Any owner that wants to realise strong revenue growth and profitability will need to make some key business development for restaurants moves. However, it’s not every owner or even manager that has the skills to know how and what actions need to be taken for success.

Here’s our recommendations on what to do to take your business to the next level using a variety of approaches for business development for restaurants:

  1. Visit businesses in your area. Select a few companies that you feel would bring the right clientele to your restaurant. Ideally, they may visit for lunchtime or team events, or even be companies that you can provide catering to. Go with a mind to increase sales and bring brand awareness.

  2. Create promotional offers. Give your guests a chance to make the best of your offers by extending them to run for at least a month. Communication with your customers should be open and helpful as if they were your partners.

  3. Happy hours. Use this tool to boost sales during slower periods of your day. For example, between 4pm and 6pm you can invite guests to join you for snacks and drinks at happy prices after their day at work.

  4. Make the best of sporting events. People prefer to watch some sports in a group rather than at home alone. Make the best of this by promoting special evenings and showing events on large screen televisions. You may even want to name some of the dishes after teams.

  5. Wine tasting. Although you may need to plan this and promote it wisely, one of these can continue to bring business long after the event has passed. Contact the wine distributor or producer for help with organising this event.

  6. Themed dinner parties. Guests can opt for a themed dinner party. Not only will this bring more sales, but it will also demonstrate that you can handle different situations and menus as a business.

There are many other ways that a successful restaurant owner can take their business to the next level. It’s a very competitive industry and it’s important to keep on the ball to keep the cash flowing and the guests arriving. Whether it’s hiring the best people for the job, and rewarding them for their hard work or putting up some compelling new menu items, it’s key to keep the ball rolling.

By applying these tips for business development for restaurants, you can get ahead of the pack in the food industry. Let us know how you get on.