5 Questions To Determine If Your Restaurant Needs To Evolve
Is it time to Evolve your restaurant?
In order to stay relevant with the times, companies including restaurants must evolve and do what works best for their customers. Remember, your business needs to make them happy as they are the ones that make your company successful. New generations come with new requirements. If you feel like you are losing clientele or have reached a plateau in your restaurant business you may want to consider a linen and or marketing “face lift”. There are many ways to tell if your business needs a little tweaking to keep up with the times, but here are our top 5 questions business owner’s should answer:
Does your restaurant’s decor match the type of customers you receive?
Do you have a mature audience or a laid back crowd? Image is everything. If your clients are all in their 20’s & 30’s and your decor is from the 1800’s, you may want to consider updating to a more modern look (unless your theme is Kings and Queens, then keep it!
Does your business offer excellent food delivered fresh and hot, friendly service and clean facilities or is it just average, or even awful?
Customers are way more likely to revisit a restaurant where they had an awesome experience as opposed to just OK. And if it’s just plain awful… they are not coming back.
Do you know what your customers want? Are they on their phones constantly while at your restaurant?
The more you know about your customers, the better service you will be able to provide for them. For example if you notice that most of your customers are on their phones while visiting your location, offering a free WiFi service maybe a great option. Now they can enjoy your special dishes and check in from your location. Guess what? That is free advertising for your business! They just let all their friends, family, co-workers and pets (I’ve seen people make Facebook and Twitter pages for their pets, I am guilty of that as well) know they are at your restaurant.
Is your business still running print ads in local papers and yellow pages?
Stop that! When was the last time you picked up a phone book? With so many new technological advances there is no reason to sift through the pages of a printed directory. You can Google anything from your phone, laptop, IPad, Blackberry, Android, the list goes on and on. Is your company coming up in a Google search? Actually are you coming up at all online? If not, you should definitely consider getting a company to manage your online presence.
Are your servers on the same level as your clients?
If you have upscale clientele it is important that your wait staff be poised and polished to serve them. They should have the verbal skills to charm and up-sell your specials. These are skills that cannot be skimped on. Remember your staff are a huge part of the dining experience. You could have the best ambiance and decor, your food could be spectacular, but if you get a rude waiter that is all your customer will remember, and that is what they will share with others when asked about your restaurant.