5 New Years’ Resolutions Your Restaurant Should Have

Every year, millions of Americans decide to make a list of ways to improve themselves in the new year. Whether it’s to drop a few pounds, land a dream career, or take a vacation to a bucket list destination, many people have dreams and aspirations.

As a restaurant owner, you’ve probably made a few resolutions in the past. A resolution to make more profit. A resolution to improve customer retention. A resolution to decrease employee turnover. Just like the will to lose weight, the motivation from new year’s resolution starts out strong, but can fizzle out after a few months when we go back to our normal habits and behaviors.

Sounds familiar? You’re not alone. While it’s human nature to always want to improve oneself, some goals need to be broken down into steps to be properly managed and executed.

New Year’s resolutions have a reputation for being hard to keep, but consider how successful your restaurant could be if you set achievable goals and reached them in 2018. At Absolute Marketing Solutions, we’ve worked with clients in the restaurant and hospitality industry achieve their goals that lead to revenue-boosting outcomes. Here are some New Year’s resolutions you should make for your restaurant, and how to nail them.

Improve your website

Does your restaurant order delivery or take out? If so, can guests order on your website? Over 57 percent of guests order from a restaurant online daily, weekly, or monthly. If your website isn’t mobile-friendly or responsive, then you could be sending customers to other restaurants.

Quite often, your website is the first impression that a potential customer has of your restaurant. Mouthwatering photos, detailed contact information, and a good user experience are all ingredients required to make a positive first impression. This is your best chance to encourage them to call, make a reservation, or order online.

>>Related post! To learn more about responsive web design for restaurants, visit our blog about 5 features your restaurant website must have in 2018.

Tidy up your local listings

Local listings are important for restaurant owners because listing mistakes can increase customer frustration and fewer visitors to your restaurant as they can negatively impact your local search rankings. Local listings and directory citations management can be a time-consuming process, so you may wish to enlist the help of an agency to manage it for you. For more information about restaurant listing and citation management, visit our local SEO services page and get a FREE powerlistings test!

Be a better listener

Part of creating a New Year’s resolution is to assess oneself and come to terms with your strengths and weaknesses. No matter how hard you or your staff may work at providing a world-class experience at your restaurant, not every customer will walk away satisfied. Reputation management is an ongoing process of reviewing and replying to your customers’ and critics’ likes and dislikes in a way that shows that your restaurant is a customer-centric brand. You do this by demonstrating a will to resolve problems and a desire to make the customer happy. Analyze the nature of your customers’ comments and sentiments, as it may indicate root issues that need to be addressed. If you need help putting together a reputation management strategy for your restaurant or business, we can help. Learn more about our Tampa reputation management services by visiting our page here.

Help your customers nail their resolutions

The chances are that your customers made resolutions too. Consider making changes to your menu such as offering lunch-sized portions for dinner, offering low-fat or low-carb substitutes for other menu items, and different ways to help your customers curb their caloric intake. Your customers will likely appreciate the flexibility in their ordering options, and it will motivate them to make healthier choices. If you offer smaller portions on your menu, it could also reduce the amount of food waste your establishment produces. As far as we can see, this is a win-win-win situation for everyone!

Partner with another business in your community

As always, you should aim to create meaningful partnerships with related brands in your community to increase brand awareness, and strengthen your position in your city. Let’s consider for a moment that becoming a health-focused restaurant is your business objective, and you want to partner with a local gym to offer discount and benefits for its members. You could create a campaign that rewards your customers with a discount to join that gym, and offer the gym’s patrons a discount at your establishment too. This may allow you to brand yourself as a health-focused eatery and attract a new clientele you otherwise would not have been exposed to.

Whether you need a website facelift, a local SEO audit of your directory listings, or a crash course on reputation management, your restaurant can benefit by paying closer attention to its digital presence. Make 2018 your year and take control of your restaurant’s presence online. Contact the team at Absolute Marketing Solutions today to get started!