Dining preferences are shifting, and many customers are looking for more than just food and drink from their favourite restaurants. With more competition and higher expectations, creating a unique, memorable experience is setting operators apart. While McDonald’s, Chuck E Cheese, and Dave & Buster’s offer perhaps the most memorable eatertainment experiences, restaurants of all sizes can add more to their dining experience.
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“Today, more than ever, consumers want to be entertained. They’re seeking value, fun, and a meaningful social experience. Venue owners continue to raise the bar on quality and calibre of food, beverage, interior design, and overall service,” says Avi Behar, chairman and CEO of The Behar Group Realty Inc.
Here are some of the factors to consider if you plan to incorporate entertainment at your restaurant:
- While adding additional revenue streams, having the right software is crucial. From POS to online checkouts and reservations, optimized technology can help you better manage more offerings, streamline operations, and increase profits.
- Add experiences that align with your brand. Along with attracting new customers, you want to keep your existing clientele. Departing too far from the brand they know could send them somewhere else.
- Rotate your offerings to offer a fresh experience. You don’t want to become a one-and-done restaurant with an activity so novel that customers only need to visit once.
- Interactive experiences, customer engagement, and competitive activities can be enhanced with today’s technology, from hockey to darts to golf and more. Stay ahead of the competition with cutting-edge technology to take your experience to the next level.
- If you can, test out your concept on a small scale or as a pop-up to gauge interest, identify challenges, and get customer feedback. Even hosting smaller events like workshops, trivia nights, or photo booths with props can offer an innovative edge to your dining experience.
- Create spaces that are social media-friendly and encourage your guests to post and share their experiences to get more eyes on your content and your brand.
Diners are looking for more than just dining from restaurants and crafting unforgettable experiences will attract attention and raise revenues. Work on offering something that is manageable for you, in line with your brand, and that offers unique fun and excitement to stand out from the competition, get people talking, and build your bottom line.
