19 Restaurant KPIs Single and Multi-Unit Operators Must Know

Restaurants are often a labor of love. A dream brought to life. An expression of culinary creativity. But at the end of the day, a restaurant is also a business – and like any other business, you as the owner or manager need to be able to measure your progress against your goals read more

How to Reach a New Market of Diners For Your Restaurant

If you’ve been running a restaurant for a while, you likely have a core customer base that frequents your establishment. While this is great for maintaining a steady stream of business, it may mean that you’re not attracting new business. The good news is that there are plenty of ways to attract new diners to your restaurant, but to reach new markets and attract new diners, you’re going to need to get innovative.

Below are several ways you can reach new markets of diners for your restaurant:

Consider Partnerships

Third party restaurant partners can be one way to reach new markets. These are restaurant partners that work alongside your restaurant but not for it. DoorDash and GrubHub are examples of third party restaurant partners that may be able to help you reach new markets through food delivery if this isn’t a service you currently offer. You might also partner with complementary food services in your area that reach customer bases your establishment has yet to reach.

Think Outside the Box With Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is important for restaurant owners, but you may need to think outside the box to reach new markets. Instead of relying solely on SEO and search results or local ads on the web, consider starting a podcast or hosting cooking webinars featuring your restaurant.

You can also host themed nights at your restaurant and live stream the experience for diners who couldn’t make it. These types of ideas engage potential customers online and may attract new customers who previously had not considered your establishment.

Research Food Trends in Your Local Area

You can also look online at user-generated content sites like Reddit to find inspiration for reaching new markets. These types of sites invite local people to participate in focused discussions, and you may be able to glean some first-hand information from local people in your area about the types of foods that are popular. These sites also allow people to speak freely about a range of topics, and researching user-generated content sites can yield data that traditional research cannot.

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Understanding The Importance of Marketing in The Restaurant Industry

Running a restaurant is hard work, and some restaurant owners find that they simply don’t have the time to focus on marketing. Unfortunately, ignoring your marketing in the fast-paced restaurant industry can be costly, both in the short term and the long term.

Marketing your restaurant in the age of the Internet means you need to have a solid plan in place, the ability to test different strategies and experts on your side to provide guidance based on experience. Without these crucial elements in place, your competition is likely to pull ahead, and once that happens, it can be impossible to catch up.

How to Put Together a Marketing Strategy for Your Restaurant

To get started with a strategy for marketing your restaurant, you can look to a platform for restaurant management. Most of these platforms include management tools in addition to marketing tools, meaning a platform for restaurant management can be an all-in-one solution for sales, marketing, management and customer service.

Any marketing strategy for a restaurant starts by examining who your ideal customers are and where they can be found. Once you’ve figured this out, you then need to think about what types of messages resonate with these customers. Lastly, look for ways to get these messages to your ideal customers. Your management platform should be able to provide some guidance and tools to help with these things.

Digital Tools for Greater Reach

Digital marketing tools and techniques are going to be incredibly useful when marketing a modern restaurant. Although traditional marketing strategies like handing out flyers still work, most people search online to find places to eat these days.

Your digital marketing strategy can include a mix of your website content, search engine optimization, social media and video marketing. While each restaurant owner’s needs will be different, these core digital marketing resources will be the tools to focus on when putting together your initial strategy.

The nice thing about digital marketing is that digital assets can be repurposed to extend their effectiveness. A blog post can be turned into a video or a web page can be turned into an email marketing message. As long as you remember to speak to the needs of your customers, you can get as creative as you would like!

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Why is Postmates so Popular?

Food delivery apps are more popular than ever, giving hungry diners quick and easy access to great food without leaving the comforts of home. Many apps are available, but one continues to be the go-to for restaurant merchants and diners. We're talking about Postmates.

Postmates started in 2011 and has since become one of the leading names in the third-party delivery space. It currently boasts about 10 million active users across more than 3,000 cities. While not the biggest platform in the highly competitive delivery scene, Postmates is among the most well-liked. But what makes Postmates so popular?

Accessibility and Convenience

From a user standpoint, you can't beat Postmates. The app provides easy access to restaurants in your area. When businesses establish a restaurant delivery stream through Postmates, you can easily find them through the app. It's all there, from well-known diners to lesser-known eateries and ghost restaurants.

But that's not all. Postmates also lets you order groceries, alcohol and more. That versatility is a game-changer for users. It provides easy access to people's needs, freeing time and resources. Why take a trip to the grocery store or pick up take-out meals when you could get them delivered to your home?

