It’s one thing to start a restaurant business, but it’s an entirely different monster to sustain it and make it grow. Sure, your business idea may be unique and life-changing, but you may be missing out on the right techniques to make your business bloom.

Well, we’ve got you covered! This business growth guide is designed to help restaurant owners achieve the next level of development for their food venture.

8 Techniques to Grow Your Restaurant Business in 2019

1. Focus on marketing your business right

You’ve started the nitty-gritty details of your startup business, and you’re now going into the next step towards making your restaurant expand. A good marketing strategy has the ability to boost the growth of your restaurant significantly, and so you need to make sure that you’re doing it right from the get-go.

Here are some tips to come up with the best and most appropriate marketing plan for better and faster growth:

• Think outside the box. Strive for innovation in your marketing strategy, by not relying on tried and tested techniques. Start by increasing your social media engagement, so that you can capture a younger (and wider) market.
• Challenge your patrons. Some restaurants have enjoyed a boost in sales and brand recall through eating contests and other food challenges. This technique can become an instant hit with the people in your locality, as they try to compete with their friends and neighbors.

2. Upgrade your interiors

Restaurant design usually doesn’t change too frequently over time, but updating it to a more current style can do wonders to your restaurant’s image.

This strategy doesn’t have to break the bank, though. You may start by replacing dated lighting fixtures and damaged seating. Of course, if you can manage, push for a style overhaul. Trust me, you’ll see an influx of new customers lining up to try something new in your restaurant.

You may want to consider the following restaurant design upgrades:

• Change your menu layout to show more food shots.
• Print out large posters that highlight your bestsellers (and let passersby drool over them!)
• Post visual reminders of your existing promotions
• Shift to more modern interior design

For these things to work, though, you may need to ask a restaurant consultant to help you go through the process of upgrading.

3. Revisit your branding

Some restaurant owners start out so excited to the point that they end up having too many offerings on the menu. If you’ve watched famed chef Gordon Ramsay improve bad restaurants in Kitchen Nightmares, you’ve probably seen the benefits of streamlining your menu to a bare but solid minimum.

One great technique to set your restaurant on a new and better direction is to zero in on a specific theme or specialty. Here are some possible avenues that you can focus on:

• Retain a few bestsellers and remove less popular menu items on the board.
• Consider offering niche dishes such as seafood or international cuisine.
• Think of a color scheme that best represents your restaurant and use it on interior design and social media marketing posts.

Another effective technique is to update your restaurant logo or change it entirely. A fresh take on your visuals may attract additional customers.

4. Re-assess your location

You may be gaining traction in capturing the market share in your current location, but there might be another place where you can pull in more customers.

Consider relocating your restaurant to somewhere with high foot traffic and better accessibility. Sure, it may cost you to change location to a potentially more expensive place, but these may be offset by a surge in sales.

5. Improve your workforce

Now that your restaurant is picking up the pace, your next upgrade should be in your staff. In enhancing your work staff, you may go about it through these options:

• Increase the level of expertise of people that you hire in the future.
• Look for employees who are passionate about what they do, instead of focusing solely on skill.
• Train your current staff in skills that are necessary for business growth, such as advanced cooking, business productivity, food safety, and teamwork.

6. Protect your intellectual property

As your business grows, so will your reputation and brand recall. Don’t wait for another restaurant to snatch up your business name or menu offerings. Have your intellectual property protected, including your business name.

For this technique, you might want to tap the services of a patent law or corporate law attorney.

7. Update your technology

Practically everyone is online these days, so why shouldn’t you? Taking your restaurant business to social media will already widen your mileage and increase your potential to go bigger.

• Set up a website that shows what your restaurant is about.
• Consider installing an online booking system to allow customers to have a table reserved.
• Upgrade your payment technology by using a digital POS system or offering mobile payments.

8. Manage your finances wisely

One of the main focal points in restaurant consulting involves the financial aspect of your business. No matter how promising your restaurant’s growth appears, everything will go down the drain if you don’t handle your money properly.

Make sure that you maintain a reserve fund for unforeseen circumstances or big purchases. By managing your income and expenses, you can rest assured that your restaurant will still be able to run in sudden lean seasons or a financial slump.

Are you excited to see how your business looks like in five years? Make sure that you’re prepared to expand your restaurant and boost potential sales – and spend for the growth!

If you need advice on how to grow your business this year (and the years to come), connect with us at MBB Management. With our extensive experience in restaurant consultation and business development, we can help you get on the right track towards a healthy growth for your restaurant business.