help assess the sustainability and ethics of the supply chain, allowing customers to be aware of an organization’s environmental and social impacts.

Culinary Innovation

Another continual evolution is by enhancing your Menu Development strategies, which is referred to as Culinary Innovation by many of the top brands. This function of the restaurant business utilizes a variety of source information to produce profitable and popular menu items, while also considering the health impact and sustainability of the product offering.

An effective Culinary Innovation team will consider trends and competitor’s menus to stay ahead of the demand for new flavors. Test kitchens are a popular means to experiment with recipes from your restaurant’s existing ingredient pool.

Managing the Process

Managing costs is a top concern for restaurants, especially when deciding to invest in new programs and tools. Having a comprehensive operational and financial function can help make sure your financial management strategies can manage the ebbs and flows of the industry. This can look like:

• Operational efficiency to streamline your processes and minimize waste, reduce overheads, and enhance productivity.
• Implementing robust financial tracking systems that provide accurate and timely data that allows decision-makers to respond quickly to and challenges.
• Assembling a team of skilled professionals who understand both the culinary and financial aspects of your business.

Seek guidance from advisors that can help you navigate complex financial decisions, tax planning, and compliance.

If you’re ready to get started, our team can help you evaluate, implement, and optimize any of these strategies. Contact us below to start a conversation.