The Top 3 Factors That Affect Restaurant Revenue

Every restaurant owner needs to put the latest in revenue management on their radar. But before that, they need to have a clear vision of their current restaurant revenue circumstance to know where to head next.

How is revenue different from profit margin?

Revenue is the income generated from your business through all your revenue streams. A crucial difference between restaurant revenue and restaurant profit margin is the regular operating expenses. Typically, your restaurant profit margin is the amount of leftover cash after handling merchandise, food, and sales and discount expenses.

What are the most common restaurant revenue problems?

The issue with restaurant revenue is that the estimated revenue varies according to each business. Several factors affect the amount of revenue earned such as occupancy, number of seats, prices, location, and the cuisine you serve, to name but a few.

Below we’ll discuss the main three factors that affect restaurant revenue and how to come up with strategies to boost each.

1. Occupancy

By occupancy we mean: the number of people you serve. If there are many unoccupied seats at your restaurant, obviously, your restaurant revenue strategies could use some help.

To generate traffic, focus on marketing campaigns to attract new potential customers. You can start by posting mouthwatering photos of your best dishes on social media. Also, collaborating with food influencers could add to your restaurant’s credibility.

And since the restaurant business has witnessed a digital revolution in recent months, a blog and an online ordering website and application are must-haves in order to spread brand awareness and increase your restaurant revenue.

Check out the online food ordering system, Taker for more details.

2. Sales

Find the average amount that people spend. If you attract the right number of customers, but they don’t seem to spend enough as they should be, consider up-selling and cross-selling. By upgrading your menu, customers will be encouraged to order their favorite dishes with a tweak to them (i.e., up-selling) or more side dishes like appetizers and desserts (i.e., cross-selling). This will grow your restaurant revenue, especially with guests looking for variety and new experiences.

Incentives as gift cards, happy hours, and weekly offers are also great ideas to attract customers while giving them a reason to spend more, given the good deals they get in return. It is also advisable to set up a loyalty program for repeat customers as studies show that loyal customers tend to spend more than first-timers.  

3. Service

Excellent service is key to attracting new and existing customers. By delivering the right service, your restaurant revenue is guaranteed to increase. Service isn’t limited to food. It is broader and more intricate. Starting from speed, courtesy, to customized service, the list could go on forever. To have a better idea of the adjustments your restaurant need, ask your customers. Their feedback is where you should be starting from, and as you make the necessary changes, don’t forget to follow up with them and ask for their feedback on the changes you’ve made.

In conclusion, know what your current restaurant revenue status is and work accordingly. You may want to work on the three previous points all at once or decide to work on them one by one. There is no fixed rule, but it all starts with the determination to make the necessary improvements.

4 Restaurant Management Strategies to Reduce Maintenance Cost

Restaurant management may not be a pleasant task, but that doesn’t change the fact of how crucial it is to a restaurant’s operations. Imagine your freezer breaks down all of a sudden. You depend on it for keeping all costly ingredients chilled. You’ll not only lose the cost of the ingredients, but the menu items depending on them, bringing your restaurant operations to a halt and your customer experience downhill.

Here are four ways of restaurant management to keep maintenance costs down and enhance customer experience.

1. Minimize unplanned maintenance

Electronics breaking down unexpectedly is usually caused by a lack of proper inspection and repair. Most cases of unplanned maintenance could be prevented by a simple maintenance program. As most restaurants tend to fix equipment after it’s broken, clever restaurant management is always one step ahead. Instead of doing reactive repairs, go for breakdown prevention.

When you take preventive measures and have a maintenance plan, your restaurant will run smoothly as you’ll reduce unplanned costly maintenance which in turn ensures a positive user experience.

2. Limit reactive maintenance

Reactive maintenance is fixing a piece of equipment or having it replaced after it breaks down. You’ll find that reactive maintenance is cost-effective in a few cases such as low-cost appliances, restaurant POS software, and other equipment you don’t really rely on. By employing efficient restaurant management, you’ll also know when it’s wise to apply reactive maintenance or go for preventive maintenance.

If you have an expensive fryer, for instance, that needs repair. It is best to avoid buying a replacement as it shall be costly. Instead, get it fixed, and then after it’s totally broken down, apply preventive maintenance to the new replacement.  

3. Digitize maintenance

Long gone are the days of pen and paper. You can begin with this method, but you’ll realize it is difficult to organize. By employing a computerized restaurant management system that integrates maintenance tracking, you’ll notice a significant increase in your ROI.

And here is how; a computerized maintenance management system helps cut business downtime often caused by broken appliances. It also keeps track of your maintenance and repair costs which helps you make the right buying/repairing decisions.

4. Outsource maintenance               

Staff members who are well-trained to create and use proper maintenance checklists will save you a ton of money. However, wise restaurant management doesn’t solely rely on staff members to fix broken-down equipment. Hiring a maintenance professional is only needed if you have a chain. Otherwise, outsourcing maintenance to an authorized company will deliver quality service and save you money.  

To wrap up, people go to restaurants to enjoy great food and have a good time. To achieve this goal, a restaurant should keep all its equipment appropriately functioning. So, taking the time to decide on the best restaurant management strategies to keep your appliances fully operating should be a top priority.

For website and app custom integrations, click here

5 Tips for Creating a Memorable Restaurant Customer Experience

Most customers usually expect you to deliver a top-notch customer experience. Otherwise, especially in such a competitive industry, they may be tempted to try other restaurants in search of the great customer experience they have in mind. So, how do you create a memorable restaurant experience? The answer is: it’s not only about the food.

