Managing the restaurant journey

This is the forth article in a series of articles about how to open a restaurant. In our download “Open a restaurant” you can read more about how to run a successful restaurant.

How to wear multiple hats

Running a restaurant includes handling finances, inventory, marketing, public relations, staff relations, customer satisfaction and much more. On top of that you have stay focused on and excited by the food and atmosphere of your eatery. Let’s face it, managing a restaurant will require you to delegate and be open to new ideas. And that’s where a journey management plan comes in. It’s all about mapping the customer experience and truly plan what to communicate to whom. Regardless of the type of food service you operate, you’ll have to be flexible.

You should stay tuned to changing trends and customer demands. Locally produced and healthy options can no longer be ignored. But what’s crucial for the next direction, write down milestones? The only way to know is to listen to both existing and potential customers. Why not create personas, a semi-fictional person who represents your target audience, fill the persona with needs, a personality, pain points, priceing and the voice of the customer. Turn to that personain marketing and also for upsell.

Follow up on social media comments and reviews on third-party apps. Don’t stick your head in the sand and think a bad review is worth ignoring. Quite the opposite, you should consider smart investments in digital and automated systems that will allow you to focus more on managerial decisions and less on routine tasks. Customer feedback is worth a lot, try to answer the comment and send a true answer. The customer engagement means a lot and will be seen by others. Research the best technological help available on the market. Look over your existing systems for ordering, staffing, planning, inventory and accounting and see whether a complete integrated system is something for you. Don´t forget the possibility to choose a system which also collects customer data.

Stay in demand

Great food and service will keep you in demand. But you also need to stay noticeable and reach new customers. This is where marketing comes in. You can resort to ads, but once you have a clientele, maintaining your reputation should receive more of your attention. Even though web sites have lost ground to social media and third-party apps, make sure to make your web presence attractive, user-friendly and customer oriented.

Word of mouth, the king of marketing, is free and effective. And today word of mouth runs online, through networks on social media. Therefore, use social media only if you plan to follow up. A Facebook account where you ignore customer comments and questions, mainly because you don’t have time, is worse than not being there at all. Even if you opt out of your own social media accounts, third-party dining apps represent millions of visitors annually, and their visitors are your customers.

There’s a lot to consider before opening your first foodservice business. The key is not to rush into it. Take a step back from your original dream and look at reality. How does your restaurant fit in? How will you find that gap in the market?

Stay in touch!

We at Trivec have a long experience of working with every imaginary form of restaurant, from casual to fine dining, from large international chains to family-owned neighborhood eateries. Remember, we’re here to help!

Last year we welcomed over 500 new customers and helped them solve restaurant-related problems both big and small. Let us know how we can help you succeed in your new enterprise.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

You can reach us at [email protected] or +46 (0)10-150 23 00

Thank you!