The restaurant industry is tough. And if you’re in it, you know exactly what we’re talking about. For many restaurant owners, the time comes when you find yourself worrying about whether or not you can keep the doors open and for how much longer. A better question is: “Do I have what it takes to keep my doors open for years to come?” You’re probably stumped. So in this article, we thought we’d give you some practical advice on what to do when you need to revive your failing restaurant.
1 – Take an Audit of Your Restaurant
Taking a step back and evaluating each aspect of your restaurant is a huge task, but a necessary one if you’re trying to revive your failing restaurant. To get somewhere, you need to have a clear picture of Point A and Point B. Find out what your costs are, find out what your profits are, find out how much money you need to get out of the hole.
2 – Lower Overhead and Food Costs
Cutting costs will help you save money in the long run. It may not be easy, but it will help your restaurant be more profitable and ultimately help prevent your restaurant from failing.
3 – Increase Prices
Increasing your prices for your restaurant’s menu items will help increase the profit percentage and help you stay afloat. If you’re able to increase your prices while also lowering your overhead/costs as we said in the last point, you’ll be in a good position to grow.
4 – Double Down on Advertising
The reaction when we tell a restaurant that’s failing to double down on advertising is always surprised. Once you’ve evaluated your restaurant, you need to put a heavy focus on your advertising. Are you running advertising? If not, start. If so, is it profitable? Are you getting a positive return on your investment? Are you sure? These are not questions you should answer with “I think so”. These need definite answers before you can invest more in ads. We recommend hiring a professional or company that specializes in restaurant marketing for the best results – and so you’ll avoid doing it wrong which will waste your time and money.
5 – Build a Subscriber List and Use It
If you have a subscriber list, now’s the time to use it. You can’t email your subscribers enough (usually). People have to decide what to eat and whether to eat at least 3 times per day. This buying frequency is much more than any other type of industry. To get new subscribers, offer something for free in exchange for their email address or phone number to get them in the door and train your employees to upsell your customers. Once you have subscribers, you should have 2 types of campaigns you run. 1) A regular newsletter. The primary goal of this one is to share interesting info related to your restaurant to keep your restaurant top-of-mind. We recommend 1 newsletter email per week. And 2) A regular offer campaign. Plan to send a new offer out each month. Also plan to send an email halfway through the month to remind the people that requested the offer that your offer expires soon. This will help increase the number of subscribers that show up and spend money. If you need help building a subscriber list, Sharpen Marketing specializes in building subscriber lists for restaurants and would be happy to help you get started. Schedule an appointment.
6 – Button Up Your Social Media Schedule
The hardest thing about being great at social media is the most effective way to do it is to be consistent and frequent. It takes a lot of discipline and focus to make sure you post consistently on a schedule. But when you do, it will show and your restaurant will grow. Make a 5-day calendar of what you plan to post on your social media accounts and decide what time of day you plan to post each day. Now, stick to it! If you have to, pay someone else to do it if it means getting it done! If you need help with this, schedule an appointment with us and we’ll see if we’re compatible to work together.
7 – Get Rid of Staff Members You Constantly Have to Babysit
We like to call this “trimming the fat”. If you have problem-employees that cost you more money than they help make you, give them the boot. If they’re costing you money and your business is failing, you’ll be better off without them. Obviously, you’ll need to consider who will replace them – but in some cases, you may not even need to if they’re just that bad. Chances are, these types of employees should have been fired long ago!
8 – Get Your Hands Dirty / Be More Present
It’s easy to hide in your office (or in the kitchen for that matter). Don’t let this become a habit. If you truly want to revive your failing restaurant, start working with your servers and hosts upfront AND meet your customers face-to-face. It means a lot to customers when you introduce yourself and ask how everything is/if they need anything. Be personable, give them your phone number, let them know you’re thankful for their support. They will be back sooner than ever if you do so and this will compound over time which will help prevent your restaurant from failing.
9 – Invest in Training Staff (including bartenders)
There are several ways to train your staff. You can train them, someone else can train them, or they can watch a training course online. If your staff needs training in a particular area that is NOT your expertise and you don’t have much experience with it, find a 3rd party to help. Consider training in these areas: Bartending, Service, Responding to Conflicts, Cooking, Sales. We put sales last because it’s important and usually overlooked. Your servers are really salespeople for your business. Get an experienced sales pitbull to train them on how to upsell and cross-sell. This is a surefire way of pulling your restaurant out of a hole.
10 – Throw Away Your Pride and Ask For Help
I’ve hinted at it throughout this article, but for the love of God, ask for help! You can’t do this all by yourself, as much as you want to. You’re not good at everything, and there are plenty of people who are better at some things than you are. It’s okay. And if you’re afraid of your restaurant closing its doors, you need to ask for help. Talk with friends, family members, and other restaurant owners and ask if they have any ideas. You don’t have to use all of them, but they will help your creative process and get you motivated to try to find a way out of the situation you’re in.
11 – Use a Loyalty Program
Last but not least, use a Loyalty Program! These types of programs can be as easy or as complex as you want them to. The bottom line is you need a way to get your customers to come back and this is a great way to do it. The best way to do it is to set up a list of items your best customers can get for free. Think about it… if someone spends $100 per month at your restaurant, giving them $100 worth of free food on the 3rd or 5th visit will be worth it to both of you. They’ll advocate for you and try to find ways they can visit you more frequently to reach the next free item. At Sharpen Marketing, we offer a loyalty program. Schedule an appointment if you need help getting it set up and we’ll tell you what all is involved.