Multiple Ways to Save

Another unique thing about Postmates is its approach to savings and discounts. Here's where the app benefits users and businesses. Some Postmate alternatives promise steep discounts while making restaurants absorb the cost. Ultimately, that approach can hurt restaurants more than it helps them.

But it's different when a business sets up a restaurant delivery stream through Postmates. Postmates' merchants have options. For example, they can become a "preferred merchant." Doing so means that the restaurant covers a portion of the delivery fee in exchange for more exposure on the app. "Plus" members can place orders and pay a flat delivery fee of $3.99.

Members who sign up for "Postmates Unlimited" get free delivery on orders over $30 with their monthly fee. The higher-tier membership options give users more ways to save. Meanwhile, restaurants participating in the "preferred merchant" program can gain more exposure to boost the bottom line.

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What is the Average Food Delivery Time?

Several metrics can reflect your operational efficiency and overall success in the restaurant business. While many restaurateurs focus on the amount of sales they get or how much money they're making, performance figures can greatly impact your business. These metrics reflect the customer experience, and improving them can have far-reaching effects on your overall success.

One example is the average food delivery time. In this blog, we'll review the importance of this metric and give you some tips on how to reduce food delivery time.

The Industry Standard

All restaurants are different, and diners have unique expectations based on where they order food. However, speed is a big deal regardless of where they go. The average food delivery time is a metric that reflects how long it takes for a customer to get their food in hand after placing an order.

Of course, many factors will affect that time window, including how far away the customer is. However, the "standard" is around 35 minutes. That 35 minutes includes food preparation, packaging and delivery.

The delivery window can be greater during busy dining periods, but customers expect to receive their orders within that 35-minute timeframe.

How to Reduce Food Delivery Time

For kitchen staff and delivery teams, 35 minutes isn't enough time. But to a hungry customer, it's too long! Many people are willing to pay more to get their food faster, and restaurants that beat the standard get the best reviews and more repeat business.

So, what can you do to speed things up?

Create Distinct Teams

One method is to have separate teams focusing on in-house and delivery/pickup orders. This strategy ensures that you're prioritizing all orders. It helps reduce delays and can prevent order mix-ups.

Use the Right Platform

Order management can make a big difference. Choose a platform that can consolidate and separate orders from multiple sources. The right restaurant management system can help you stay organized, reduce delays and avoid errors.

Standardize Your Process

In addition to having a separate team, standardize how you do things. Time is of the essence, and streamlining everything from food prep to delivery driver handoff can save precious time, getting orders into your customers' hands much faster.

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Kitchen Printer vs. KDS: Which Solution is Right for Your Restaurant

Hot, loud, and busy – no, we’re not talking about Times Square on a summer day. We’re talking about your restaurant kitchen! The back of house (BOH) is a notoriously hectic environment, and at peak times, your kitchen printer is likely running a mile a minute read more

Why Order Management is Important in the Food Industry

Effective order management is paramount in today's food service industry. Customers have many ways to order food. From delivery services to mobile pick-up apps, restaurants can accept orders from multiple sources. It's a great way to maximize revenue. But if you can't manage those orders, your business will suffer.

Fortunately, software for restaurant order management does the heavy lifting for you. Here are a few reasons why good order management is important for businesses like yours.

Better Order Fulfillment

Imagine how overwhelming things can get for your restaurant without software managing your orders. You'd have to check multiple platforms and find a way to aggregate it all for your cooks and food prep team. It'd be a logistical nightmare!

Well-designed software for restaurant order management reduces the amount of manual work your team has to do to handle orders. It drastically improves the workflow.

Best of all, it reduces errors. Manually relaying orders from several streams can quickly lead to accuracy issues. Something as minor as incorrect quantities or a missed item can lead to substantial delays that could set your operation back.

Cost Savings

With better efficiency and accuracy comes significant cost savings. The problem with accepting orders from mobile apps, delivery services and other sources is that you often hire additional staff to manage everything. Management software eliminates that added cost, helping you save money.

But that's not all. Efficient order management software can help improve employee retention. When your business operates like a well-oiled machine, there's less turnover and more employee satisfaction. Plus, you can harness the software's analytics to improve performance across the board.

Happier Customers

Ultimately, order management improves customer satisfaction. Everyone wins when your business uses software to reduce errors and improve operational efficiency. Your customers will experience fewer issues with their orders and fewer delays.

In turn, you develop a great reputation that improves your business. Happy customers lead to greater success. If you want to see improvements across your operation, developing solid order management practices can help you get there.

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