The global food service industry is soaring to new heights. Data from Statista shows that the global food service market was valued at $2.52 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach a whopping $4.43 billion by 2028. However, not all restaurants are generating enough revenue.
Restaurant revenue can be difficult to increase. High food and labor costs are always a factor. Numerous restaurant owners have tried multiple tactics to increase their profit margins but have failed. To solve the common problem of low profit in the restaurant industry, there are things a restaurant owner can do that may increase profits for their establishment.
Listed below are five different ways you can use to increase your restaurant revenue.
Focus on Local SEO
Though it might sound like standard SEO, it isn’t. Local SEO focuses on getting your restaurant’s website to appear at the top of local search results. This means that when people in your area search for restaurants, yours will be one of the first results they see—and you’ll get more clicks!
If you are underestimating the power of local SEO for your restaurant, let’s put this statistically. According to a GoGulf survey, 97% of search engine users search for local businesses, and around half of the online searches are meant to find information about local businesses. Moreover, according to Hubspot Marketing Statistics, 72% of people who look for online companies visit a store that’s within 5 miles.
With those stats in mind, imagine someone in your locality looking for a restaurant. If you rank high in the search results, most of those will come to your restaurant, thereby increasing your revenue.
Local SEO can be done by optimizing your website for search engines, ensuring its content is unique, and using keywords relevant to your industry. Here are some ways to implement local SEO:
- Make sure to include the name of your city in your title tags, headers, and meta descriptions. If you want to target only a specific neighborhood, use that too.
- Write blog posts about things relevant to your cities, like restaurants or attractions. If you have any particularly loyal fans who live nearby, try writing something specifically for them.
- Create an account on local directories like Yelp and TripAdvisor, then fill out all their information as accurately as possible. You may even want to create separate accounts for each location if they’re not close together!
- Add links from your site to other sites relevant to your business (e.g., other restaurants). Don’t just link back to Yelp or TripAdvisor—find other websites that will help people find you!
Add a Slush Machine to Your Restaurant
Slush machines are a perfect addition to any restaurant and will help you increase your revenue, here’s why:
They can be placed anywhere in the restaurant. You don’t have to worry about losing space or crowding out other items on your menu board.
Slush drinks are super-popular with kids, and parents love it when their kids are happy. This means that next time the parents take their kids out for a family dinner, the small slush drink fans will request them to come to your restaurant to enjoy the slush drinks together.
They can be used for more than just slush drinks. They also work great for frozen cocktails! And if you’re worried about getting stuck with an expensive machine that only makes one kind of drink, don’t worry—you can use them for anything from soft-serve ice cream to frozen margaritas.
Slush machines are easy to clean and maintain! All that’s needed is some soap and water (or even vinegar), so there’s no need for a professional cleaning crew or expensive maintenance contracts.
Improve Customer Service
Have you ever been to a restaurant and had such a bad experience that you vowed never to return? As a restaurateur, that’s no good for business. 58% of customers can switch companies after a poor experience, whereas 93% will likely make multiple purchases if the experience is good. Hence, you need to focus on customer service to increase your restaurant business’s revenue.
The best thing about customer service is that it’s something you can control—and improve! Here are some ways you can improve your customer service and increase the revenue of your restaurant:
- Make sure the service is excellent. The best way to do this is to hire people, including chefs, managers, servers, and delivery guys, who love what they do. Also, ensure they get the training they need.
- Serve at the right temperature. This will keep customers returning because they know they will get their food hot and fresh every time.
- Get rid of any bad apples. If someone isn’t doing their job properly or is giving customers a bad experience, don’t just let them stay on—get rid of them! This will send a message: everyone has to do their part if this restaurant is going to succeed.
Optimize Your Menu
You’ve probably heard that having a good menu is essential to running a successful restaurant. But you may not have realized how much of an impact your menu can have on your bottom line.
In fact, optimizing the menu is one of the best ways to increase revenue in your restaurant. And you can do it in a few simple steps:
Consider the type of customers you want to attract and make sure they can find what they want on your menu. For example, if you want families with young children to patronize your restaurant, make sure there are kid-friendly items on the menu and they’re easy to find (i.e., not buried in the middle).
Ensure all prices are clearly labeled and include tax, so customers know exactly what they’re paying for their meal before ordering it.
Make sure you’re offering various items—not just burgers and fries—so that customers have options when it comes time for dinner or lunch out with friends or family members who might not like the same types of foods as others do (like picky eaters).
Consider the font and design of the menus —are they easy to read? Are the prices clearly labeled? Do the menus include photos of each item, so customers know what they’re ordering before making decisions?
Final Thoughts
If you’re a restaurant owner or manager interested in ways to increase your restaurant’s revenue, try out these four suggestions. They’re quick and easy to implement, but they can make all the difference. There have been countless success stories, so why not be the next one?