How to Attract Customers on Restaurant Opening | SMB Compass
Ezra Cabrera | November 13, 2019
Your restaurant’s grand opening is an awesome opportunity to dazzle your customers as you introduce the food, the ambiance, and of course, your facility. Numerous restaurants open virtually every day. In light of this, you have to make sure that when you open yours, you’ll immediately set your business apart from others. With that, you have to apply for restaurant business loans to help you achieve just that.
How can you make sure that yours won’t get lost in the crowd, especially if your goal is to make a huge splash on your first day of business? For sure you’ll need to come up with a solid list of ideas, and you will have to have your budget in place in order to fulfill your goals and make your dream a reality.
Here are some suggestions you can undertake prior to your restaurant’s opening, that will help to enhance your special day.
1. Plan Everything in Advance
Planning for your restaurant opening well in advance is the most important thing you need to do. Believe it or not, you may not even need to spend a dime on marketing ever! You can’t sweep your potential customers off their feet if you won’t plan at least a month in advance for the big day.
You’ll need to prepare a calendar where you can organize and record your detailed plans. Be sure you include details of your plans, including the specific date you plan on carrying them out. It’s also a good idea to decide and record the specifics on any discounts you may be planning to offer as a special one-time discount.
You should also compile a VIP list of special guests. You’ll also need to prepare an equally special menu for them. Once you have everything planned, follow your calendar as close as you can. If possible, get an event planner on board to help you execute on your plans.
Related: How to Keep Your Customers Happy: The Secrets to Success
2. Organize a Soft Restaurant Opening
Before your grand opening, you’ll need to set a date for your restaurant’s soft opening. This is an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your restaurant’s menu and décor, to your family, friends, influencers, and vendors within the community.
It’s best to get feedback from your guests so you can address those areas that may need to be tweaked. Creating a focus group will provide you with diverse views that will also help you hone your restaurant business. Aside from giving you their unadulterated opinions, you can also count on them to spread the good news about your upcoming grand opening. Don’t forget to include the influential people from your customer base when you’re compiling and reaching out to your target audience.
3. Support Your Grand Opening with Smart Marketing
You won’t get your metaphorical ducks nicely in a single row without smart marketing. Consider starting your marketing campaign a month or two before you open your doors to the public. Think about creating a website or online pages on various social media platforms. You can put up photos and videos that feature your journey as you build your restaurant up from scratch.
For example, you can post videos where you talk about your specialty dishes or about discounts you’ll be offering customers during your first few days of business. When you keep your customers up-to-date with the latest news before you open the doors for business, you will make them feel like they’re a part of your journey.
While it’s always good to focus on online marketing, you can also take advantage of offline marketing too. Offline activities such as distributing pamphlets and flyers that make your presence felt in your community through the local newspapers can be a huge plus. If possible, try to put up a stall near your restaurant’s location where you can offer your potential customers a free taste of your food.
Remember, creating a strong presence online and offline will cause you to be in the sight and mind of all of your targeted customers, and even become the talk of your town!
4. Throw a Grand Opening Party
After making sure you’ve done your soft opening properly and accomplished all that is listed on your calendar, you can rest easy knowing you’ve done you’re best. You also can never go wrong by hiring a popular DJ on opening day, or by inviting a local celebrity who can attract and generate some buzz from the media on the evening of opening night. You can expect a steady influx of customers if you offer attractive deals such as free drinks or vouchers and coupons they can use during their next visit.
Secure Your Funding by Applying for Restaurant Business Loans!
Your restaurant’s opening day is one of the most crucial parts of running your business. The first day of your operation is your chance to show your target audience what you’ve got. Be sure to create a good impression on your first day. If need be, secure restaurant business loans to help you organize everything you need to make a good first impression to your customers.
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