How to Upsell in Your Restaurant
As a server, utilizing upselling techniques is one of the easiest ways to increase your tips and your restaurant’s profits. While some people believe that effectively upselling can require a certain skill, it really isn’t difficult to do.
The key to using suggestive selling techniques in your restaurant is to do it in a way that doesn’t make the customer feel like they’re being pressured to buy something. If you are too pushy when upselling, the customer could feel like you’re just trying to get money out of them and become aggravated. So here are a few effective upselling tips that will leave your guests (and your pockets) happy.
1. Be Descriptive
Your first chance to upsell occurs shortly after the customer is seated. Instead of immediately taking drink orders, this can be turned into an opportunity to describe some of the unique beverage options your restaurant has to offer. A great way to do this is by saying your personal favorites: "What can I get you to drink? I love our Blackberry Margarita, which uses fresh and juicy blackberries. It’s delicious and I highly recommend it." While the customer may have originally decided that they would just get a water or soda, now they can’t stop thinking about that tasty drink you just described to them. By doing this, you’ve just converted a $1.75 soda sale into a $7.00 drink sale. This technique can also be used to upsell appetizers your restaurant may offer.
2. Be Assumptive
Your next opportunity to use suggestive selling techniques depends on whether or not your guests have come in for a full-size entree. A great upselling method is being assumptive; don’t ask if the customer wants an entree this evening, assume they want one. So after you’ve returned with their drinks, begin offering them different entrees: “Are we in the mood for a juicy burger this evening or were you thinking about trying the pasta?” Once again, this puts different food options into guests’ minds that they may not have been initially aware of. After the customer has chosen an entree, you can also try to upsell to a larger serving size or additional sides, like guacamole or sour cream.
3. Be Suggestive
The final opportunity to upsell in your restaurant is after your customers have finished their meal: "Can I interest anybody in dessert?" Before your guests have a chance to reply that they’re too full, throw out a suggestion, but make sure you’re being descriptive. Rather than listing the desserts, tell your customers what each dessert is by listing some of the main ingredients. Make the dessert so temptingly irresistible that their mouths will be watering before the dish is even delivered. Also, nothing goes better with a dessert than a cool glass of milk or a warm cup of coffee, so make sure to push these beverage items as well.
When attempting to use upselling techniques in your restaurant, remember to be assumptive, suggestive, and descriptive. By using these suggestions and taking advantage of each upselling opportunity, you’re likely to see a rise in your tips.
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Pros and Cons of Selling Restaurant Merchandise
Branding is very important in the foodservice industry because having strong branding can bring in new customers and foster customer loyalty, which is good for business. There are many ways that you can build your restaurant's brand, and one of the best ways is through branded merchandise. But, branded merchandising might not be the best idea for every establishment. Here we'll break down different types of merchandise you can offer, compare the pros and cons, and give some tips for making your merchandise successful. Shop All Customizable Restaurant Supplies What Is Branded Merchandise? Branded merchandise is a collection of products that feature your business's logo, which you can sell to increase customer loyalty. Loyal customers are very important for businesses because they provide a steady stream of income that business owners can always rely on. Different Types of Merchandise There are many different types of branded merchandise that your establishment can offer, although not all of them will be the right fit for every business. Here are some of the most popular types of branded merchandise to give you an idea of what kind of merch you can offer at your establishment. Clothing: T-shirts, sweatshirts, shorts, sweatpants, flip-flops, hats Glasses: Beer, shot, whiskey, or martini glasses Accessories: Tote bags, umbrellas, wristbands Food: BBQ dry rubs, salsa, syrups, sauces, jams Miscellaneous: Pens, bumper stickers, stickers, coasters Pros and Cons of Offering Branded Merchandise While offering branded merchandise can be an excellent way to build brand loyalty, it may not be a viable option for every foodservice operation. Here, we'll weigh the pros and cons of offering branded merch to help you decide whether selling it at your establishment is a good idea. Pros of Selling Branded Merchandise Depending on your business style and customers, offering branded merchandise can be an extremely profitable investment. Here are some of the benefits that your restaurant can receive if you create your own branded merchandise: Branded merchandise capitalizes on the loyalty of your customers. If your customers buy merchandise with your logo on it, they'll be reminded of your restaurant every time they see it, which will persuade them to visit. It is an excellent way to get free advertisement. This is especially true with branded clothing, because other people will see your logo when customers are walking around town. The clothing can be a conversation starter and a great way for your restaurant to get around via word of mouth. One of the most obvious benefits of offering branded merchandise is the financial gains. If you have a large following of loyal customers, branded merchandise can be a major source of income for your business. Cons