Restaurants today face a steep uphill battle: it’s always been a tough industry, but it’s only getting harder. Foodies have never had more choices of where to eat between the explosion of new restaurants and food trucks, so there’s a crowded field competing for their attention and food dollar.
Here are three things you can do which will help drive profit for your restaurant today.
1. Employee Scheduling Software
New employee scheduling software creates schedules all staff will love, and in up to 80% less time than it would otherwise take. This makes a frustrating task easier to perform, but also keeps your employees focused on the tasks that are most useful to the restaurant. It also helps with labor compliance, and saves your restaurant between 1-3% in labor costs, often one of the biggest financial drains restaurants face.
Employee scheduling software lets managers receive feedback from employees after every shift, so they might suggest menu pricing tips to increase your profits or other ideas that you can incorporate right away.
It’s important to let your frontline workers tell you about their perspective; they have unique and invaluable insights nobody else in your business is positioned to see. Employee scheduling software lets your staff submit their feedback anonymously if they chose, so they feel more comfortable speaking candidly.
2. Smart Promotion
Social media has given restaurants a free and powerful tool they can use to let the neighborhood and beyond know what’s going on inside their kitchen. Every restaurant is different, and how you choose to present yourself online needs to be based on your own identity and other circumstances unique to your restaurant.
But once you have your voice, it’s an invaluable tool for gaining public exposure for your restaurant. Be sure to depict your restaurant and food accurately — you don’t want people to leave your restaurant disappointed at the mismatch between your promotion and reality. On the other hand, you want to attract the people who really will love the restaurant once they’re inside it. Give them an accurate preview, so they’re motivated to try your restaurant.
3. Create a Fitting Digital Presence
The trend now for restaurants is undeniable: people are most likely to order food if they can do so through their phone or their computer. Maybe people are just used to doing everything through their phone, but whether it’s to consult a review before dining, calling or booking a reservation through a website or app, or actually ordering the food itself to your door, any restaurant is sinfully negligent if they don’t have a strong online presence.
Be sure you have a website or app that matches the needs and wants of your clientele. If you give them a means of interacting with your restaurant in the way that suits them best, you’ll love the financial return that inevitably follows.
If your restaurant can use modern technology like the latest employee scheduling software, social media, and website or an app, you’ll get the important boost your restaurant needs to stay competitive in this notoriously difficult industry.