Common Problems That Restaurants Face #3
Do you have some of these common restaurant problems?
The food industry is a high-risk business proposition. You’ve got a lofty level of competition and a lot of details to perfect. According to an often quoted study, 60% of businesses fail in the first year. How do you ensure your restaurant’s success?
Restaurants face many common problems in their daily business. You can increase your chance of success by understanding these common problems and developing strategies to combat these issues.
Talking about all the problems is a lengthy matter. So we have initiated a series of blogs to talk about some of them each time.
This is the last blog of this series. If you miss the first or second one, you can it see here.
Common Problem #5:
Hiring and Training Staff
Most successful restaurant owners know the importance of hiring and training the right employees. Yet, a common problem exists as many restaurants hire the wrong people and have a high turnover rate. An incompetent staff can also irreparably damage your current and future customer base.
When you put great emphasis on your staff, you’ll reduce costs over time and enhance your diners’ customer service experience. Pay extra attention to finding the perfect employees and don’t settle for a warm body. Once hired, train your staff and offer training manuals, checklists, goals and incentives.
Inspire your staff as well as your management team. Train them to address any situation, good or bad, that arises. Make sure they are enthusiastic and motivated to pursue your goals and adhere to your restaurant’s unique concept.
Establish and maintain a solid management structure so everyone knows and understands their and their team members' responsibilities. Your management team should be exemplary, committed, motivational and adept at running the restaurant in your absence.
Common Problem #6: Marketing
Many owners fail to pay enough attention to marketing making this a common problem in the restaurant world. Following are a few areas to attend to now to avoid the pitfalls that not-enough marketing incurs:
Formalize your brand standards. This includes a mission statement, logo, graphics, guidelines, etc.
Make a marketing plan. Daunting? Start small and work up to a six-month or yearlong plan.
Get a responsive website that looks great on desktop, tablet and mobile phone.
Engage in social media and digital marketing.
Start an email database.
Create a customer loyalty program.
Be creative with your marketing. Whatever your budget, there are inexpensive ways to market your restaurant.
Common Problem #7: Capital
Finally, we come to an area where many restaurant entrepreneurs run into big problems. This looming problem is capital and more specifically, a lack of it. Restaurant owners need enough capital to run their businesses so they can fully establish themselves. Owners should plan to have at least enough money to run for one year. Additionally, restaurant owners need to have enough financial resources to cope with unexpected costs and increases.
Have you experienced another problem common to restaurants that isn’t listed here? We’d love to hear from you. Please share your problem below as well as the way(s) you solved the issue.
This is all for today.
In the next blog, we will discuss some more ways for your business growth.
Your online presence can increase your profits by driving visitors to your restaurant. Do you have a great website that highlights your restaurant? Is it user-friendly and enticing?
If not, or you’d like a website tune-up and refresh, contact us for your free website consultation. We’ll ensure your website works for your visitors and is the centerpiece of your marketing.