of Selling Branded Merchandise While, for some businesses, branded merchandise can be a very profitable venture that can boost your brand recognition, it doesn't work for every type of establishment. Here are some possible downsides to offering branded merchandise in your establishment: Offering merchandise at your restaurant or bar will only be profitable if there is demand for your products and if you can order them for the right price. Additionally, some types of merchandise are cheaper to produce than others, so you can choose options that meet your needs and that fit your budget. There might not be customer demand for your branded products. Before investing in your own line of merchandise, survey your loyal customers and gauge their interest in buying branded items. It can be hard to find a good way to display your merchandise, especially if you have a small dining area or lobby. To solve this issue, use revolving racks to show off postcards and branded glasses and hang branded clothing on the wall for guests to see and consider while they eat. Tips for Selling Branded Merchandise Once you've decided to create your own branded products, there are a few things that you can do to ensure that they're successful. Here are some tips for ensuring that your line of restaurant merchandise does well: Giveaways: You can make your merchandise valuable by creating an exclusive contest. This also helps create buzz and interest, and it's a great option when first introducing your new product line. Giveaways are also very shareable on social media, which helps grow your online presence and brand. Discounts for Guests Who Buy Merch: If you don't want to give away your merch for free, there are other discounts you can offer. For example, you can offer a 10% discount with the purchase of a t-shirt. Offering discounts make your customers feel like they're getting a deal, while you're still making a profit. Buy One Get One Free: This is an excellent option for bars and nightclubs that offer branded glasses. For example, you can offer personalized mugs or beer glasses for a premium, and include one free drink in the price. Offering a free drink along with the purchase makes it more appealing to customers. Limited Time Offers: Offering merchandise for a limited amount of time increases the urgency and gives your customers less time to think it over, instead relying on impulse buys. Additionally, because the merchandise won't be around forever, customers on the fence will be more likely to take the plunge and make a purchase. Offering branded merchandise can be a very valuable venture, and it can be an excellent way to grow your brand. But, you should do careful research beforehand to ensure that there is enough customer demand and interest in merchandise before making an investment. Additionally, once you’ve created your products, you can help boost sales by implementing giveaways, discounts, and other marketing tactics.
Overhead Cost for Small Businesses
Whether you own a restaurant, bar, or catering company, overhead costs are one of the greatest expenses you'll pay to run your small business. By tracking and looking for cost-saving opportunities in your overhead, you can lower expenses and become more profitable. We'll teach you about the different types of overhead expenses and how your business can lower these to increase your profit margin and produce more revenue. Click below to learn more about overhead cost for your business: What Is Overhead Cost? Overhead Examples How to Calculate Overhead How to Reduce Overhead Costs What Is Overhead Cost? Overhead cost is any expense you incur while running your business that isn't the result of manufacturing a product or providing a service. You may hear overhead referred to as overhead costs or just overheads. An easy way to remember what overhead means is to think of it as the expenses that keep the lights on and the roof "over your head". If you closed your business for a week and didn't sell any products or services, you would still pay overhead expenses like rent and utilities for your building. So what types of expenses are not included in overhead? Your business overhead does not include the cost of raw materials that go into making products or the salaries of employees involved in selling your products or services. For businesses in the foodservice or hospitality industries, food cost and labor cost (except for administration or accounting) are not included in overhead. Overhead Cost Examples Each industry has its own types of overhead, but these are common overhead expenses most businesses pay: Rent or Mortgage - The rent or mortgage payment that you make every month is most likely your largest overhead cost. Utilities - The cost of utilities like electricity, water, gas, internet service, and sewer are the next biggest overhead expenses. Insurance - Any type of insurance that you pay to protect your business is considered part of overhead costs. Permits and Licenses - The cost of your business permits and licenses is considered an overhead expense. Property Taxes - Your property taxes are part of overhead cost. Certain Salaries - The salaries of employees like admins, accountants, and legal counsel are included in overhead. Types of Overhead Overhead can be divided into three different categories - fixed, variable, and semi-fixed. Learn more about these expenses below: Fixed Overhead - Fixed overhead expenses do not change over time. No matter how well your business is doing, fixed overhead cost stays the same. Rent and insurance are examples of fixed overhead expenses. Variable Overhead - Variable overhead cost increases as business increases. As a result of doing more business, you may need to perform more equipment maintenance. The cost for equipment repairs falls under variable overhead. Semi-Variable Overhead - Semi-variable expenses are costs with a base sum that doesn't change, combined with extra cost that increases as you do more business. Utilities are an example of semi-variable overhead. How to Calculate Overhead Typically, overhead is calculated monthly, but you can also calculate your overhead costs per day, week, or year. Once you add up overhead costs, you can make comparisons and take action to reduce those expenses and save money. 