Wednesday, October 19, 2011

How to Get Your Restaurant Noticed

Menuboard1
NOTE: This is a collaboration blog created by Brandon Serna, on behalf of FASTSIGNS. I am not associated with Brandon or FastSigns but I think that this blog contains useful information so I wanted to share it with my readers.



Restaurants need customers to survive. Whether you’re preparing to open a new establishment, hoping to revitalize business at an older restaurant, or simply trying to survive difficult economic times, chances are you’ve been thinking about ways to get your restaurant noticed. There are many helpful possibilities out there. Here are a few to get you started.

Well-designed Menu Boards


An attractive menu board, with appealing meal possibilities and easy-to-read descriptions of them, will attract a customer’s attention quickly. Make a board too confusing, and chances are you’ll lose customers rapidly. By keeping everything easy and quick to understand, you’ll help customers make fast decisions, and hopefully encourage them to come back time and again.

Work with a Charity


Charitable work gives you a chance to help a cause that’s important to you, and get your business noticed as you become more involved with members of your community. You might offer restaurant space for meetings or fundraising activities, encourage your employees to participate in community walk-a-thons, help answer phones at pledge drives, or organize clothing drives. It’s important to choose your causes wisely; if no one notices that members of your company are out helping with a particular cause, it won’t help draw business back to your restaurant. Make sure your employees are enthusiastic about the cause, too, so they will be excited about helping out any way they can.

Make Days Special


Depending on the atmosphere you already have—or hope to create—in your restaurant, you could implement a variety of ideas to make certain days of the week special at your establishment. Perhaps a family discount day is in order, or you’d prefer to offer certain dishes at a better rate on a certain day. Capitalize on sporting events that may be happening in town or on television and invite the public to come enjoy some refreshment at your restaurant. Sometimes, drawing a larger crowd takes a little ingenuity and a willingness to be creative. You may need to work with the media to get the momentum going.

Custom Banners


Custom banners tell your potential customers what you want them to know about your restaurant that’s special. You might want to let people know when Happy Hour is, when you have a special event coming up, where you’re going if you’re planning to move to a new location, whether you are holding a grand opening, or much more. Banners can add a look of professionalism to an outdoor event, or simply draw attention to your business when customers might have passed you by countless times before.

Hire the Right Wait Staff


Wait staff must not only be capable of being good servers, but it is essential that they have solid sales skills as well. Find servers who are good listeners, friendly, and able to relate well to customers. Your employees will also need to be trained in aspects of selling the dishes you offer. Ensure they know the items on the menu, including how they are prepared, and what ingredients they contain. Allow your new staff members to taste the menu items you offer.

Customer Loyalty


By implementing the right strategies at your business, you should be able to draw customers back to your restaurant again and again. The important thing is paying strong attention to what appears to be working and what isn’t. Keep your prices as reasonable as possible. Customers are focused on value and having a simple, positive experience. The job isn’t always easy, but in the long run, it will be worthwhile.