The number of restaurants in the UK fell for the first time in years during 2018, according to reports . That probably comes as no surprise if you’re a restaurant owner yourself in today’s tough market.
So rather than going over the challenges hospitality is facing, I’ve come up with 6 genuine tips that will help your restaurant fight back and grow revenue.
Customers still love to eat, after all – and there are many moves you can make to protect your business.
So here are 6 great ways to send revenue soaring with your restaurant management system:
- Tableside talent – at-table ordering is a winner for upselling: that’s a fact.
- Amazing menu design – ditch any dud dishes
- Engage with your customers better – try multi-channel
- Turn satisfied customers into ambassadors – turn up your loyalty efforts
- Create new revenue streams – online ordering is the latest big trend
- Make supported decisions – dump guesswork and rely on solid data instead.
- Tableside talent
Fact: customers using Aloha Mobile with their restaurant management system on average see:
Sales increase by 8.5%
Serving staff using the restaurant management system have access to handheld devices including dedicated units, tablets and smartphones to take orders right at the table.
The software provides automatic upselling prompts so it’s easy for serving staff to offer enticing additions to the choices guests have made.
Also, it’s simple to add extra items onto the order – this works particularly well in small-plate establishments such as tapas restaurants.
The handheld devices send the orders direct to the kitchen, making sure accurate dishes are delivered quickly, which keeps customers happy.
Staff can take payments at the tableside, too, making it a completely swift and seamless diner experience.
- Amazing menu design
Chefs today come under major pressure when designing their menus. They need to remain within budget, ensure they create food is likely to appeal to diners, and also to be fully aware of allergens.
Leading restaurant management systems incorporate menu-design tools to take the grind out of the task. They:
- Spot high-selling dishes
- Identify trends
- Help with ingredient substitutions so budgets are controlled
- Track possible allergens to ingredient level – a big responsibility for chefs when allergic reactions cause 10 fatalities annually in the UK alone
- Support accurate procurement decisions
The result is that you offer on-trend dishes that customers love, delivered on budget and in keeping with diner safety. Result!
- Engage with your customers better
In a cut-throat market, how can you drive up revenue by encouraging customers to choose your restaurant?
It’s vital to be accessible to them at all hours, and a multi-channel communication approach is the best way to help them get in touch.
A good restaurant management system should enable you to monitor your social media reputation so managers are alerted if any adverse posts are made.
That way, you can right any issues immediately, before your reputation is damaged.
The useful data captured by your restaurant management system also makes it easy to engage with your customers in ways ranging from direct mail – an oldie but effective – to texting and email.
- Turn satisfied customers into ambassadors
Your customers should be your friends, and while a restaurant management system is no substitute for good hosting and great service, it’s a useful support.
Because your system collects useful data on your customers, you are fully aware of their preferences – vegetarian food, for example – what they order regularly and when they usually visit.
It allows you to offer your diners targeted offers that will have genuine appeal to them, bringing them back again and again.
With care, they will feel so well valued that they will recommend your restaurant to their friends – that’s the best publicity for boosting your revenue.
- Create new revenue streams
It’s not a good time to be standing still, or feeling complacent. Customers now enjoy dining in as much as eating out, and home delivery is already an enormous trend.
Delivery services like Deliveroo are allowing restaurants who have never been able to offer home delivery to open up exciting revenue streams, thanks to the way their restaurant management system enables online ordering.
- Make supported decisions
Successful restaurateurs always have excellent instincts – that’s clear. But in a time when what diners want, how they use restaurants and what they even eat is changing fast, it can be hard to keep up to date.
When you’re making plans to increase your revenue, your restaurant management system removes the guesswork, thanks to comprehensive real-time reports that give real-time information on everything from sales to forecasting.
Making great decisions now means success in future; that’s got to help.
Waving the wand of technology
Sadly, there’s no spell to cook up when it comes to creating a successful restaurant.
But technology is a sort of magic wand you can wave, helping you:
- See what’s working – and what’s not
- Produce on-trend dishes that sell – both in-restaurant and home delivery
- Create a great guest experience
- Engenders the sort of loyalty that keeps them returning – and bringing friends when they do.
Discover how a restaurant management system can send your revenue soaring now – BOOK A FREE DEMO
