Top 5 tips for restaurants facing economic hardship

In these challenging economic times, restaurants face the daunting task of attracting and retaining customers who are increasingly looking for value without compromising on their dining experience. As a restaurateur understanding how to navigate these pressures is crucial. Here’s five tips to help you adapt and thrive.

1. Offering value through menu innovation

Introducing one or two cheaper alternatives on your menu helps in not scaring people away due to high prices, ensuring they can still enjoy dining out. These cheaper options should be strategically priced to ensure a good return on investment, catering to guests seeking more affordable dining experiences, but still a tasty dining alternative.

2. Delivering top-notch service in a smart way

Exceptional service is key to encouraging repeat business. Being present and attentive, offering refills, and ensuring a pleasant dining experience can make a huge difference. But, how can you maintain this level of service with limited staff due to budget constraints? 

Innovative tools like HandyPay, a mobile ordering and payment device can truly improve how your waitstaff operates. By integrating ordering and payment processes into a single device, your team can remain in the dining area, providing seamless service. And you have dedicated people/runners carrying the drinks and food to the table.

3. Boosting service efficiency and gathering guest insights with QR codes

To enhance your service, consider providing guests with the convenience of ordering and paying directly from their table using QR codes. Alternatively, you could offer the option for customers to pay through a QR code displayed on their receipt. This approach eliminates the need for customers to wait for waitstaff to process their payment, allowing them to settle their bill at their own pace. This not only allows them the convenience of splitting the bill and paying individually if desired but also presents a valuable opportunity for you to seamlessly collect guest data. Data which can be very useful when you start communicating with your customers.

4. Personalized offers to keep customers coming back

Everyone enjoys feeling appreciated and acknowledged. Engaging with your customers in a personalized way can easily be done. You can set up automated email campaigns for direct communication tailored to your customers' preferences and behaviors. For example, you can send personalized offers to guests who spend over 50 EUR, rewarding them with a complimentary dessert, drink, or similar incentive on their next visit. Additionally, you can keep your customers informed about special events, such as "Afterwork Fridays" featuring a DJ. Providing your customers with relevant and timely information encourages them to revisit, enhancing their connection to your establishment.

5. Create awareness and visibility for your restaurant

Leverage Social Media: Post engaging content regularly on platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok. Use high-quality photos of your dishes, behind-the-scenes video glimpses, and share your restaurant's story. 

Optimize Online Presence: Ensure your Google My Business listing is up-to-date with your menu, hours, and photos to improve search visibility.

Online Reviews: Encourage satisfied customers to leave positive reviews on platforms like TripAdvisor, Google and Yelp. Respond professionally to both positive and negative reviews.

Influencer Marketing: Collaborate with influencers to reach a wider audience. Offer them a free meal in exchange for a review or social media posts.

Don’t hesitate to contact us at Trivec, we love to help you and your restaurant to thrive.