Although it may seem rather glamorous at first glance, starting a restaurant is no easy feat. In fact, the restaurant & food business, in general, is one that is extremely time-consuming, high overhea...
Although it may seem rather glamorous at first glance, starting a restaurant is no easy feat. In fact, the restaurant & food business, in general, is one that is extremely time-consuming, high overheads, razor-thin margins & a manager's nightmare.
But, it is also one that is central to our society and the eating-out culture in every country is the cornerstone of its culinary heritage. This is precisely why, especially during the light of the lockdowns, restaurants, in particular, are facing a very uncertain & grim future which, if left unchecked, can turn into a disaster for the industry.
There are a few things that we as consumers can do in order to help the restaurant industry and the entire hospitality industry in general, but more than anything else, this post is aimed at a few marketing strategies that restaurants can easily adopt.
1. Understanding Their Audience
Restaurant owners are infamous for being callous with their marketing decisions, this is partly because the research process in the restaurant industry itself can be quite tricky. Gathering insightful data within a small or slightly larger community will be tricky as it is. This is precisely where digital surveys, restaurant management software, etc play a huge role.
But more than anything that a machine can do, understanding what the consumers themselves experience while at the restaurant is something priceless in itself. For this, employees & busboys must be trained to ask the right questions and keep an eye out for understanding the consumer experience.
You're much better off enlisting the services of an expert furniture supplier. Only a handful of suppliers almost exclusively work cafes, restaurants, hotels and resorts for their furniture. FurnitureRoots is one of them.
You may visit FurnitureRoots at Plot No 58/2, Jodhpur-Pali Highway, Sangariya, Basni Baghelao, Jodhpur, Rajasthan. 342013
Rustic style furniture is another great option for restaurants that see customers visit with their families.
2. Adapt With The Changing Times
Most non-western countries have more or less been out of the eating out trend in the past. However, many countries have seen a drastic change in this trend. Countries like India are at the forefront of these shifts in trends.
Several cafes in India have seen a rise in environmentally friendly themes. Cognizant of this fact, Prithvi Cafe in Bombay began manifesting an eco-friendly establishment replete with cups and saucers made with disposable leaves, 4 different cans for recycling different types of materials & of course, greenery all around the place.
Naturally, Prithvi Cafe did understand its market's shifting needs and adapted to it accordingly.
3. Spatial Strategies
These happen to be the strategies that are short term in nature (hoping the pandemic won't be around for long).
Spatial strategies during these times are to ensure that the image of the restaurant reflects trustworthiness and safety. Although this does involve a bit of mental, time & a minor cost investment, it will forever instill a sense of trust among the local & regular customers.
Spatial strategies are the ones that aim to maximize the seating area while ensuring the social distancing norms for restaurants are maintained and are intact as well. This can also include moving to temporary outdoor seating as has been advocated by several governments across the world to curb the spread of the virus.
4. Go Digital
I bet most of you must be tired of hearing this every now and then but the fact remains that the digital landscape is no longer some sort of a novel initiative that one must undertake. It has become the staple of a business and several businesses are almost exclusively reliant on their digital strategies.
For restaurants, however, this does not mean simply enlisting themselves on food aggregating platforms. Several restaurants suffer from a lack of long term thinking, they fail to realize that the aggregating platforms own the customers and not the restaurants themselves.
Making an app or a website nowadays has become a complete breeze & it is also a sound business practice. Small wonder that Dominos, Burger Kind, Mcdonalds have all invested heavily on their own platform to ensure loyal customers don't have to purchase from them via a third party.
This is no less true for any other restaurant.
We hope all businesses in hospitality a speedy recovery after this dreaded misfortune of a virus.
Stay Safe!
