Becoming a business owner is both exciting and scary. There is an element of uncertainty to any start-up, but the challenging café and restaurant industries are particularly difficult to last and succeed in. For those in the hospitality sector, starting off as an independent small business means battling against huge corporate giants backed by unrivaled reputations and obscene marketing budgets. That’s not to say it’s impossible to make it though.
Countless independent cafés and restaurants survive and grow each year through a variety of different techniques and methods. If you’ve just decided to start your own hospitality business venture, use these proven strategies to help get off the mark strong and create a platform for future success.
Brand Awareness
First things first, brand awareness is absolutely fundamental from the outset. Places to eat often rely on reputation to attract customers, with random walk-in making up a small portion of revenue. Therefore, building this reputation and maximising your exposure is a key aspect of quickly seeing business growth.
There are a host of different techniques you can use to build brand awareness. It’s recommended to combine a strong digital and social media presence with noticeable physical, ads too. Local magazines or newspapers always help, whilst eye-catching signage and partnerships with other relevant businesses can also make a difference. When it comes to the café and restaurant industry, quality matters above all, so if you are delivering a quality service and product, brand awareness will naturally improve anyway.
Commercial Furniture
The next step to improving business success is helping to ensure that your service is the best it can possibly be. Whilst food and drink quality are obviously the first and foremost priority, there are other aspects of the customer experience which can be optimised. Commercial furniture is a great example of this. Different furniture can say different things about your business and improve the overall customer journey. Booth seating promotes private relaxation, whilst industrially designed steel tables can really amplify a rustic décor. All of these contribute to how memorable your café or restaurant is.
Just remember to visit a showroom before you buy. When it comes to physical products, the digital screen can often deceive you whereas the real thing can’t. Also, when you go and visit a business you can often get immediate answers to your questions as well as bespoke advice and suggestions. Showroom visits are simply a must for any small business that wants furniture which effectively aligns with their brand, décor and style.
Customer Loyalty Initiatives
One of the most affordable boosts to growth, particularly for cafés, is the inclusion of a loyalty scheme. Something as simple as buy five coffees to get your sixth free can encourage people to come back, and the advantage of being a small business is that you can begin to build a relationship with these loyal customers. That relationship results in them recommending you to others and bringing their friends, growing your brand awareness and increasing customer retention.
The advantage of a small café to a huge chain is that independent businesses are friendly and personal. Utilising this to your advantage is key to success, so building worthwhile relationships with dedicated customers is a sure-fire way to see growth.
Define Your Unique Selling Point (USP)
Finally, it is important to recognise what your USP is. If you are just considering starting up and haven’t actually gone into business yet, think about what all of the cafés around your proposed destination are missing, then adopt that as your USP. Whether it is vegan products, a special cuisine or a unique restaurant layout, every business has a USP.
That way they can brag about to draw attention to themselves. Use this to your advantage in all marketing materials to pique the curiosity of those most interested.
With that said, there are many more techniques you can use to help grow your café or restaurant business, but these are a good start. The key is to focus on exceptional quality service and product, supported by effective processes and fast delivery. With that combination, it’s hard to go wrong!
With that said, there are many more techniques you can use to help grow your café or restaurant business, but these are a good start. The key is to focus on exceptional quality service and product, supported by effective processes and fast delivery. With that combination, it’s hard to go wrong!