Kyle Noonan is one of the top restaurateurs in the country right now. He is the founder of FreeRange Concepts, a restaurant development firm that offers detailed advice about different restaurant concepts. He started from Bowl and Barrel, and has built up many establishments since then, including the Rustic. Here’s a bit of advice that he has to share about how to manage a restaurant.
Marketing and the commercial area
In this part you need to make a list of the activities that you must carry out so that the world finds out about your restaurant (Marketing) and the strategies that you will use so that people come repeatedly to your premises (business plan).
To sell more in a restaurant (and manage everything that entails) you need to be clear about the process to:
Attract diners to your restaurant (advertising, attraction marketing, public relations, etc.).
Re-analyze your target audience to see if there are new trends or culinary tastes.
Understand the customer's purchase process (from when they see an ad until they leave your restaurant happy).
Better understand and design the sales process of your restaurant (what you do since your client has an experience with your business - in social networks or in your premises).
For these last points it is necessary that you be clear about your brand positioning (how you want customers to remember you: for being abundant, cheap, quality products or with vegetarian options, etc.).
Brand positioning
The positioning of a restaurant can be seen with these examples:
In each box, there are the restaurants (generally franchises) that have already defined their positioning.
Among them are: Premium restaurant, young restaurant, restaurant for the whole family, gourmet restaurant, fast food, vegetarian food, Japanese food, buffet restaurant, etc.
Having this is extremely important because you can define everything from your social media strategy to the decoration and menu you offer (therefore, the structure of your entire business).
Do not forget to include the 4 Ps of the marketing mix (which help a lot to better define your sales strategies), such as:
• Product (in the case of a restaurant it is more than food, it is an experience)
• Price.
• Positioning.
• Promotion.
The competitive advantage
One of the good practices on how to manage a restaurant is to know like the back of your hand what it is that makes you different from other restaurants.
To highlight it you have to make sure that:
All employees know what that advantage is and why it is so important to your business.
Know the full range of dishes and services they offer.
Know the characteristics of the ideal clients (buyer persona).
The alternatives to sell more (convince the customer).
Remember that:
The competitive advantages of a restaurant can be:
• A thematic experience
• Personalized attention.
• Discretion.
• Awards
• Use of local products
• New dishes every week.
• The price.
• Promotions.
• The use of technology.
Payment Methods
Among many others that you can highlight from your business.
Get as many customers as possible
We know that attracting a diner can be a difficult task, but what about customers who are already sitting at the table waiting for their plate. Those who have already entered your premises should be served as if they were the only customer that matters.