How to increase restaurant sales: Best ways to grow your business

Learning how to increase restaurant sales is crucial to success. If you looking for ways to do it, you're in luck. In this blog post, we will share the best tips that can help you grow your business. By following these tips, you can create a profitable and successful restaurant.

Table of Contents
1. Best ways to increase restaurant revenue
2. Top 4 digital marketing strategies for restaurants
3. Tips on how to increase restaurant sales after the COVID-19 pandemic
4. FAQs

Grow your restaurant with a loan

Best Ways to Increase Restaurant Revenue

The good news about owning a small restaurant is that the sky is the limit. The following tips and resources will help you to increase restaurant sales.

Be innovative when it comes to your marketing strategies

Unfortunately, you can’t expect old marketing strategies to work for your restaurant. You need to invest your efforts in finding innovative marketing strategies that will lead foot traffic to the physical location of your restaurant. Try new methods, like Facebook ads or Instagram, or create an eCommerce to start with online ordering. Once you've tried different marketing techniques, evaluate what works best to grow your restaurant. Think out of the box in every aspect of your management. Consider adding new, exciting items to your menu, spicing up the decor, or even organizing unexpected events that surprise your customers.

Participate in local events

Create strong relationships with the people in your community by getting involved in local activities. Put up a stand in a local event or organize different activities where the client can learn about your product. They would be valid alternatives to making your small restaurant known in the community, allowing you to get new customers. These opportunities will let you meet your client face to face. If they feel they know you and your product, you will have a higher probability of having them as regular customers, and the mouth-to-mouth will do the rest.

Host events

Like the point above, you can associate with organizations in your area to host community fundraising or charity events. You’ll be doing something good for your community while creating a positive image that can bring more customers through your door. But the circumstances can extend to cooking classes, sports games on TV, or speed-dating meetings: again, be creative. If you have an extra room or an area in your dining that can be enclosed for privacy, offer the possibility to host birthday parties or any other type of private celebration with a group discount.

Reward your clients’ loyalty

Use a customer loyalty program to recognize the existing customers returning to your restaurant. By offering this, whenever your clients come back, you will have more chances of having good opinions about your restaurant. This is one of the best strategies to increase sales in restaurants. Your clients will be more likely to eat in your restaurant when they know they have a discount to take advantage of.

Make yourself active in the use of applications

Increasing restaurant sales imply more than being only in a physical location. Generate new customers by creating various profiles in applications oriented to the retail market like Amazon, Boxed, Fresh Direct, or Buy Whole Foods Online. These applications will give you a platform to promote your product; that way, it can get to clients who don’t know your restaurant. Keep those profiles updated so your clients will always have up-to-date content from your restaurant. Other applications and software are growing in popularity among business owners. They can help you manage your business more efficiently and boost restaurant sales, so give them a try.

Consider the location of your restaurant

Without a prominent and convenient location, restaurant owners can have problems attracting new customers and helping grow their small restaurant. When you look for a location for your restaurant, make sure to pick a building that’s visible to nearby highways, accessible, and not hard to find. This will increase the probability of people seeing your restaurant and deciding to visit it.

Hire appropriate employees

When clients visit your restaurant, they must receive a personal experience. Many famous restaurants and other local food shops don’t offer this and will make clients return to your place. To offer a first-class service, you will have to acquire qualified associates. Having and keeping competent employees will make your clients feel taken care of when they visit your restaurant, and with this, you will help you grow your restaurant. In addition to the excellent restaurant service, don’t forget about the online service. Hire enough people so at least one of them can administrate the orders online. Online ordering is just as important as the local ones and deserves the same quality of assistance and service.

Ask for your clients’ opinions

Constructive criticism can help make your business prosper and can increase restaurant sales. Send client satisfaction surveys and see why your clients appreciate your business. Also, clients can have suggestions about how you can make improvements. Perhaps they want to see more of one specific kind of dish or notice problems when making orders online. This feedback will help your business grow continuously, and your clients will be thankful that you consider their opinion.

Create and maintain high sales by big orders

Have you ever noticed how even the smallest restaurants offer their most delicious dishes for parties or business reunions? You can also implement this strategy. Choose the dish you can offer in orders of large quantities, and present it in beautiful and practical presentations and at competing prices. Encourage customers to visit your restaurant’s location or online page to buy your unprecedented offers. These sales will help you make your product known, make additional sales, and, hopefully, satisfy your clients' needs, making your business grow.

Offer entertainment

This is a proven strategy to get more customers through your door. This investment doesn’t have to break the bank since many performers seek the exposure and advertisement that being on stage brings to the table. If you are unsure what route to follow, try to mix up the type of entertainment you offer your clientele (from magicians to stand-up comedy or a local band) until you find a formula that works. Then you can work on a regular contract with the artist or artists of your choice. It doesn’t hurt to ask, either. Simply ask your regular customers what kind of live entertainment they would enjoy the most. One rule here: it has to be free entertainment: don’t charge your customers extra.

Offer happy hour promotions

Customers who are attracted to happy hours at restaurants (which usually extend from 2 pm to 7 pm, depending on the establishment) don’t come just for the cheaper drinks. For this restaurant sales strategy, consider that smaller portions of food and eating at non-traditional hours are new trends among customers, so take advantage of this. Along with reduced prized drinks, offer a simple happy hour menu. The food items here can be a selection of the same you provide at lunch or dinner, but in smaller portions and at more affordable and attractive prizes. Select those dishes that can be prepared quickly and easily shared without using cutlery (or, in other words, finger food).

Offer food delivery options

Another great option to grow restaurants is if your customers may already love your food, but they may prefer to stay home most of the time. A food delivery app can solve this quickly. Offer discounts and specials, especially when you’re launching this service.

