Few industries are quite as competitive as the restaurant industry. Whether you’re trying to make it as a restaurant owner in a small town or a big city, somewhere by the beach or in a busy downtown area, you’ll have your work cut out for you.
So, to ensure success, you’ll need to find a way to differentiate yourself. While that’s certainly easier said than done, there are a few simple things you could do to get started on this path.
Make both the interior and the exterior inviting
You could have the perfect location with heavy foot traffic and millions of daily passers-by, and you’d still find it difficult to attract patrons if your overall restaurant seems uninviting. To distinguish yourself and turn your restaurant into the next hotspot in your area, you’ll need to work on appearances.
Both your interior and exterior need to be well-thought-out and eye-catching. The specific details will be up to your personal tastes and preferences—you might want a more modern look with plenty of open space and unique furniture, or you might want a cozier, more rustic appearance.
Whatever the case is, you’ll want your interior and exterior to be consistent and clean. Most importantly, however, you’ll want them to have all the proper signage to help you catch your target audience’s eye.
According to Sign Crafters, Inc., custom signs in Evansville IN, interior and exterior signage is what helps you make an unforgettable, lasting impression. It’s what helps you become recognizable in a vast sea of competition. So, make sure to give your interior and exterior restaurant signs the careful thought and consideration they deserve.
Come up with unique events
You don’t have to go through hoops to find a restaurant with decent food and nice ambient music. But what about a restaurant with live concerts performed by local bands every Tuesday night? A restaurant that hosts culinary classes on Thursday afternoons? One with wine tastings during winter or open-mic nights during summer?
Just organizing unique events can help you draw attention with the utmost ease—if for no other reason than because it introduces variety and offers a fun experience for both you and your patrons.
Moreover, these events can help you spice up your marketing efforts, giving you more content to work with and helping make your social media posts more intriguing. As an added bonus, they’re likely to help your online word-of-mouth marketing since many of the diners who come to these events will probably want to share a glimpse into their experiences on their personal social media accounts.
Work on your online presence
Although restaurants are all about in-person experiences, there’s no denying that your online reputation matters. Over 90% of diners look up a restaurant online before visiting it. Many of them will decide not to visit simply because they couldn’t find the necessary information—like working hours—or because the restaurant’s social media accounts seemed incomplete and outdated.
If you want to appeal to those 90% of diners, you’ll want to work on your online presence.
Ideally, you’ll want your own website with complete information—a full menu, your unique vegan/gluten-free/allergen-free/etc. options, accurate working hours, contact information, and more.
However, just having a basic website is typically not enough. You’ll also want to stay active on social media, share frequent posts and updates, announce new events or changes in the restaurant, and stay engaged with commenters.
Additionally, you could join online groups and communities on Facebook, Reddit, forums, and more. Try to engage frequently with others—answering relevant questions, offering insights, sharing your experiences as a restauranteur, and the like.
The more active you are, the easier it will be to get noticed.
Be responsive to feedback
Speaking of staying active online, there’s one specific thing you’ll have to pay close attention to—your restaurant’s online reviews. Whether you have a website and active social media accounts or not, you can rest assured that others will be talking about your business. If they can’t leave reviews and feedback directly to you, they’ll find another way to do so.
Considering that online reviews can easily make or break your restaurant, you’ll want to stay vigilant and watch them closely.
Hopefully, you’ll get flooded with positive feedback and have nothing to worry about. However, the chances are that you’ll encounter negative reviews no matter what you do.
Although many diners will simply look at the negative reviews and stay away from your business, many more will pay closer attention to how you respond to the negative reviews. So, you’ll want to make sure that you do respond.
If the negative feedback is your restaurant’s fault, you’ll always want to admit your mistakes, apologize, and state what you’re doing to correct things. If someone’s left negative feedback just for the sake of it, stay professional and kind, and don’t go into arguments.
Final thoughts
Differentiating your restaurant isn’t an easy task, but there are many things you can do to ensure your success. From designing inviting interiors and exteriors with proper signage to organizing fun events, creating a strong online presence, and engaging with online communities, it takes just a bit of work to get started on this path.
