Top Ideas to increase your profits in 2019

Months, years, or maybe even decades ago you successfully opened your business and it has been floating along pretty nicely ever since. Sure, it has hit a few bumps but your success has been assisted by a good culture, good management, and, overall, an excellent product.

In the bar and restaurant industry we run on very slim margins, and keeping our costs in-line is always an uphill struggle. With the recent introduction of social media and online reviews your reputation has also become more and more fragile and your restaurant and your profits rely on your reputation.

As a result of this the overall profitability of your location is always at stake, along with your livelihood, and that of your employees.

Thankfully the folks here at Bevsight have got you covered!

We’ve put all of our years of experience together and have come up with this booklet of simple to implement ideas, to help you maximize the profitability of your business.

We’ve included all elements of the business -not just the number crunching element- and have s ectioned this booklet out for ease of use. Including links to helpful online resources, delving into further detail when needed.

Enjoy reading, and then enjoy the ease of making your restaurant more profitable for 2019!!

The Bevsight Team!

These easy to implement ideas can bring your business more foot traffic and wider recognition. Marketing isn’t just about getting yourself out there for potential customers to see, in today’s world of social media microcosms, marketing also means being involved and interacting with your customers when they’re not in your location.

Stay on Top of Your Online Presence

Keep your menus, your operating hours, upcoming events, and all other important information up-to-date on your website. We recommend that you look over your website at least every month, if not weekly, or biweekly, to ensure that all the information is up-to-date and relevant. See here as to how and why to keep yourself relevant online for your customer’s, and your own, benefit.

Free Advertising

If you’re running special or there’s something unique about your venue, your food, or your drink then you must flaunt these aspects on your social media channels. Ensure that customers know where to find you on the internet and that you’re active on a broad range social media platforms. Other content you post is crucial too, so see here for ideas how to populate your social media channels. Social media also provides your guests with the perfect platform to market your restaurant to their peers; their peers that trust them. Customers will mimic your posts and also post their own images for their friends to see.

Respond to Posts and Mentions

Whenever anyone comments at you or posts something about your venue on a social media channel be sure to respond; even if it’s just with a simple “Like”. This is personal and can make people feel appreciated and much more connected to you and your restaurant.

Onsite Advertising

Placing boards outside your venue and utilizing signage to indicate specials will help to draw passing customers into your venue. Use these strategically, if it’s winter and cold use this signage to advertise hot drinks and wholesome foods, in the summer, use these signs to advertise your patio, light bites, and refreshing drinks.

Events

Events are a great way to increase your exposure in your local community, and any involvement, from sponsoring to hosting events, will increase your reach. Outside catering also gives you the chance to expand your business beyond the traditional brick and mortar establishment you currently operate in.

Have One “Receiver”

Having just one person receiving all your goods means that you will easily be able to keep track of goods received, orders fulfilled and products that were not delivered. This person can then be trained on all faucets of ordering and receiving and this can result in a great reduction in errors and overall Cost of Goods (COG). This person can also be in charge of keeping your stockroom organized.

Inventory With the 80/20 Rule

Originally a theory of economics, the 80/20 rule has since been extrapolated to all walks of life. For us in the service industry in can be applied to inventory with great effect. The theory is that “80% of the effects comes from only 20% of the cause”, so by taking weekly inventories of your high usage products you can help to improve your restaurant profitability. See our article covering the 80/20 rule to find out more!!

Create Pars and Adjust Them Seasonally

As the seasons come and go throughout the year items rise and fall in popularity, you and your location need to be looking ahead for when these changes will occur and you and your ordering staff should be proactive in lowering the pars of items of which sales are going to decrease. Use previous years’ sales data to help you be more accurate with adjusting your pars for the seasons.

Limited Time Offers and Employee Competitions

If you’re overstocked on items that are unlikely to sell before going onto the wastage sheet, or are just clogging up your stock room, consider using the tactics of Limited Time Offers and Employee Competitions to get these items out of your stockroom, out in front of your customers, and out of your worries. Afterward, look at where you went wrong and note the mistakes for next time so that they don’t happen again.