Offer free wi-fi

It’s no secret that more and more people work from home or remotely these days. Offering free wi-fi and correctly displaying this (a simple sign in the storefront will do the trick) will create a base of loyal customers looking for a different scenario to work on their laptops.

Be organized with your finances

No matter how many ways to increase sales you put into practice, you must follow a strict budget to grow your restaurant. Ensure you are not wasting excessively on inventory, hiring too many employees, or investing too much in services that are not worth it. By reviewing your company spending, you may eliminate unnecessary costs. Therefore, you can use that money for something better. In other words, you can increase restaurant sales without carelessly wasting your profit and much less wasting your capital in a bad manner.

Take a business loan

Sometimes, it is necessary to spend money to make money. But if your business doesn’t have any extra cash at hand to make some improvements, this will be a struggle. You should consider asking for a restaurant loan for additional working capital. Despite not being the best way to promote a restaurant, it is the best to grow. Once you have this additional business capital, you will be able to pay costs like hiring new employees, increasing inventory, or expanding the location of your restaurant. The improvements in your spaces are an excellent strategy to catch the client’s attention: a renewed space or a change in the facade makes clients want to visit you. Camino Financial is a great lender with a lot of experience helping restaurants grow and thrive. Our application will take only a few minutes and doesn’t involve commitment. If you are prequalified, a business loan expert from Camino Financial will contact you to explain your options. GET APPROVED FOR A LOAN TODAY

Top 4 digital marketing strategies for restaurants

Marketing efforts are one of the best ways to promote a restaurant. Here are essential ideas you can develop to attract customers.

Develop a strong social media presence

Make sure your restaurant is active on all the major social media platforms and that you're regularly sharing high-quality content that will appeal to your target audience.

Use of targeted ads

With targeted ads on social media and other platforms, you can reach potential customers who are specifically interested in what your restaurant has to offer.

Create a strong website

Your website is often the first contact between you and potential customers, so it must make a good impression. Ensure your site is well-designed, easy to navigate, and includes all the potential information customers might want.

Use email marketing

Email marketing can be a great way to keep potential customers informed about what's happening at your restaurant and promote special offers and discounts.

Tips on How To Increase Restaurant Sales After The COVID-19 Pandemic

Last year’s pandemic hit hard all types of businesses, including restaurants. Even though some of them were able to remain open (offering only take-out and delivery), their bottom lines were negatively affected. To this date, the effects of COVID-19 are still being felt by business owners.

• Update your menus to reflect the current situation - people are looking for comfort food that is familiar and makes them feel good.
• Promote your outdoor seating - weather permitting, of course! People are still hesitant to eat indoors, so let them know that you have a great outdoor space where they can enjoy their meal.
• Offer discounts and promotions - this is a great way to attract new customers and get people in the door.
• Make sure your restaurant is clean and safe - this should be a given, but it's worth repeating. People want to know that they're eating in a safe and clean environment.
• Be flexible with your hours - people's schedules have changed dramatically over the past year, so try to be flexible with your hours of operation. This will allow people to come in when it's convenient for them.

How do increase restaurant delivery sales?

There are a few things restaurants can do to increase their delivery sales:

• Make it easy for customers to order food online or through an app.
• Offer a variety of delivery options, including same-day delivery and scheduled deliveries.
• Price food is competitively compared to other restaurants in the area.
• Have a wide selection of menu items that cater to different dietary needs and preferences.
• Provide accurate wait times for orders and keep customers updated on the progress of their orders.
• Use packaging that keeps food warm and prevents it from being damaged in transit.

Make Your Restaurant Business the Next Big Thing

Now that you know 15 ways to grow your small restaurant, it is time to apply them in your practice and start growing beyond your wildest dreams.

If you use each of these strategies, success will be just around the corner.

Making your business grow may be a challenge, but it’s not impossible to achieve. Don’t get discouraged! Got inspiration from Celso, a restaurant owner that needed to renovate and expand his establishment but didn’t have the capital to achieve his goal. But thanks to a small business loan, he could get more customers, increase his sales and hire more employees. Not only is his restaurant thriving more than ever, but he’s able to create a better community by inspiring and helping young people. Your business will strive with hard work, planning, organizing, and a business loan. Celso is living proof of this fact. Get Approved For A Loan Today

FAQs
How do increase restaurant sales without advertising? There are many ways to increase restaurant sales without advertising. One way is to focus on providing an exceptional customer experience. This can include everything from ensuring that your staff is friendly and efficient to create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere. Another way to increase sales is to ensure that your food is top-notch.
What is the restaurant's average revenue? It depends on many factors, such as the size and location of the restaurant, the menu, pricing, etc. A general rule of thumb is that restaurants typically have a 50% markup on food and beverage items. So, if a customer spends $10 on food and beverage items, the restaurant would earn approximately $5 in revenue.
What can a restaurant do to increase sales? There are a few things that restaurants can do to increase sales. They can offer promotions, such as discounts or free items with purchase. They can also offer loyalty programs, which give customers rewards for repeat visits. Restaurants can also improve their customer service and create a more welcoming atmosphere. By providing a high-quality dining experience, restaurants can increase the likelihood that customers will return in the future.
How can restaurant sales increase daily? Restaurants can increase their daily sales by targeting larger groups of people. For example, schools or businesses might be interested in having lunch or dinner at a restaurant. The restaurant could also offer group discounts for parties of a certain size or more, offer a free appetizer or dessert to customers who spend a certain amount of money, or run promotional campaigns on social media or through email marketing to drive traffic and sales.