When opening a restaurant of any size there are many major issues worth considering; the size of your restaurant is the first. The first helpful hint is that it does not matter what the size of you restaurant is - the starting up procedures are tough!!
The misconception in starting a small restaurant is that it will be 'easier' to manage. This can be true in some cases, but a key point to factor in to the planning is that the smaller the restaurant, the smaller the profitable turnover. No matter how efficient the service is, how high the quality of the food, if the restaurant is small and unknown to its local market it will never take off.
Restaurateurs should all be advised to spend money and time on marketing. It is cheaper to out-source your marketing and it will provide long-term benefits. A small and large restaurant will spend the same amount on marketing but a larger restaurant will benefit from a larger number of covers.
As restaurant consultants we recommend anyone starting a new, small restaurant to consider some key issues:
No restaurant should ever under-budget. The start-up of any business is always more expensive than planned and preparing for this lessens the stress. It is a typical step to over-spend on refurbishment and staffing the week of the launch hoping the visual effects will market the restaurant from the minute the doors open. No, no, no - this is a classical error that leads to 80% of new restaurants going bankrupt within the first two years of opening. Spending approximately 3% of your estimated turnover on marketing will secure a high quality menu design, promotional material and media relations. All marketing strategies are proven to increase customer loyalty – thus increasing on-going restaurant sales.
The location of a restaurant is the leading visual aspect that will determine the visual issues considered when marketing. Is you restaurant in a brand new location or is it opening in a once existing restaurant. There are mixed blessing to both; when opening a restaurant in a venue that has already seen the catering trade you must question why it is no longer catering there? When opening a restaurant in a new location - will it be seen, will people find it and is it practical for customers to get to? In both scenarios, it is vital to analyse the local competition; what cuisine do they serve? Who is their regular clientele? How do they market to themselves to the local target market?
Location, local competition and your local market are the three prime areas that should be considered when starting a restaurant business and with all three, restaurant marketing strategies will make you heard of, improve your brand and attract custom to boost restaurant sales.
For more help and tips on restaurant graphic design get in contact with Captivate Restaurants today on 020 7060 3318 or email info@captivate-restaurants.co.uk
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