Category: Sales
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Lapsed Guests: How to Identify and Win Back Your Lost Regulars
Every restaurant has them: guests who came in regularly, then gradually less frequently, then not at all. They did not necessarily have a bad experience. They did not choose a competitor in a deliberate, conscious way. Life changed, habit drifted, a new restaurant opened nearby, they got busy, and gradually…
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Engaging with Local Communities
Engaging with local communities is not just a noble endeavor but a strategic business move that can significantly boost a restaurant’s profitability by increasing foot traffic. By forging connections with schools, churches, universities, hospitals, and other local businesses, restaurant operators become integrated members of the community, rather than isolated entities.…
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Raising Menu Prices: When to Do It, How Much, and How to Communicate It
The most consistently underpracticed financial discipline in independent restaurants is raising prices. Operators who have not increased menu prices in 18 to 24 months, in an environment where food costs, labor costs, and occupancy costs have all risen, have effectively given themselves a pay cut. The math is simple and…
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Profit and Loss by Sales Channel: Not All Revenue Is Created Equal
A restaurant’s P&L typically presents revenue as a single line: net sales. That aggregation is useful for understanding the overall financial picture, but it conceals something important, the margin profile of different revenue streams can vary enormously, and a restaurant that does not understand its profitability by sales channel may…