What are customer profiles — and why should you build them?
September 29, 2022
By Mark Plumlee Knowing your customers is perhaps the most important part of running a successful small business. Knowing your target audience should inform every decision you make – your overall atmosphere, your menu, your marketing strategies, and beyond. Familiarity with your diners allows your business to provide them with the exact drinking or dining experience they ...Read more about this postYour menu pricing strategy can help your restaurant get ahead
September 22, 2022
As inflation continues to rise and labour shortages persist, it may be time to look at your menu pricing strategy as a way to cut costs and raise profits. As a restaurateur, you know it’s a balancing act to keep customers happy and stay in the green. Understanding how to create a menu pricing strategy can ...Read more about this postThe critical importance of loyalty members
September 20, 2022
In today’s crowded foodservice climate, offering a robust loyalty program is a must. Loyalty members visit more, spend more, and provide your business with vital insights into customer behaviour. Those were some of the key conclusions of the new Paytronix Loyalty Report 2022, which found that the top loyalty members are foundational to a restaurant’s bottom ...Read more about this postRestaurant technology trends to watch for in 2023
September 20, 2022
By Brittain Brown The foodservice industry has seen tremendous change over the past year. Diners returned to restaurants in droves, but as if the pandemic wasn’t enough, we also had hospitality labour shortages and decades-high inflation to contend with. While it was a tumultuous time, the one constant for restaurateurs throughout the year is — and ...Read more about this postHow to better understand customer experience (and why it matters)
September 15, 2022
By Austin Verner Customers are the lifeblood of any business, and that means delivering an exceptional customer experience is a must to keep your guests coming back. A study conducted by Thanx found that revenue was highly-concentrated among a small number of customers, with the top 25 per cent contributing 64 per cent of revenue. This is ...Read more about this postUsing social media to optimize your LTO sales
September 14, 2022
If you own or manage a restaurant, you’ve probably developed a marketing strategy around limited-time offers (LTOs), but are you using social media as part of that strategy? Social media can help you reach a large audience quickly and cheaply, using your LTOs to help drive traffic, create a sense of urgency, and up your ...Read more about this postRestaurant hiring: how to minimize interview no-shows
September 8, 2022
Are you scanning resumes, making calls, and scheduling interviews, but dealing with daily no-shows? Being ghosted by prospective employees is a common challenge for restaurateurs. Recent studies indicate that restaurants and bars are about 600,000 jobs short of pre-pandemic levels, so getting past the interview stage is crucial to hiring – and keeping – a ...Read more about this postHigher wages may help address the foodservice labour shortage
September 7, 2022
As restaurateurs continue to struggle with post-pandemic labour shortage, business owners are looking for new recruiting strategies and ways to combat employee turnover. According to David MacDonald, senior economist for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, it’s not a labour shortage we’re facing, it’s a wage shortage. Competition for good candidates is fierce, and restaurateurs ...Read more about this postFoodservice brands must walk a tightrope between physical & digital experience
August 30, 2022
By Dustin Hassett Now more than ever, restaurateurs are operating in an experience economy. Customers are interacting with competitor brands over multiple channels every hour of every day, and they expect every digital experience to measure up to the Amazons and Ubers of this world. Just like the behemoth tech brands, foodservice businesses need to deliver personalized, ...Read more about this postWhy custom uniforms can be effective tools in the hospitality industry
August 30, 2022
By Nick Warrick Staff members in the hospitality industry have a critical role in providing a positive customer experience. These employees represent your brand, whether they work in the background or have face-to-face customer interactions. The clothing your staff wears creates a lasting first impression for your guests. Choosing custom uniforms at your location makes a ...Read more about this postQR codes seem here to stay despite diner disdain
August 26, 2022
Foodservice’s embrace of technological solutions was hastened by the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic, safety, and staffing challenges it brought on. But it isn’t just new innovations we’ve seen rise to prominence in the last few years. QR codes, a tool once sidelined, have rebounded in a big way. These days, in the second half of ...Read more about this postHow to put your employees first to fight ongoing labour shortages
August 22, 2022
The pandemic brought new, unimagined challenges to the restaurant industry, from closures and loss of business to supply chain delays. In the post-pandemic climate, while some of those obstacles still continue to plague the industry, a newly intensified challenge has dominated: labour shortages. During more than two years of unreliable work, many people quit the industry, ...Read more about this postRestaurant operators becoming more pessimistic about the future
August 22, 2022
The pain of the height of the pandemic may be behind us, but the trauma continues for foodservice. U.S. restaurant operators are getting less and less confident about the future of the industry, according to new data from the National Restaurant Association. A new survey from the association found that nearly half (46 per cent) of ...Read more about this postHow to use design to make your restaurant stand out — part 1: food & menus
August 22, 2022
By Megan Prevost Even if your restaurant makes the world’s best food, it won’t survive without a solid marketing strategy in place. Most restaurant marketing experts know that customers aren’t simply seeking something to eat; they’re seeking an experience. If you want to create an experience at your restaurant, you’ll want to design and establish your ...Read more about this postHow to prepare your restaurant for fall pests
August 19, 2022
By Alice Sinia Although pests present a potential problem all year long, changing seasons often bring changes in pest populations. To best protect your business throughout the year, it is important to know how changes in weather will affect these unwanted guests’ habits. As temperatures drop, restaurants are especially vulnerable to fall pests looking for food ...Read more about this post