One of the cited reasons for failure is that many of these new restaurants lack the necessary skills involved in restaurant management and operations.
Opening a restaurant is only a ceremonial beginning. The challenging part comes in managing the daily operations, finances, customer service, stocks inventory, staff training, advertising and a lot more.
Running a successful food joint requires the combination of commitment and knowledge in restaurant management and operations to attain a significant level of profitability and long term success. Effective Financial Management The most common reasons why new restaurants failed to thrive in the arena lies in the mismanagement of restaurant funds.
Operating a restaurant requires the continuous flow of finances to sustain the business over a stretched period of time. Most owners start off by borrowing capital, but if there is no knowledge in managing the funds, the capital investment is bound to be exhausted without even gaining a breakeven in profit.
Effective financial management includes an understanding of profit and loss trends, seasonal demands and the daily cash flow to determine what measures to apply to maintain the restaurant’s operation. An effective restaurant management and operations tool is the point of sales (POS) system that enables a manager to easily monitor inventory level, sales trends and daily expenses.
Effective financial management demands adequate understanding of the restaurant’s cash flow wherein the amount of cash credited is analysed against the expenses incurred by the business on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. It is important to properly budget all projected expenses such as rent, utilities, supplies and payroll in such manner that the funds may not be completely drained to prevent financial bankruptcy. This financial risk can be avoided by not over spending or over buying unnecessary supplies and equipment unless there is need for them.
Creative Marketing Strategies Some restaurants employ tactics to get a slice of advertisement about their business. While others can be creative in coming up with catchy names, some are inclined to pay for expensive print or radio ads to bring people’s attention to their establishment. Social network sites can also be tapped as marketing venue.
Aside from being free, these sites have a solid following that reaches far and wide thus ensuring the business gets known by friends of friends. Simple ways of inviting the customers to try the new restaurant in town can also be done by offering a manageable discount, happy hour specials or giving away some promotional items with the printed name of the establishment on them.
The restaurant may also engage in catering services to bring its menu outside the comfort of the restaurant thus creating a broader range of customer who may be interested to avail of its services on favoured occasions or events.
Satisfaction Guaranteed; The best way to make customers come back again and again is to provide good food and good service. If the restaurant has excellent array of menu to select from, it can serve as a calling card that contains the customer favourite dishes and the restaurant’s best seller.
However, the menu must be regularly updated to include new dishes for customers to try. Satisfied customers are effective advertisers to spread the good news about the restaurant. Effective restaurant management and operations involve more than what is served in a platter.
There are a lot more that come with it before it reaches a customer. What transpires as it is being prepared is for the manager to oversee.
Everything must be ensured that the customer gets the food done according to his preference for in this business, it is important to remember that the customer is always right.
