Increasing Sales For A Small Restaurant

Social Media Marketing

One of the best ways to find new customers is to go right where they are. Today, virtually everyone has a social media account, whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, or any other.

Therefore, one of the most effective ways to increase restaurant sales is by having a social media presence. Create social media pages for your restaurant and update them regularly. You can post pictures and information about what your restaurant has to offer.

Social media marketing is especially more effective if you use it to inform your customers about special offers and discounts. 

Build Reputation with Reviews

Did you know that your online image can affect your restaurant sales in various ways? It can take just a few minutes for a dissatisfied customer to splash his discontent across the whole of your potential customer base with a malicious review on platforms like Yelp and Facebook.

Study shows that 68% of potential customers will form a judgment of your business after reading 1 to 6 reviews. So, you can use reviews to your advantage by building a positive reputation. Encourage your customers to leave a positive review if they are satisfied with your service.

Also, work on improving the negative reviews that you’ll inevitably receive. If managing reviews proves to be a difficult task for you, consider hiring a reputation management company to handle everything for you. This strategy will make your restaurant even more successful.

Customer Loyalty Schemes

Want to keep your best customers coming back? A loyalty program is a great way to do that. One study revealed that 64% of businesses that had a customer loyalty program made more money than it cost them to maintain the program.

The study also showed that repeat customers spend 67% more on any purchase compared to repeat customers. You’ll probably want to reward them for that.

The best thing about customer loyalty schemes is that there are numerous ways to set them up. However, one of the most common, and perhaps the easiest, is to create a loyalty card that keeps track of customer’s visits to your restaurant.

This encouragescustomers to work towards earning a free item of your choice. You may choose to offer free desserts and drinks. These items are usually less expensive compared to other foods.

Nonetheless, they will still make your customers feel appreciated and you’ll surely earn their loyalty.

Offer Takeaway or Delivery

Many people today prefer to order food in the comfort of their homes. Hence, another effective restaurant promotion technique is to capitalize on online ordering and home delivery. Otherwise, you’ll be losing out on many potential customers.

You may also not have enough space at your restaurant or enough waiters to handle your orders. That doesn't mean you won't sell your products. Offering takeaway and delivery services will help you get around these shortcomings while ensuring that your sales improve.

Furthermore, you don’t have to depend so much on in-house delivery staff. You can take advantage of the many online delivery platforms available today.

Conclusion

There are many reasons your small restaurant could be performing poorly. Market over saturation is one of the major reasons. You can implement these four simple techniques to make your restaurant stand out from the rest and increase your sales.