New research suggests that intrusive background noise is forcing 43% of diners to opt for takeaway meals over restaurants.

The online survey quizzed 1,200 members of the general public and found that – perhaps unsurprisingly – the ideal level of background noise in a restaurant for the vast majority (70%) of people is conversational ‘buzz’.

So, if you’ve booked a Metallica tribute band to soundtrack diners this weekend, you may have a problem.

Clearly, restauranteurs need to get more creative when it comes to prising people away from the lure and ease of a takeaway, but it goes far beyond simply reducing the amount of noise to which they’re subjected.

In this blog, we explore four ways of doing just that:

1. Try out Facebook advertising

Yep, we’re going to start by suggesting you spend some money. Sorry.

However, the fact remains that you’re going to have to invest a little to get people into your restaurant. The good news is that tactics such as Facebook advertising enable you to do so very cost-effectively.

By using the social media giant’s brilliant targeting options, you can place adverts for your restaurant that only appear on the timelines of people who are most likely to bite.

Try it. You can set a budget and duration of your choosing and pick a demographic that exactly mirrors the types of guest you want to attract.

2. Dust off that email marketing list

The GDPR is coming and while you’ll need to start reviewing the ways in which you collect and process personal data, if you already have a database of subscribers on your mailing list, now is the time to make use of it.

Think of an offer that will beat any takeaway hands down. Kids eat free, a 20% discount or complimentary bottle of bubbly should do the trick and email marketing remains one of the best ways to get such offers in front of people who are already engaged with your brand.

3. Expand your menu

Is your menu inclusive enough?

People often opt for takeaways because they can choose from a variety of menus. Clearly, you can’t offer quite the same array of options, but by expanding your menu a little and adding influences from other cultures, you might just tempt people away from those little booklets they keep in their draw.

4. Offer takeaway yourself!

If all else fails, why not play takeaways at their own game by offering the same service at your restaurant?

More and more traditional restaurants are starting to introduce online ordering and delivery, because that’s increasingly what people want.

It might pain you to do so and go against the very ethos of your restaurant business, but you have to move with the times – and you needn’t lose any of what makes your establishment special in the process.

Convert as much of the regular menu as possible to a takeaway option and, if the budget allows, buy in some branded takeaway boxes to deliver the food in.

Despite its rise in popularity, ordering a takeaway from a restaurant is still a bit of a novelty for most people, so why not join in on the fun?

Wrap up

The last thing any of us want is for the UK to become a nation of hermits. As a restauranteur, you’re in the perfect position to counter the increasing demand for takeaway meals by luring people to your establishment.

As we’ve proved in this blog, it simply requires some ingenuity, common sense and the desire to dispense with tradition.

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