There is nothing worse than getting stuck in a rut. What may have worked when you first opened your restaurant just doesn’t seem to be cutting it anymore. A few signs that some changes may be needed are as follows:
- Have you noticed that your business is not what it used to be?
- The food doesn’t seem so special
- Your regulars seem to be visiting less and less
- Morale with the staff is low
- Staff turnover seems high
- You lack motivation
- You dread coming to work
Don’t worry, these things are normal but they are definite signs that you have got to get you and your restaurant out of the rut if you want to stay in business. You may have to dig deep to get yourself motivated, but you did it years ago when you opened your restaurant and you can do it again now! Here is how:
- Create a new tagline.
Begin with refreshing your brand image. Just like you did when you opened your restaurant, take some time to figure out what you want to deliver to your customers. In other words, when a customer hears your restaurants name, what do you want to immediately come to their mind? Form this idea into a new tagline attached to your restaurants name. An example of this would be, “The Wharfside, any closer to the ocean and you would be swimming.” Or “ Anthony’s Pizzeria, smile and say cheeeese.” For more information about branding click here.
- Find out how people see you now
The process of creating a new tagline has given you the opportunity to clearly see your vision of the new you. The next step is to accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative so you need to start asking questions. You must ask your employees, your customers, and even people you meet in the grocery store. Ask them what they know about your restaurant, what they think about your restaurant and things they may like to see added or changed. This is going to give you the opportunity to work on the perceptions that are currently out there that may not be what you want them to be. It will also give you the opportunity to connect with the community by giving them what they are looking for.
- Take a look at your competition
Go and visit your competitors. Take notes on the things they are doing right and the things they are not. Is there something that nobody else is doing that may be a unique selling opportunity for you? Explore different restaurant concepts to help you find new ideas. Check out different price points and what is being offered. Also go to review sites and see what customers are saying about you and your competition. This information can give you great insight on where you need to be focusing.
- Revamp your décor to fit your new brand
Don’t let this idea scare you. You do not have to spend a lot of money to revitalize your space but it is essential that your customers will notice a difference. New colors, textures, and lighting can make a tremendous difference. Research other restaurants with the similar themes and get ideas for new color combinations and decorating ideas. Think about how you may be able take your existing furniture and rearrange it to give the restaurant a new feel. This is a great time to think about the traffic flow of your restaurant and work on ways to make service more efficient. Places like Homegoods or even garage sales can have great inexpensive decorations to fill empty spaces and add a splash of interest.
- Redesign your menu
A menu redesign will fill three important purposes. The first is to promote your new brand and give your new image credibility. The second is to make the food special again by adding exciting new items or specials. The third and most important is to help bring in more money. It is a fact that customers look at menus in a certain way. Placement, highlighting, typeface, and descriptions all play a huge role in what your customers will buy. You need to design your menu so that your customers order what you want them to order (click here for detailed information regarding menu design). Don’t forget your drink menu. Be creative and come up with some great signature drink ideas that help enhance your brand.
- Get your staff to “buy in’
Your staff is your sales team. Makes sure they fully understand what you are trying to accomplish with the rebranding and make sure you let them know how it will positively affect the money they make too. Train your staff to encourage feedback from customers and encourage them to ask the customers to come back. You cannot rebrand your restaurant without the support of your employees. If they are unwilling or not excited about what is happening it might be time to let them go.
- Get the word out.
Just because you work so hard to rebrand, don’t assume people know or care about what you are doing. You need to build excitement and let everyone know what going on. Since your staff is your sales team, encourage them to tell everyone what’s going on. Try giving your staff $10 Gift Certificates to hand out to everyone they know or use social media channels to get the word out. Post pictures of the changes and talk about the new menu; build excitement by having a ‘Look What We Have Done” party.
- Monitor reactions and financial results
It is important to know reactions to your changes. Hopefully by the increase of revenue you will know that you have made a huge difference. However, don’t take anything for granted. Once again consult your staff for any feedback, listen to them and ask questions, and use comment cards in the check holders to get feedback from your customers.
Now that your rebranding has brought new life to your business keep the momentum going and set one day every month to brainstorm new ideas to keep your restaurant from getting old. Little tweaks make a big difference and keep you relevant to your customers.
If you need help finding motivation or figuring out where to begin, we can help. Call us at 845-598-4760 or email us at info@TheRestaurantPlaybook.com and we’ll get you started.
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