To know the real answer, consider applying the following five tips:

1. Know what makes your guests happy

Since no two restaurants are alike, you need to pinpoint what specifically makes your restaurant a pleasant customer experience besides the issues that could use some tweaking. It could be the menu, the atmosphere, or your efficient staff. To know for sure keep an eye on:

  • Post-dining surveys: a paper or digital post-dining questionnaire is the best way to get timely and honest feedback.
  • Review sites: which include your own website as well as other well-known sites such as TripAdvisor.
  • Social media: many guests would voice their customer experience on social media.What they say shows you the elements you should work on.
  • Analytics: check the analytics of your restaurant management system to see when and why you get the most visits to your restaurant.

2. Know what your guests prefer and require

Every guest needs to feel valued. Taking your guests’ preferences and requirements into consideration makes it easier to create a memorable customer experience for them. With the help of technology, this could be made much easier. Your guest management system may collect information on your guests’:

  • table preferences
  • food preferences
  • food allergens
  • birthdays
  • anniversaries
  • number of visits
  • amount of spends

Such data helps personalize your interaction with guests and helps you offer them a personalized customer experience.

3. Know how to be flexible

Adapting to the unique needs of your guests creates a satisfying if not an excelling customer experience. Put in mind that restaurants abound, and your competitor may be just around the corner. With that in mind, you need to go that extra mile for your guests. For example, if a guest asks for a well-cooked version of a medium-cooked dish, you should be willing to accommodate their need. To make sure you can be flexible at all times consider:

  • Making notes on what customers have asked to be changed or adjusted.
  • Ensuring ingredient substitutes for your basic dishes (e.g., meat-free alternatives).
  • Making room for last-minute table seating changes.
  • Allowing staff members to get creative with problem-solving.

4. Know the knack of efficient service

A study by Ohio University shows that 80% of restaurants shut down in their first year. The main cause behind that is poor customer service resulting in poor customer experience. Besides reflecting on the feedback on your restaurant, check out that of your competitors. There is a lot to learn by examining your competitors’ both positive and negative reviews. A few things to fix could be:

  • Long wait times: which are the biggest turnoffs for guests. Whether it is waiting to be seated or for food to arrive, prompt service is a major factor in a memorable customer experience.
  • Uncomfortable seating: such as wobbly tables or chairs or even mislaid-out tables. Comfortable seating increases the experience of hospitality in restaurants.

Got Stuck? Try These 10 Restaurant Marketing Ideas

Running a successful restaurant business isn’t an easy job. With rising competition every day, and with most customers on the hunt for new food experiences, many restaurants eventually suffer a slump. To help your sales pick up, why not try these ten restaurant marketing ideas? We know they shall improve your business and help you get the deserved attention you seek.

1. Develop a clear brand identity

Even if your restaurant is only starting to take off, think big. Pay a closer look at your brand identity. Ask yourself, who is your target customer? What makes your restaurant stand out among the rest? Reflect on these points on your social media platforms. It could be your large family or teen customers, or it could be your retro interior style or current, hipster vibe.

2. Make an appealing online menu

You won’t believe how restaurant marketing is positively influenced by high-quality, user-friendly online menus. Loyal as well as prospective customers usually do research before ordering from or visiting your restaurant. Don’t give them a hard time looking up your menu, but rather offer them an accurate and updated one.

3. Partner up with an online ordering system

When it comes to restaurant marketing, this one is an absolute winner. With an online ordering website or application, menus get easily accessed, orders placed, and payments accepted from a distance. Your restaurant is; thus, promoted on the online ordering system, orders are organized, and the ordering process is made simple for customers.

For the best online ordering management platform for restaurants, check out Taker

4. Post mouth-watering food photos

As it is frequently said that “People eat with their eyes first”, you may want to go visual with your restaurant marketing. Pick out your best dishes, and get them photographed by a professional food photographer and stylist. Post them on your website and social media, especially Instagram where playing with popular hashtags and coming up with new ones can be loads of fun.

For Instagram marketing for restaurants, check out these twelve detailed ideas here

5. Turn your customers into marketers

Host a photo contest and ask customers to share a photo they’ve taken of their favorite dish at your restaurant. Share the entries on your social media platforms and make sure to award winners with discount coupons or free side dishes! Such a restaurant marketing tactic will cost you almost nothing, but you’ll get a ton of engagement and publicity in return.

6. Do influencer outreach

It is a great way to get honest reviews and press on the web. All you have to do is get in touch with food bloggers – preferably the ones interested in your specialty cuisine –  and invite them to give your restaurant a try. Some food bloggers have thousands of followers. Imagine getting honest, positive reviews of your restaurant posted on their social media platforms! That is what we call clever restaurant marketing.

To learn more about influencer restaurant marketing, click here

7. Go old-school blogging

You may think blogs are so yesterday, but Google thinks otherwise. A recent study found that blogs are the third most influential digital resource (31%) when making purchase decisions after retail and brand sites; 56% and 34%, respectively. On your blog, share your success stories, struggles, or even recipes that customers find of great benefit.

8. Offer discounts, coupons, and giveaways

This tactic never gets old, for people tend to like anything free/discounted. By advertising your offers online, you’ll increase your exposure and will have customers running to place orders. Another restaurant marketing strategy that works well in keeping customers coming back is a loyalty program. How does it work? In return for placing a certain number of orders, a customer gets a special discount.

9. Send out an email newsletter

By sending your customers a monthly email newsletter, they will be kept updated without having their inbox flooded by email messages. There is various stuff to share with your customers via emails such as new menu items, expansions and milestones, and special discounts.

10. Target ads to your geographic location

In restaurant marketing, you win the game by going local. Investing in geo-targeted ads saves you money and ensures targeting customers within your geographic radius. This works on Google and other social media ads alike. A more current restaurant marketing tactic is to make sure your ads are visible on mobile phones. Mobile ads work well during dinnertime, especially when people are looking for dining options while on the move.