4 tips to boost your restaurant sales

Over the whole of 2020, the restaurant sector suffered a drop in sales of around 54%. Although we’re coming out of this tough period, there are still a number of useful strategies that will help you boost your business, increase your customer’s average spending and attract new customers.

How can you increase your restaurant's sales and see results quickly?

In this article, you'll find four techniques you can start using today.

1. Yield Management

What is yield management?

Not to be confused with low cost, yield management involves changing the prices of products offered in your restaurant according to the period in question. 

It is defined by 3 elements: 

• The rent and wages you pay for your restaurant

• The stock you have

• Your ability to predict how full your restaurant will be (with reservations)

Put another way: would you rather charge the same price all the time but have empty tables in your restaurant, or adjust your prices to the period and be fully booked?

Since an empty table means you lose money, it's essential to put strategies in place to avoid suffering during quiet periods.

Problems frequently encountered by restaurateurs:

• Depending on the location of your establishment, it may be more popular at lunchtime than in the evening (in an office district, for example)

• A restaurant that uses perishable ingredients might have high wastage if customer intake does not match inventory

• If it's raining, it's harder for customers to get motivated to go for a drink or meal 

The solution:

• Offer attractive evening rates to encourage customers to come despite your location

• To make sure you have a full restaurant at all times, you can set up reservations and analyse your restaurant's occupancy rate—as well as have more control over your stocks and your income

• Set up a Happy Hour period between 4pm and 9pm, for example, where all drinks are half price (this way, the weather will play less of a role in the customer's decision)

This differentiated pricing system is what will increase your restaurant's turnover in the long term. 

How can you set up yield management in your restaurant?

Step 1: Find out how full your restaurant is. In the "Reports" section of your SumUp POS system, you can access your fill rate.

Now that you are aware of your fill rate depending on the period, you know which times of the day you need to attract more customers (better price, advertising, etc). 

Step 2: During low-traffic periods, offer promotions. We'll talk about the Happy Hour example below.

Step 3: Adapt your formulas between lunch and dinner. If your restaurant is full at lunchtime and empty in the evening, offer preferential prices in the evening. What's more, more customers go to restaurants at the weekend, so this is an opportunity to raise prices without risking no-shows.

2. Happy Hour

One of the most common techniques used in bars and restaurants is the introduction of a "Happy Hour" period (preferential prices during low-traffic hours).

To make it work : 

• Offer rock-bottom prices while remaining profitable in relation to your production costs

• Communicate it well: on social networks, on your Google My Business account, or simply by indicating your Happy Hour times on a board outside your establishment

What's more, offering your menu in the form of a QR code tends to encourage customers to order more, as they can read the menu at any time by taking out their phones.

3. A presence across all distribution channels

With all the consumer trends that have developed in recent years, offering only on-site sales can quickly do you a disservice.

Habits have changed and your most loyal customers need to know that they can enjoy your food with the following methods:

• On-site

• Takeaway

• Click & Collect

• Delivery 

You don't need to be present on every delivery platform (Uber Eats, Just Eat, Deliveroo). However, being present on 2-3 different distribution channels will enable you to satisfy the maximum number of customers and therefore increase restaurant sales.

4. Increase the average order value

The average bill is the average amount spent by your restaurant's customers. For online orders, the average basket is more appropriate.

Increasing the average ticket or basket means finding strategies to encourage customers to consume more than they had initially planned. A dessert, a glass of wine, a bottle of water instead of a carafe—there are different ways of increasing your customer’s average order value. 

Up-selling, cross-selling, loyalty: we explain all the tricks and how to implement them in this article.

For these tips to bear fruit, you need to work on your customer service, promote your restaurant online, and rework your menu (including prices).