The new year is always an exciting time for new businesses in hospitality. With the festive period well and truly behind, January and February are quiet months – but low trade volumes also create the perfect opportunity for investing more heavily in long-term strategy or addressing your restaurant’s performance so far.
With wholesale costs rising and customer budgets shrinking, 2023 will be a hard battle to win. Winning new customers is paramount for businesses to stay afloat; if you are haemorrhaging customers quicker than usual, or hoping to expand in 2023, what should you be looking at in terms of marketing?
Renovate Your Premises
If your business has been established for some time, and already has some name recognition either locally or within a specific scene, then digital marketing may not be your weakest link. Falling enthusiasm for your concept could be linked to a need for more direct and tangible change. If you haven’t re-decorated in a while, your front-of-house décor could be dated, and customers might be more intrigued by newer, “shinier” concepts opening up in your area.
With this in mind, refurbishment work could be key to revitalising your restaurant’s image, and consumer interest in it. Refurbishment could be as simple as redesigning your patio or outdoor seating with a fresh look for the coming summer, or as complex as a complete FOH refit with a new bar and furniture.
In the former case, relatively inexpensive fencing could be used to create outdoor booths and painted to fit the aesthetic of your venue. In the latter case, consultation with a professional interior designer could help you with de-facto “brand reset”, down to the upholstery on your dining chairs.
Improve Your Social Media Presence
When a restaurant concept isn’t quite making the waves, as it was predicted to or performing as hoped in the planning stages, the problem often isn’t with the establishment itself. Rather, the issue likely lies with the manner in which the location was marketed. There are numerous ways to approach marketing in general, but one of the more important aspects of marketing today is that of social media marketing.
By properly addressing your location or concept’s social media presence, you are able to access unparalleled reach and engagement. Algorithm-based engines and search functions make it easier for you to advertise your brand and concept to new customers than through SEO-based online marketing, or even physical media.
As an establishment seeking to build a core customer base of local residents, you might focus your efforts on sites like Facebook for community-group aspects and functionality. As a luxury concept, you might focus more heavily on visual platforms like Instagram and TikTok to properly show your menu in its best light. Social media marketing is not a singular approach; it is modular and can be used in service of a wide variety of niche goals.
Re-Jig Your Menu
Of course, the above options ignore what is inarguably the most important variable in a large majority of restaurant concepts: the menu. Whether a fast-food-aligned bar and grill, a gastropub or a high-concept restaurant, the scope and quality of your menu offering is vital – central, even – to your business model. It may be that your current offering isn’t inspiring enough to your chosen demographic and that a re-write is in order.
