How To Increase Restaurant Sales: Tips & Strategies
Do you feel stressed about improving your restaurant’s sales? Well, you are not alone. Running a successful restaurant is a stressful task and managing and maximising profits is one of the major responsibilities. We are aware of the thin margins that most restaurants operate with; as a result, improving sales is one of the best ways to improve your bottom line.
Naturally, many restaurant owners and managers find themselves asking the question, “How to increase restaurant sales?” While there are a lot of ways of driving restaurant sales up, in this blog, we will go over eleven crucial tips to do so effectively. Let’s begin.
1. Make Your Menu More Appealing
Your menu is the face of your restaurant and optimising it can have a huge impact on your sales. Changing the menu’s design alone can influence customers to order high-margin dishes or more quantity of food. Additionally, if you are struggling to make consistent profits off of your dishes, consider revamping your menu. Food Service India offers comprehensive menu design services tailored to your business needs and your target audience’s tastes.
2. Host Themed Events
Themed events are a cost-effective way to get more people through the door. You can organise a wide range of themed events including, karaoke nights, guest performances, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day specials, and trivia nights. Marketing these events on social media will not only bring your regular customers but also expose a large new audience to your restaurant. This helps to increase restaurant revenue and build better relationships with your customers.
3. Establish And Optimise Social Media Presence
Social media is an important aspect of connecting with your customers and building a community around your restaurant. Step one is to create a social media presence on various platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and Snapchat. Step two is to optimise them to target your relevant audience. Share high-quality content that is engaging and entertaining. Also, offer online reservations and ordering via social media. With the right strategy, you can immensely boost your restaurant’s visibility.
4. Upsell with Upgrades and Add-Ons
Upselling is a tried and true method to increase restaurant profits. It involves persuading customers to buy upgrades and add-ons along with their base order. Upselling can be subtle, by adding high-profit recommendations on menus or you can have servers recommend personalised dishes along with the order. FSIPL helps to train your wait staff to become more effective at upselling. We also teach them when it is appropriate to upsell and when it is not.
5. Optimise Your Kitchen
Restaurant patrons prefer to get their orders quickly; hence, speedy service is one of the best ways to keep them happy and coming back for more. A few ways to do so are to train your staff, streamline your ordering and kitchen processes, and invest in efficient kitchen technologies. As an experienced food products manufacturer and supplier, FSIPL supplies a range of ready-to-cook products like marinades that help to reduce preparation time.
6. Online Ordering and Delivery Services
Offering online ordering and takeaway services opens a big revenue stream for your business. Partnering with food delivery companies can immensely improve your restaurant’s sales. The convenience of ordering food from anywhere appeals to a wide range of customers, exposing them to your restaurant. By partnering with third-party companies, that are aware of the ins and outs of the industry and can help you with the infrastructure.
7. Price Each Dish Strategically
Deciding the price of each dish on the menu can be a difficult task. Of course, you would want the pricing to cover the cost of the ingredients, but there are several other factors to consider too. These include your target demographic, your location, rent, and other expenses. The price should be appropriate for the target audience, while also making enough to cover the overheads and make some profit.
8. Invest In Marketing
Marketing is the most important action plan to increase sales in a restaurant by getting people talking about your restaurant. Invest in both online and traditional marketing to let your customers know about your restaurant and all its offers. Social media is one of the best ways to increase your restaurant’s visibility and connect with your audience. However, if your target demographic is older people who may not be tech-savvy, newspapers and pamphlets should be the go-to mode of advertising.
9. Provide Eye-Catching Offers And Happy Hours
It is a well known fact that alcohol is one of the most profitable part of the menu. If your restaurant offers alcoholic beverages, taking advantage of the happy hours strategy can bring in exceptional sales and revenue. You can give offers like buy one cocktail – get one free, beers at 30 to 50% off, or give a snack of the customer’s choice on bills over a certain amount.
10. Cater To A Wider Audience
Expanding your target audience is one of the best ways to bring in more customers. You can offer various cuisines and different price ranges, to attract a wider audience. For example, you can offer fast food options at a lower cost to attract college students and also serve high-end cuisine to attract high net-worth people. Diluting your restaurant’s audience base can be a risky task and must be done with care. Thankfully, FSIPL has the experience to guide you through the process.
11. Sell Gift Cards
Selling gift cards is a good way to improve your word-of-mouth promotion. You can offer discounted gift cards to your regular customers, giving them an incentive to refer your restaurant to their friends and family. It is a perfect way to increase your restaurant’s sales while also bringing in new customers who may not have known about your restaurant.
Conclusion
There are many ways to improve your restaurant’s sales. Of course, you do not have to apply all of them, you can choose the ones that suit your business the best and apply them to your restaurant. Increasing brand awareness, bringing in new customers, and operating with better profit margins are the best ways to increase restaurant sales.
If you require any help optimising your restaurant’s processes, we are always here to help. Food Service India is a reputed HoReCa product manufacturer, helping restaurants, cafes, and hotels to create a well curated menu, train efficient staff, and create a standard procedure for everything.
Piyush Chhaochharia
Piyush Chhaochharia is the Vice President of Food Services India Pvt Ltd. He has a great sense of entrepreneurship, steadfast commitment, and passion for quality in the food sector. Piyush has played a pivotal role in transforming Food Services India Pvt Ltd into a leading food products supplier, offering a diverse range of high-quality products and services to customers across India. With a background in organizations like PwC and True North, he has played a key role in growing the business and expanding the product portfolio. An avid reader and fitness enthusiast, Piyush continues to drive the company's growth and success.