Poor cost management can be the downfall of the best business models. Whilst there are other tips in this booklet relating to cost management, implementing the processes and actions below will give you much greater oversight and management of your costs.

Precise Menu Item Costing

Many restaurants only price their menu using the cost price of the most expensive ingredients in the recipe; such as protein. Although this might be adequate it’s not nearly as accurate as it needs to be for accurate bottom line management. Have your chef go through two or three menu items a week and get an accurate cost of each item on your menu. This will give you a much better insight into where all of your money is going, how you can save more money and price your menu for profitability.

P.S. The same goes for your bar and pricing your signature cocktail menu!

Keep an Eye Out for Price Increases

Prices can sneak upward over a very short period and if you’re not careful these increases can throw all your costs out of balance and quickly take you in a direction you don’t want to go; downhill. Closely monitoring the prices of your most used and most expensive items will allow you to catch price spikes and get onto your supplier about it. Just calling your suppliers out on these rises will send the signal to your suppliers that you’re keeping an eye on prices, and they’re more likely to let you know of any coming price hikes in the future.

Prime Costs

Prime costs are one of the most important restaurant metrics out there and calculating your prime costs tells you what it costs you, in personal and product, to keep your restaurant running for a given period. This is important because if business dries up then your prime costs should shrink in tandem. For how to calculate prime costs and other important metrics see our article on Important Bar Metric and How to Calculate Them.

Seasonality

Certain items that you order fluctuate in availability and price as the seasons change. Consider incorporating seasonality into your bar and restaurant menu so you can take advantage of prices when they’re low, switching out those products once prices rise. Seasonality is trending and, used to your advantage, can bring you more business and lower costs! See our article on Incorporating Seasonality Into Your Bar to find out how.

POS System

It might seem to be a fundamental, but properly organizing their POS system is something many a restaurant manager or owner will overlook. Ensure that every item rings in correctly and that your employees know how to use the system properly. This will allow you to accurately account for every item sold, giving you the most comprehensive view of your sales that is possible. It is also important to make your POS system as employee friendly as possible, as we mentioned in this article

Profitability isn’t just about concentrating on the spreadsheets and the numbers. Correct, your profitability does depends on keeping your books straight, but it is just as dependent on providing a good product, marketing that product, and creating an excellent customer experience to go along with it.

Management Presence on The Floor

Having a manager present on the floor gives an excellent impression to guests. What’s more, that manager should be greeting guests and touching tables, asking them if they can provide anything extra for them. Such a presence can set you apart from your competitors and shows that your management team, and therefore your restaurant, cares about the customer experience.

Dietary Requirements

With vegetarianism and veganism on the rise, and many more people being diagnosed as lactose or gluten intolerant or choosing to go on diets excluding these items, knowledge of how to cater to these guests is becoming more and more important. Training your employees on this
knowledge is important, and you can even produce menus that cover specific dietary requirements. Such knowledge is crucially important in a world where customers now expect people to go that extra step for them, as outlined here.

Responding To Online Reviews

When someone comments on your business online, especially on a review site, you need to pay special attention to it. Many people will wait until they’ve left to complain and will often go online to vent their frustrations. Responding to these reviews in a correct and timely manner is crucial to damage mitigation and displaying to others how much you care and pay attention to your guest. Always respond to online reviews, thanking the reviewer if they’ve left nice comments and personally reaching out and apologizing to them if it was a bad experience. Here we went into depth about how to deal with bad reviews and how to try and make it right.

Stay Clean and Tidy

The sight of a dirty restaurant or bar can immediately put people off eating or drinking at your location. Ensure that you keep your place clean and tidy by creating simple and easy checklists for your employees to follow. A clean restaurant and work environment not only makes for happier guests but happier employees too!

Remember Your Regulars

And ensure that your employees do too. Your regulars are your lifeline when times get tough and the more they’re remembered and appreciated the more likely they are to stay regulars. Also promoting your location to their friends and relatives from inside and outside of town.