Advances in technology have made it much easier to analyze data associated with the restaurant industry and forward thinking owners are using this information to maximize restaurant revenue and optimize every aspect of their business. The ability to analyze large amounts of data and integrate different systems to better align each aspect of your business has revolutionized the way restaurant owners make decisions. An investment in new technology so that your POS system talks to your inventory and accounting software will make forecasting more accurate and provide insights into many other vital aspects that affect your bottom line. Basing your decisions on data means that your numbers need to be accurate and reliable. You also need to ensure you have a large enough sample to derive your conclusions from.
Promotions
Data gathered from past promotions will give you insights into what worked and what didn’t work the first time around. This type of information can increase the ROI of your promotions and help to maximize your marketing dollars. You’ll want to take a look at which products and services showed an increase in sales and the overall amount of customers you’ve gained from similar promotions. This will help you determine how much money to invest and what kind of returns you can expect from your marketing campaigns.
Menu Analytics
The structure of your menu is at the core of managing food costs and margins on each item should be analyzed frequently. Variety is important in any menu but utilizing similar ingredients in a variety of dishes will allow you to purchase in bulk and cut down on waste. You need to take stock of everything that goes into a dish and examine the cost of ingredients, their shelf life and the time for preparation. The cost to create a menu item should be about 40% of its listed price. The amount of usable product that an ingredient will yield is important when calculating the true cost of each menu item. Ingredients that need to be broken down can come in varying sizes and you’ll need to ensure you’re purchasing the correct amount. Utilizing typical throw away portions for alternative dishes will help to increase your yield from each purchase. Carefully calculating your usage and the shelf life of each ingredient will help to reduce waste and maximize your storage space. Since buying in bulk can be far more inexpensive you may consider increasing your storage space in order to take advantage of this.
Customer Satisfaction
Loyal customers are the life blood of small business. Repeat business is what fuels the bottom line so ensuring your customers are satisfied with every visit and purchase is vital to continued success. It’s important to realize that every customer experience needs to be treated with care. With information becoming so easily available online it opens your business up for increased exposure as well as criticism. For a fledgling business, just one bad review could mean a significant drop in revenue. Analyzing the number of good and bad reviews and what aspects of your business they affect will help you determine where to invest in you business.
Creative Solutions
There are many companies that are creating technology to assist in the food industry. This comes in the form of software that integrates every aspect of your business but also includes creative aides. According to wired.com “IBM researchers have also jumped into food industry analytics by creating a computer program that generates original recipes. The program works in five steps to ensure that the recipes are creative, unusual and will still be pleasing to eat.”
Quikstone Capital Solutions has been providing small business owners with merchant cash advances to stabilize and improve their companies for more than 10 years. If you are in need of a cash to cover unexpected costs, or if you’re looking to make long overdue improvements, a merchant cash advance could be right for you. With the ability to quickly qualify and get your money in a timely fashion, there is no more convenient option.
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