Running a restaurant is a huge undertaking! From supplies and inventory to customer service, human resources and menu design, you need to be a jack of all trades! Here are 10 tips to improve your restaurant management and increase your chances of success.
1. Put your people first
The smooth running of your restaurant and the satisfaction of your customers depend on your employees. So it's in your interest to recruit the right people, train them well and offer them excellent working conditions .
Where can you take action?
Here are a few ideas:
- List your human resources needs and draw up job descriptions to match them.
- Don't underestimate your employees' training needs. As the sector is constantly evolving, it's important to keep them informed, especially when it comes to digitalization.
- Look after your employees by offering them good working conditions: attractive salary compensation, prospects for career development, benefits in kind, a reward system, supplies adapted to their needs, etc.
- Establish efficient schedules that take account of fluctuations in activity. Avoid understaffing or overstaffing, and ensure that the team has a balanced workload.
All these actions will help you create a healthy corporate culture and a pleasant working environment in which your employees can flourish.
2. Design your card with care
Your menu is one of your best selling points. If it's a success, it'll convince customers to come and visit your establishment, whether online or in person.
You need to pay particular attention to content without neglecting form. The challenge is twofold! Ensure the variety and quality of the food you offer. Be transparent about the origin of the products and the list of ingredients present in each meal. And make sure that this content is highlighted by elegant design, modern typography and a layout in keeping with your restaurant.
Keep the menu short and simple. Too many options will discourage customers. Prices should be fair, based on the cost of raw materials, the type of cuisine and competitive prices.
One last recommendation before moving on to the next tip: don't hesitate to change your menu, renew the menu and remove dishes that don't sell, so your customers will be more inclined to come back.
3. Open new control channels
Diversifying ordering channels, including delivery, broadens your customer base. Relying on apps or developing an in-house delivery service increases your restaurant's reach, while requiring efficient logistics to guarantee the quality of delivered dishes.
4. Maximize your margin
Increasing profitability requires strategies focused on additional sales. Suggested dishes, bundled offers, special drinks or desserts can boost sales.
That's exactly what the control terminals do!
"My kiosks are my best salespeople: they skilfully offer extras that inflate my average ticket by €3 on average." Damien, BCHEF franchisee in Vannes
5. Organize your kitchen preparation
Kitchen efficiency is crucial. Optimize processes, manage inventory and train staff to reduce preparation times. Plan tasks meticulously, use appropriate tools and maintain fluid communication to speed up preparation while maintaining dish quality.
Communication between the dining room and the kitchen is crucial to avoid errors and delays. When communication is fluid, constant and open, the impact on the customer experience is immediate.
Systems such as production screens help coordinate orders and avoid errors.
6. Careful communication
Communication is a subject that regularly comes to the fore, and for good reason: it's directly linked to the success of your restaurant. Without an effective communications strategy, there's little chance of your establishment standing out from the competition.
We are referring here to both externaland internal communication.
The first is crucial to making yourself known and being present in consumers' minds. Poster campaigns, social networks, SEA, SEO, newsletters, flyers, local press - explore every means of communication.
👉 To go further: 9 ideas for improving your restaurant's communications and marketing
7. Keep a close eye on your facility's finances
Successful management in the foodservice industry means keeping a close eye on your establishment's finances. By keeping an eye on the numbers, you'll have a clear view of your budget, enabling better cost management and informed decision-making. By controlling costs, you can more easily identify profitable activities, optimize them and eliminate those that are not. Losses are minimized and profits, conversely, maximized. Cash flow monitoring is also crucial, because it's the key to business continuity.
Thanks to this analysis, you'll be able to make the most appropriate strategic decisions to help your restaurant grow. You'll also strengthen your credibility with lenders and investors.
8. Negotiate with your suppliers and control the quality of raw materials
The raw materials, combined with your chef's expertise, will tantalize your guests' taste buds. Isn't that the ultimate goal of a restaurateur? There's no need to compromise on the quality of these ingredients, as long as you can break even. Seasonal, local and organic products are all the rage, but they come at a price. You can reduce these costs by negotiating directly with your suppliers, who are often willing to concede lower prices.
Once prices have been negotiated, you'll need to carry out regular quality checks. These checks ensure that the products do not present any health risk to customers. After all, how can you produce dishes that diners enjoy if the quality of the raw materials is not up to scratch? Your restaurant's clientele and reputation are at stake! Finally, these controls will also enable you to list precisely the ingredients used in each recipe, and inform consumers accordingly (allergies, special diets, etc.).
9. Pay attention to customer feedback
Feedback from your guests and staff is one of the best ways, if not the best way, to improve. You'll know what works and what doesn't, from the point of view of your customers and your employees. You'll see, it may not be what you had in mind as a manager.
Ordering errors a regular occurrence? Perhaps it's time to invest in a production screen system which will considerably reduce confusion between the kitchen and dining room teams. Some customers complain about long queues? The order terminals or QR codes can help you appease those disgruntled customers. And if it's the staff who seem to be more of a problem - their professionalism, their ability to respond to customer requests, their welcome? Concentrate on training your staff, and take extra care when recruiting.
By responding to and taking into account your customers' comments, you'll improve your e-reputation. And we know just how important online restaurant reviews and ratings are in customers' decision-making processes!
👉 To find out more: 7 tips for collecting good customer reviews for your restaurant
10. Offer your customers a memorable experience
Charming the taste buds of consumers is unfortunately not enough to guarantee the success of your establishment. No, you also need to offer a memorable experience. You can rely on the expertise of your front-of-house and kitchen staff, and deploy a number of measures to ensure that your customers have an excellent time:
- a smiling welcome,
- available, responsive and polite staff,
- fast, organized service,
- a well-decorated room that reflects your concept,
- comfortable furniture,
- a warm and friendly atmosphere,
- tasty dishes with careful preparation.
And don't forget to offer a tailor-made service by memorizing the names of your most loyal customers, or by offering them some special attention. No doubt they'll appreciate it.
The challenge? Seduce your guests through taste, smell and sight, and make their passage through your establishment as smooth as possible. Numerous digital solutions to help you do just that!
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Innovorder is the leader in digital solutions for commercial and institutional foodservice. Our team supports restaurateurs in their digital transformation with an all-in-one solution (cash register, kiosk, online ordering, KDS).
