Fast food and meal delivery services have changed the way restaurant owners promote their product. The steps needed to grow in the restaurant industry have evolved with technology, dietary trends and heightened expectations. In a time where it is so easy to get great food delivered straight to your door, what can owners do to promote growth and attract new customers?

Develop Signature Dishes

Keeping your menu fresh is important, but perhaps more important is having one or two signature dishes that make your restaurant unique. When determining which dishes to wrap your marketing campaigns around, you will want to rely highly on customer feedback. Allow your chefs to be creative and encourage your patrons to fill our surveys to gather information. Hosting an open kitchen night where your customers are able to communicate and taste test with your staff is another great way to refine your menu while providing an exceptional experiential marketing experience.

Focus On Food Aesthetics

Visual content is the highest performing content on social media. Restaurants have learned quickly that platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter are invaluable marketing tools. Believe it or not, pictures of food have a tendency to trend on social media sites. Many people post their own food creations or show off certain dietary changes in picture and video form. Most chefs recognize the need to make their food look good as well as taste good. Making each dish a work of art will not only make for a satisfying restaurant experience, it will also provide you will plenty of promotional material.

Make It An Experience

With so many options for delivery, fast food and meal kits, justifying a trip to a restaurant can be difficult for your average consumer. In order to encourage people to come out, your restaurant needs to couple great food with a unique experience. That may include technology upgrades, live entertainment and even the occasional theme night. Take a detailed look at your current customer base and the audience you wish to attract. Once you’ve determined your ideal customer you can begin to shape an experience that will fit their wants and needs. Before adding to the experience your restaurant offers, be sure you have nailed down the basics of customer service with your staff.

Encourage Patron Participation

Many restaurants have put certain tasks in the hands of their customers to encourage engagement and create a memorable experience. Hibachi restaurants that allow customers to cook their own food and ice cream shops that allow patrons to create their own sundaes provide customers with a fun experience. If couples and families typically visit your restaurant, these concepts provide conversation starters and memorable experiences.

Quality Over Quantity

One of the struggles restaurant owners face when upgrading the quality of their ingredients is with profit margins. This is where our increasingly health-conscious society can benefit the restaurant industry. A focus on a proper diet allows you to offer smaller portions of higher quality food at identical margins. This also allows you to keep high calorie and rich foods on your menu without scaring off those watching their diet. Sourcing your foods from local companies and taking advantage of seasonal inventory opportunities will also aide in keeping your menu profitable.

With over 12 years in the business, Quikstone Capital Solutions has proven to be a trustworthy and knowledgeable lender specializing in small business funding. Over 60% of our clients are renewals looking to continuously grow their business. Whether you need cash to cover unexpected costs or if you’re looking to make long overdue improvements, Quikstone Capital can help.