Discover 5 Secrets & Ways to Make Your Restaurant Successful!

Starting and running a restaurant business requires thorough preparation and research, as well as being open to new innovations in the culinary world. Despite the fierce competition in the culinary field, the opportunity for success and profit is still wide open. Because we understand the difficulties and how challenging it is to make your restaurant a hit, here are 5 secrets and ways to make your restaurant successful.

1. Uniqueness is Key!

Distinctive features that will set your restaurant apart from competitors are important to capture the hearts of customers and make them interested in visiting. What are the unique aspects that can be applied in a restaurant?

The uniqueness of a restaurant can be seen from its service style, such as fast service, a concept that has never been seen before, like an inclusive restaurant that employs people with disabilities, authentic flavors in the menu, or by offering seasonal menus that have been researched beforehand.

You can also provide a different touch in your restaurant by designing decorations that reflect the restaurant's concept while providing a more comfortable and enjoyable dining experience for customers.

2. Choose a Strategic Location

The choice of location will greatly affect the flow of customers to your restaurant. Some factors to consider in choosing a restaurant location include road access and proximity to public transportation to make it easier for customers to reach your restaurant and increase its exposure, employee costs in potential restaurant locations that fit your budget, and the density of competitors around your restaurant.

Of course, you don't want to open a restaurant in a location filled with competitors because of the very tight competition and the target market segment may already be loyal customers of competitors' restaurants.

Furthermore, if you are considering choosing a restaurant location close to the main road to make access for visitors easy and increase the visibility of your restaurant, don't forget to also check your budget because such locations usually require a large investment.

3. Provide Excellent Service and Enjoyable Dining Experiences

A restaurant that is always crowded with visitors cannot be separated from excellent service that adds value to customer satisfaction and enhances the dining experience. You can provide fast service without compromising quality, for example, by managing queues online so that cashiers do not need to double as waiters.

In addition, you can improve payment services at the cashier to make it smoother and facilitate customer payments by providing various digital payment options.

Your restaurant can also reach more customers by offering services such as dining in, delivery, pick-up, same-day delivery, or scheduled orders so that customers can order from anywhere, anytime according to their needs.

These conveniences created to provide a memorable dining experience for customers can be realized using ESB Order, a web-based online sales system. So, customers don't need to bother installing an app to order and pay for the menu. Your restaurant's operations become more efficient in terms of time and cost, and your customers are satisfied.

4. Offer Promotions and Loyalty Programs

Almost everyone is always chasing discounts. Discounts can make your customers happy, increase sales, and encourage them to give positive reviews about your restaurant.

The trick of using discounts to attract new customers may still be applicable, but this doesn't always have to be done because you are "burning money" excessively if you keep giving discounts at your restaurant. Your customers may never be empty-handed, but your business will suffer.

The solution is to consider loyalty programs. Loyalty programs or memberships aim to make customers come back to your restaurant again and again, thus increasing sales at your restaurant steadily.

Moreover, acquiring new customers is much more difficult than retaining loyal customers. These loyal customers will help increase your business profits up to 2 times. Plus, if you can get this loyalty program for free, your business will be more profitable without draining your bank account. ESB's loyalty program—ESB Loop—can be a smart choice for your business because it is included in the ESB cashier application product, so you don't need to pay additional fees.

You can set customer point settings, create a system for the number of point levels, and customers can redeem points for prizes tailored by the restaurant. It's time for you not only to chase profits but also to start creating loyal customers for your restaurant!

5. Make Potential Customers Fall in Love at First Sight with the Restaurant Exterior

When we walk past many buildings, one aspect that will catch our attention is a unique or out-of-the-box exterior design. According to Iconia Group, a design service company, a well-designed exterior can increase customer turnover by up to 50%.

A higher turnover rate will increase your restaurant's sales and, of course, make your business more profitable. When planning the exterior design of your restaurant, you will provide visual identity that must also represent the brand or concept of your restaurant. The design must also be adjusted to furniture such as outdoor table and chair layouts to maintain the concept and flow of your restaurant.

The exterior design can also make visitors to your restaurant feel more connected to nature by providing touches such as balconies, large windows, or seating layouts facing towards natural scenery.

Unique and aesthetic exteriors will also encourage customers to take photos and upload them on their social media, indirectly promoting your restaurant for free. It's interesting to consider, isn't it?

Those are 5 ways to make your restaurant successful and never lack customers. Although starting and managing a restaurant has its own challenges and requires you to always adapt, success can be achieved if you continue to try best practices and have sufficient knowledge. Let's try implementing these 5 secret keys and don't forget to adjust them to the concept of your restaurant!