10 Tips to Increase Your Restaurant Sales
In the restaurant industry, there are tried-and-tested and creative ways to increase profit margins. If you’re interested in bringing new customers through the doors or getting existing customers to spend more, this guide should give you insight into increasing sales.
From renting your venue for private events to offering a seasonal menu, there are research-backed strategies to run a successful restaurant.
1. Evaluate and optimize your menu
Take a good hard look at your current menu. Is it massive? Does it have any organization? Can you easily identify entrees and appetizers?
Your menu should strategically encourage a purchase. It should have a structure that’s easy to navigate and promotes items you want patrons to buy. This means mixing and matching price points, popularity, and niche items to make a final decision easier.
In some cases, this may mean decreasing the available food and drink options. Or it may require circulating your food offerings in a seasonal menu to develop artificial scarcity around popular but costly products. Determine and test what blend of categories will appeal to your customers.
If you host your menu online, you may need to sacrifice descriptions or truncate your menu to focus more on ease of use. Feature images, brief descriptions, and clear categories to simplify navigation and make purchasing online easier.
2. Expand your services
Thanks to our current crisis, additional restaurant services have become a necessity. If you’re not offering delivery or pick-up, look into implementing one or both options.
For pick-up, designate a few spaces in your parking lot exclusively for those orders. Have a clearly marked in-store pick-up area and an employee to verify everything is ready when a customer arrives.
For delivery, test out potential sales value using services like UberEats, Grubhub, or Postmates. Over time, it may make more sense to grow your own delivery fleet, but to start, leverage an existing ecosystem.
If you don’t use a service, consider implementing an online ordering system. Simplify the process by integrating a payment portal within your website and make your optimized online menu easier to convert into sales.
Choose items that are easy to prepare and will arrive in a presentable state for delivery or takeout. Focus on offering your best-selling or most profitable offerings to consider additional costs.
3. Sell complimentary items
Every business should look to increase customer lifetime value (CLV). CLV is the amount of money a customer will spend on your business over the course of their relationship with you.
To maximize CLV, sell complimentary products. Appetizers, desserts, mixed drinks, signature brews, or any other drink or plate that doesn’t involve an entree can be seen as complementary.
Offer appetizers for free or at a discount if they purchase a drink or multiple entrees. Or create a combo that can be purchased at a discounted price.
Remember, you’re looking to sell volume. Increasing the value for the customer while also increasing the value of the customer.
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