You’ll want to make the experience of eating at your restaurant as memorable as possible for your guests.
This isn’t just about getting people to come back again in the future, either; it’s about building word-of-mouth momentum behind your business and winning more bookings.
Here are just a few ways to get guests talking when they dine with you, from the practical to the potentially outlandish!
Cater to kids
Parents who take their children to a restaurant can often find the experience stressful, so they’ll relish the opportunity to ease into the experience and appreciate any efforts you make to accommodate their little ones.
Providing very young kids with a free treat to keep them happy while their mum and dad choose what to order is a good option.
Having kid-friendly cutlery and plastic cups rather than glassware on hand is also sensible for the same reasons.
Revamp your non-alcoholic drinks menu
The temptation to offer a huge list of wines and beers, while doing the bare minimum with the alcohol-free section of your drinks menu, can be significant for restaurateurs.
To stand out, why not try something a bit different and spice up your non-alcoholic offerings, perhaps literally?
Try out mock-tails that will be thirst-quenching in the summer heat, stock speciality soft drinks from artisanal providers in the local area and expand your horizons beyond the basic line up of colas and lemonades.
Provide vegetarian and vegan options
The rise of veganism in the UK has been embraced by many restaurants, but in some eateries the decision has been taken to replace vegetarian dishes with vegan alternatives, outright.
Veggies who love cheese and other dairy products may understandably be a bit put out by this trend, so if you do decide to jump on the vegan bandwagon, don’t alienate the rest of your meat-avoiding customers.
In fact, why not go the whole hog and run an evening specifically for vegetarians and vegans at your restaurant?
Embrace modern technologies
There are lots of ways independent restaurants can keep pace with the big chains when it comes to contemporary tech.
From terminals that support contactless payments to mobile apps that let customers place orders and provide feedback, there are a number of surprisingly affordable options to enhance the dining experience.
You could also build a social media element into the meal, by encouraging diners to share snaps of their food on Instagram and tag your restaurant’s account for a chance to win a free course or discount in the future.
Create special events
If you want to keep your restaurant relevant throughout the year, tie in unique dishes or entire themed evenings with an event that’s happening in your region, or the country at large.
From the World Cup to the summer season of music and arts festivals, there are plenty of opportunities to get creative and engage a different crowd with your marketing efforts.
Wrapping up
Sometimes the restaurant dining experience can wash over a guest if they aren’t absolutely blown away by the service or intrigued by the menu options that are made available to them.
Hopefully you’ll now been inspired to go off and develop your own ideas for making your restaurant as memorable as possible.
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