In a booming restaurant business, it can be difficult to remain relevant while maintaining your unique branding. In the past, restaurants could maintain a loyal clientele simply by remaining true to their menu, customs and brands. But it has recently become apparent to many restaurant owners that customers are less loyal than they used. While there are very many issues that affect customer loyalty and many of them may even be out of your control, there are certain steps you can take to ensure you remain competitive.

Are Customers Becoming Less Loyal?

If you are experiencing lower numbers of repeat customers for a while now, you may be thinking that general customer loyalty is on the decline. But while you’re thinking that your customers rarely come back, there are some restaurants that have seen an increase in customer loyalty. That’s because customer loyalty is affected by so many factors including the location of your business and some other factors like ratings and reviews.

How Social Media is Changing Loyalty

With more and more people choosing to use social media and online tools to book reservations, it becomes necessary to have a social media presence to ensure customer loyalty. Many restaurants have therefore developed social media marketing strategies that are aimed at attracting new customers and ensuring regulars remain loyal.

Again, most restaurant owners say that having a social media presence can have a great influence on the customers especially when they can engage with the chef. When customers can identify with the chef, they are able to identify with the brand and are therefore more likely to remain with the brand.

How to Deal With No-Shows

One of the main problems you will experience when you use social media and online tools to help with bookings and reservations is no-shows. This is a huge problem for many restaurants since it will often affect revenue and profits. It is important to note that no-shows can happen for reasons that are totally unrelated to your business. But when you begin to notice a significant increase in the number of no-shows, you may want to take measures handle this problem.

If you are using online tools for booking and reservations, begin by developing a very clear cancellation policy that outlines the terms for cancellation and the penalties a customer can incur when they choose to cancel a reservation. It is important to make sure that this policy is readily available to the customers and easy to understand.

You may also want to send a confirmation message to the customer immediately after they make the booking. Most online booking tools will do this automatically, sending out an email or SMS to confirm the booking. If you can, you may also take the time to call the customer to confirm the reservation.

There are some services that will also allow you to request a deposit when booking a reservation online the problem with this strategy is that it may reduce the number of conversions and ultimately reduce customer loyalty.

One of the most promising sources of funds when looking to expand your restaurant is private equity investment. Although investors can be hard to come by, they often have fewer requirements as compared to a bank. If you are looking to find an investor to expand your business, understand that these investors are often approached by thousands of other restaurant owners who like you have a business that they want to grow and need their money to do it.

So how do you stand out from the crowd and secure an investment? The following five tips should be a great place to start;

1. Keep the Customer in Mind

Investors are attracted to a proposal that demonstrates long-term growth for the brand. To make them see that, your proposal should be something new that you want to add to your business. It can be a new delivery service, a new location or a new idea to improve in ambience. But whatever you choose, customer satisfaction should be the underlying goal. Being able to demonstrate the benefit the new addition will bring to your customers and how you’ll put them first can mean the difference between getting the funding or not.

2. Present a Well-Developed Property and Location Strategy

You will have a better chance to get funding if you demonstrate a clear understanding of good site economics. If you plan to grow, you should have a clear understanding and be able to communicate clearly the expected return on investment for the new sites. You should also have a clear property and location strategy and you increase your chances for successful funding

3. Determine the Barriers for Growth if Any

You must also determine the size that your business can scale to from the onset and be able to easily communicate this with potential investors. To do this, it is important to have a clear understanding of the market you operate in and if there is potential to roll out operation regionally. You must also be clear on the limitations of your offering are. The fewer the barriers, the more likely you are to secure funding.

4. Demonstrate Firm Control

When you have total control of your operational and financial assets, potential investors are often more confident in your ability to run a successful business and will therefore be more inclined to fund you. You should be able to demonstrate good cash management as well as stability in debt or capital funding. Timely and accurate performance reporting will also add to your credibility.

5. Invest in People

Many investors will back a business whose employees demonstrate a passion for its growth. That’s because a business that has invested in people is likely to provide valued service to its customers which is the cornerstone of any good business. This is more important in the hospitality business than any other sector since it is a people-based industry often with entrepreneurs who are passionate about their businesses and the service they provide.