Opening your own restaurant is an exciting and scary venture as you launch your dream and your business. While the hospitality industry continues to recover from pandemic losses, it’s important to stay focused on making your restaurant a success. With restaurant closures up 44 per cent last year, the restaurant business is a complicated space, but despite that,  5.7 per cent more restaurants opened in 2023 than in the previous year, so competition remains fierce.

Making your business a success takes work, but there are a few steps you can take to tackle your new venture like a pro.

Define your customer

Your business decisions will need to be focused on the customer you are looking to draw in. What age group are you hoping to appeal to? Where do they live? What types of communication and social media do they prefer? Start by defining your target customer with as many details as you can so you can tailor your marketing, menus, and more to that customer.

Once your business gets off the ground, you can drill down those details even more, using your POS system to track sales and numbers, your loyalty program to monitor customer preferences, and your teams to provide feedback from your dine-in customers. Using technology like your reservation system can help you manage volume, predict traffic, and better allocate your staff. Once you get to know your customer and their behaviours, you can manage your restaurant to address their needs, provide a superior experience, and increase your profits.

Focus on staffing

You’ve defined your customer, but also need to define your staff. What are the qualities, skills, and values that would serve your business best? Hiring and retaining staff can be a challenge, but creating a culture where employees feel valued and supported goes a long way to keeping staff on board.

Training is also key, as your staff are your ambassadors. Ensure that you communicate regularly with your teams, solicit feedback on ways to improve service, and train them to use your technology for a smooth opening and continued operations. Standardize your training for new and seasonal hires with manuals and SOPs that all staff are aware of to ensure consistency and improved operations.

Consider a “soft launch” for your restaurant, where you host a small number of guests to eliminate any kinds, address any challenges before you open to a larger crowd, and ease your team into service at a manageable pace. This also gives you the chance to test out your menu and adjust portions, switch dishes, and evaluate potential top sellers.

Spread the word

If you’re opening a new business and starting from scratch, how do you get people to learn about your restaurant? Getting attention for your business is vital for filling those seats, so create a marketing strategy that attracts the customer you are looking for to your business.  Here are some suggestions to get your started towards marketing your restaurant:

• Promote your grand opening by partnering up with your neighbours. Make friends in your community and distribute promo material, coupons, or your menu through their businesses to get the attention of their customers.
• Build your online profile before the restaurant even opens with a Google business listing, fully populated website, and social media content.
• Follow similar accounts, foodies, and influencers so they follow you back to help grow your audience. Like, comment, and share their content to encourage them to do the same with your posts.
• Hang visible signage to encourage drive-by traffic and consider advertising locally (i.e. radio) to get your community to give you a try.
• Create a loyalty program to promote repeat visits right from the start, talk about it on social media, and begin to collect valuable data from your guests.

RELATED: Planning your restaurant’s marketing playbook

Engage your guests

Turning a first-time visitor into a favourite regular takes some time and effort. Engage visitors when they first come in with genuine conversation and take the time to explain your business. Ask for feedback to improve operations and let them know you are listening to them. As customers return, ask them to provide reviews or testimonials that you can post online to grow your following and let more people know about your business. Keep guests coming back with an experience that they want to repeat and tell their friends about.

A restaurant launch is an exciting time and executing it correctly can help make or break your business. Customer service is at the heart of hospitality, so leading with getting to know your customers, training a knowledgeable staff, and engaging with your guests will have you on your way to a winning restaurant.