4 Ways to Make Your Eatery a Standout
You may have thought about starting an eatery, or you might even have an up-and-running business! In both cases, it is crucial to understand that it is not an easy job. The food industry is highly competitive and evolving fast. So, whether you are just starting out or have been running a restaurant for decades, you need to put extra effort into making it stand out.
Fortunately, you can use various strategies to compete with the hundreds of other eateries in your area. After all, a sign of a good eatery is one that stands apart from the crowd and has a competitive edge over others. If you want to win over hungry customers and retain them as a loyal part of your food family, then keep reading. We have something tempting in store for you that you cannot resist.
Without further ado, it’s time to dig into four effective ways to make your eatery stand out from the rest.
- First things first, get certified to stay more credible
The most promising way to stay competitive is by showing your credibility as a restaurant owner to your customers. Whoever comes to your restaurant needs to feel safe knowing they’re in the right hands. Just like any other firm needs to get done with important paperwork to run a profitable business, you must do the same. Aside from having legal business contracts in place, you need the right certifications to stay trustworthy in the long run. These certifications include but are not limited to doing chef courses, learning about food allergens, training staff members, etc.
For the residents of California, there is another requirement to fulfill while running a restaurant. They need to get RBS certified, which is a certificate for responsible beverage consumption. This certificate is needed by the state if you have a bar in your eatery or if you are planning to open one.
A requirement like this trains employees to serve drinks responsibly and comply with alcohol regulations. Courses and training like this help everyone in the restaurant act more professionally and gain the trust of customers.
- Use social media to your advantage
Social media is integral to any effective marketing strategy now. It has many advantages besides helping you advertise your restaurant and interact with consumers. The online platform is excellent for spreading information widely in a short time.
If your eatery does not have an active social media presence, you’re falling behind. Do your eatery a favor and create accounts on different social media platforms, like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, etc.
After creating these accounts, start posting recipes, aesthetic restaurant/bar shots, and lots of food pictures and videos! Also, start thinking outside the box and differentiate your eatery by promoting its specialties on social media.
You must have seen people go viral by following current trends online. What’s stopping you from jumping on the bandwagon and making yourself known to the world? How active you remain on social media will help in increasing brand awareness. By posting trendy and relevant content, even the ones who haven’t heard about your eatery will come to visit your place! Therefore, the sooner you realize the growing importance of social media, the better for your business!
- Offer discounts and deals that no one can resist
The holiday season has already started, with Christmas and the New Year around the corner. Usually, events and holidays like these call for weekly promotions and discounts as most people go out to celebrate.
To stay competitive and win over everyone’s appetites, introduce creative discounts. Yes, anyone can offer promotions, but the key is to lead the promotion game. You can either offer some happy hour promotions or ladies’ day deals. In addition, you can also offer a special menu with deals for a family of two or more.
Some eateries also offer “Two for Tuesday” deals, where customers get one item free when they buy one. You can offer such deals to new customers on their first order or continue it as a weekly offer for everyone!
Moreover, introduce your restaurant membership points with people getting coins on every order placed online. Show them how they can redeem their coins in the future and get discounts on food orders. In this way, you will promote your business online and offline and attract more customers. Such creative and smart promotions will give you a much-needed competitive edge, and customers will keep coming back for more!
- Add inclusivity to your menu
Being inclusive means showing care and paying attention to everyone’s different needs. Your eatery should be a place where everyone feels welcome. If you only offer food for a certain group of people, then others will feel left out, and you will lose any competitive edge you may have.
Start off with customizing your menu by offering gluten and dairy-free options. For people watching their sugar intake, there must be sugar-free or low-carb options on the menu. Since diets like keto are gaining popularity, why not include a separate keto-friendly section? Not to forget, vegetarian options as well.
As a restaurant owner, it is your job to make everyone feel good about their lifestyle choices and eating habits. Therefore, instead of offering the same menu for everyone, add some inclusivity to it. In this way, your customers will know that you keep everyone’s developing tastes and preferences in mind. Also, they will like and respect your eatery even more, recommending it to others too.
Aside from having a competitive edge, another benefit to getting out of this is you will become more relevant. Who knows, your eatery might get brand recognition for being an inclusive brand catering to every individual customer. Now, that’s a win-win for everyone!
Conclusion
Lastly, analyze what your rival is selling, for how much, and the marketing tactics they use to promote themselves. Knowing what your competitors are up to will help you understand where you are lagging in your business. So, what’s the wait? Now that you know how to boost your eatery’s performance, do what’s needed before it gets too late! After all, your eatery will only perform well if you know when and how to implement the right tricks. Instead of overthinking it, take over the game and lead the competition!
