There's a lot involved in running a successful restaurant business . There's also a lot of competition. Wonderful food and an appea...
There's a lot involved in running a successful restaurant business. There's also a lot of competition. Wonderful food and an appealing location are obviously very important. But for your restaurant to stand out amongst the competition and to be the popular dining experience everyone is talking about; you have to know which aspects of operation or marketing to focus on and what to do with them.
Which operation or marketing aspects should you be focusing on then? Here are five tips you can use to take your restaurant to the next level.
1. Modernized Point of Sale System
If you have a legacy point of sale system (POS) updating to a more modern system can translate to new business, increased efficiency, and a lot less hassle for you and your staff. While the transition may seem intimidating at first, you'll make everything seem much simpler by following a few easy steps.
2. Responsive Websites
With approximately 4.39 billion internet users and just over half of those accessing the internet on mobile devices, not having a responsive website is leaving money on the table.
Responsive websites look great and function efficiently regardless of what device they are displayed on. Content on the website moves and changes sizes to accommodate the screen size. Responsive websites are easier to update and manage and are built for increased loading speeds by default. Investing in responsive website design is both a good short-term and long-term solution. In the short-term, an improved website that can be viewed on any device will bring in new business. The increased speed and SEO boost a responsive design gives you is a valuable long-term benefit.
3. Local SEO Ranking
Local customers search online every day for restaurants because who doesn't love good food? Will they find your website easily? Doing a quick Google search for your type of restaurant in your local area will show you where you stand with the search engine. Is your restaurant one of the top listings? Is it even on the first page of results?
If you're not satisfied with where you're listed, local SEO strategies are easy to implement. Google My Business is the best place to begin.
4. Build Online Reviews
Online reviews are important to most consumers today. For restaurants, online reviews can be incredibly valuable in building your reputation. Encouraging patrons to leave reviews and responding appropriately to those given can be a powerful form of marketing. Patrons can be encouraged to leave reviews while enjoying a meal or through creative incentive offerings.
Creating profiles online not only allows you to provide a wealth of information on your restaurant but it also lets you respond to reviews.
5. Social Media Sharing
Social media is a powerful marketing tool that allows businesses to connect with millions of customers online. Visual content, especially gorgeous, high-quality photos of the delicious eats at your restaurant, receive the most engagement from users on social media making it a highly effective way to promote your business. Good photos get stomachs rumbling and send curious patrons to look for your menu. Remember to use popular food hashtags on social media posts like #FoodPhotography, #FoodPorn, #Foodgasm, and #Foodie.
With fierce competition today, you're not limited to traditional advertising and word-of-mouth. You have so many other marketing strategies available to you and you should take advantage of these. Measure your results with tools like Google Analytics and you'll be able to discern which strategies work for you and which don't. With the ability to tailor your efforts, you'll eventually arrive at a marketing plan that makes your restaurant the dining experience everyone will want to have.
Which operation or marketing aspects should you be focusing on then? Here are five tips you can use to take your restaurant to the next level.
1. Modernized Point of Sale System
If you have a legacy point of sale system (POS) updating to a more modern system can translate to new business, increased efficiency, and a lot less hassle for you and your staff. While the transition may seem intimidating at first, you'll make everything seem much simpler by following a few easy steps.
- Talk to your peers about the systems they use, their pros and cons.
- Make your staff part of the process. Their insights could be invaluable.
- Decide what your priorities are for the new system and use those to help make your decision.
2. Responsive Websites
With approximately 4.39 billion internet users and just over half of those accessing the internet on mobile devices, not having a responsive website is leaving money on the table.
Responsive websites look great and function efficiently regardless of what device they are displayed on. Content on the website moves and changes sizes to accommodate the screen size. Responsive websites are easier to update and manage and are built for increased loading speeds by default. Investing in responsive website design is both a good short-term and long-term solution. In the short-term, an improved website that can be viewed on any device will bring in new business. The increased speed and SEO boost a responsive design gives you is a valuable long-term benefit.
3. Local SEO Ranking
Local customers search online every day for restaurants because who doesn't love good food? Will they find your website easily? Doing a quick Google search for your type of restaurant in your local area will show you where you stand with the search engine. Is your restaurant one of the top listings? Is it even on the first page of results?
If you're not satisfied with where you're listed, local SEO strategies are easy to implement. Google My Business is the best place to begin.
4. Build Online Reviews
Online reviews are important to most consumers today. For restaurants, online reviews can be incredibly valuable in building your reputation. Encouraging patrons to leave reviews and responding appropriately to those given can be a powerful form of marketing. Patrons can be encouraged to leave reviews while enjoying a meal or through creative incentive offerings.
Creating profiles online not only allows you to provide a wealth of information on your restaurant but it also lets you respond to reviews.
5. Social Media Sharing
Social media is a powerful marketing tool that allows businesses to connect with millions of customers online. Visual content, especially gorgeous, high-quality photos of the delicious eats at your restaurant, receive the most engagement from users on social media making it a highly effective way to promote your business. Good photos get stomachs rumbling and send curious patrons to look for your menu. Remember to use popular food hashtags on social media posts like #FoodPhotography, #FoodPorn, #Foodgasm, and #Foodie.
With fierce competition today, you're not limited to traditional advertising and word-of-mouth. You have so many other marketing strategies available to you and you should take advantage of these. Measure your results with tools like Google Analytics and you'll be able to discern which strategies work for you and which don't. With the ability to tailor your efforts, you'll eventually arrive at a marketing plan that makes your restaurant the dining experience everyone will want to have.
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