Marketing

How to Scale Your Restaurant Business

Learn a variety of strategies that will help you scale your restaurant business and increase guest loyalty.
Amanda Hamel

If you're a restaurant owner, there's no doubt that success is within reach. You just need to put in the work and follow some simple strategies. In this article, we'll explore how to scale your restaurant business so that it can grow exponentially and become profitable for all parties involved!

Start thinking big.

When you're starting, it's easy to get overwhelmed. You've got a brand new business and no idea what your next step should be. But that's all going to change once the dust settles and you've got some cash coming in—and then some!

So how do we go from one restaurant to three? How do we scale our businesses so that they can handle their growing demand? We'll start by setting some goals. What do we want our company to look like five years from now? Ten years from now? Twenty years from today? Having a clear understanding of what you want the future to look like will help you turn your words into actions. 

Go back to your roots.

If you’ve been in the business for a while now and you’re planning on scaling then it may be a good time to revisit your original business plan and marketing strategies. When doing so you’ll be able to reflect on your experience so far and make any necessary changes moving forward. Using the knowledge that you’ve collected over the years you’ll be able to understand your audience and revise your restaurant experience to fit their needs. This will help enhance your business and give you room for growth. 

Start with word-of-mouth advertising.

When you're looking for ways to expand your business, you probably think about advertising and marketing. But the best way to do that is with word of mouth.

You've probably heard of it—when people talk about their experiences at your restaurant, it's called "word-of-mouth advertising." And it works! Word-of-mouth advertising helps grow your restaurant by helping customers feel connected and satisfied with their experience, which makes them want to tell their friends about the great food and service they had at your place. Plus, when people are talking about how great something is, they tend to recommend it more often than when they aren't being talked about.

Word-of-mouth advertising is more effective than any other type of advertising because it’s based on the trust and relationships between friends and family. It doesn’t matter if you have a huge marketing budget or are a tiny eatery with only one location—word-of-mouth advertising works no matter what. It can be even more effective when you have less money to spend on advertising because everyone trusts their friends and family more than an ad in a newspaper or magazine.

Word-of-mouth advertising works by helping people spread the word about your restaurant. They speak highly of it to others, who then go out and eat at your place, telling friends about how amazing it was! This kind of word-of-mouth marketing is extremely powerful and can help to grow your business quickly!

Target loyal customers.

Target the people who have already bought from you. When a customer buys something from you, they will often refer friends and family to your restaurant. This is great for business because it means that the next time someone mentions wanting to eat at your restaurant, they can easily do so without having to go out of their way. It also helps build loyalty among existing customers as well as potential ones who haven’t yet been introduced to your brand but may be interested in trying it out for themselves based on what others have told them about it!

On average it costs a business 5x more to acquire new customers than it does to keep existing ones. Implementing a strategy to incentivize current customers into returning time after time will help boost your restaurant’s revenue and help you retain guests. Loyalty programs are a simple and effective way to encourage repeat guests and increase your restaurant's overall customer retention rate. Another way to keep your guest retention rate high is by targeting them with automatic marketing offers before they leave your business. This can be achieved with our innovative churn management feature!

Share your story.

Once you've identified the right groups of potential customers, start sharing your story. Share why your restaurant is special—and why it's something that every person who lives in this area needs! Make sure that each post has an image or video attached that shows off what makes your business unique (this can be from Instagram or Facebook). Do this consistently over time so people know about what makes this place so special before they even walk through the door!

Sharing your story with the press can be a great way to share your business and build trust with potential customers. You might even get an interview on local news or in a magazine! Start by writing a blog or newsletter to share behind-the-scenes information about how you run your restaurant. You can also host a podcast that discusses what it’s like working in a busy restaurant kitchen, how you go about making food and drinks, etc., all while having fun along the way!

Get the word out on social media.

Social media is a great way to communicate with customers. In fact, according to the ACCA, social media is the most effective way of marketing your business. You can use Facebook and Instagram to share photos of food and dishes, post updates about specials or events at your restaurant, or even let people know you're open for business!

If you want more engagement on these platforms (and who wouldn't?), there are plenty of ways for you to do so:

  • Post regularly—if it makes sense for your brand/business style; if not then maybe try posting once every week or two.
  • Include polls in posts—this will help engage new followers who may be interested in participating in these polls but don't know how yet!
  • Getting your restaurant's story out there - write blog posts and share them on social media

Add menu items and services.

You can add new items to your menu, or expand the services you provide. You may also want to consider adding a second location, which will allow you to hire more staff and serve more guests. If you decide on this route, make sure that the space is big enough for these additions and that there's enough money in your budget for everything. You don't want any delays due to a lack of resources or space! 

When it comes to scaling your business, the key is to go back to your roots. Focus on word-of-mouth marketing and loyalty, which can be achieved through various strategies. The best way to attract customers is by offering them something they want or need, but also by connecting with them on an emotional level; this will ensure that they continue coming back for more!