1. Create a List of Your Expenses To calculate your overhead for the month, first draw up a comprehensive list of your expenses. This list should include rent, taxes, utilities, equipment, administrative supplies, maintenance, and advertising. Add up all costs to calculate your total overhead costs for the month. 2. Calculate Overhead Percentage Overhead can be represented as a percentage that compares total overhead expenses to total sales. To calculate overhead percentage, use the following formula: Overhead / Total Monthly Sales x 100 = Overhead as a Percentage of Sales Average overhead percentage varies by industry, with some businesses operating on the high end of the spectrum and some operating with a very lean overhead percentage. For restaurants, an overhead percentage of 35% is considered typical. Retail businesses, on the other hand, operate closer to a 20% to 25% overhead percentage. Regardless of your profitability, it is important to track your overhead costs regularly. Many expenses, like rent and salaries, are constant and will not fluctuate much over time, but some costs, such as utilities, repairs, and advertising, can change greatly in a short amount of time. Tracking your restaurant overhead costs each month can give you a better picture of how your business is doing. Back to Top How to Reduce Overhead Costs Many of the expenses that factor into a business's costs are fixed expenditures, but there are some actions you can take to reduce overhead costs. Taking steps like negotiating with suppliers and landlords or buying energy-efficient equipment can have a big impact on your bottom line. To reduce your business overhead cost, take the following steps: 1. Renegotiate Your Lease If you’re on a month-to-month lease, talk to your landlord about renegotiating your restaurant lease contract. Your business is a steady stream of income for your landlord, so they may be able to make a deal with you, especially if you commit to staying there for a while. 2. Sublease Your Restaurant Space Subleasing your kitchen space is becoming a more popular and available option nowadays. After work hours or early in the morning, you can rent out your location as a commissary kitchen to other businesses, like food trucks and catering companies, that need a space for food prep. 3. Share with a Pop-Up Try renting your space part-time to pop-up restaurants. Pop-up restaurants are establishments that operate temporarily in parks, galleries, warehouses, and even private homes. These restaurants use social media to promote themselves, and many chefs use pop-up restaurants to hone their skills, find potential investors, and gauge interest in opening a full-time operation. Because pop-up restaurants operate in non-typical locations, many times they need to borrow kitchen space from another restaurant or operation to prepare their food, which you can offer during your off hours. 4. Save on Equipment and Supplies Equipment is a major investment for restaurant owners and makes up a large part of your overhead cost. Look for an online equipment supplier that provides benefits like membership discounts or free shipping on commercial equipment. The Webstaurant Rewards® Visa Business Card offers rewards on each WebstaurantStore purchase to help you save even more. Check out more tips that will help you save on the cost of your restaurant equipment: Purchase Newer Models - Replacing old appliances with newer models can save on repair costs as well as your utility bill because many new appliances have energy-saving features. Choose Energy-Efficient Models - While energy-efficient appliances may be more expensive than standard equipment, the money you will save on utilities over time will make up for the discrepancy. Pick from the Scratch and Dent Section - The Scratch and Dent outlet features new equipment sold at discounted prices because of minor scratches or dents. The damage doesn't affect performance and customers won’t see any superficial flaws on your back-of-house equipment. Consider Combination Ovens - Combi ovens have three unique cooking modes - convection, steam, and a combination of the two, which allow you to cook a variety of dishes all in one appliance. Because combi ovens have so many cooking options, you can replace several costly appliances with one purchase. 5. Lower Your Utility Bills Using energy-saving appliances is an excellent way to save on utilities, but there are some other steps you can take to cut your bill even more. Turn off lights in areas that aren’t being used. You can further reduce your electric bill by using energy-efficient lighting, like LED light bulbs. Buy equipment like pre-rinse spray valves and faucet aerators that reduce the amount of water you use at your dishwashing station. Only give your customers water if they request it. One or two wasted glasses of water may not seem like a lot, but compound that over the span of a month and it can add up to a substantial amount. Don’t overstock your fridges and walk-in coolers. These appliances work by circulating cool air, and if the fridge is too full, the air can't circulate. This forces the machine to work harder to maintain the cool temperature, costing you more money. Turn off your dishwasher at night. Many high-temp dishwashers have a water tank with built-in heating elements that keep the water hot at all times. 6. Use Social Media Marketing Advertising cost is part of your overhead expenses, so using free marketing techniques helps to free up more capital. Social media is an excellent mobile media marketing tool for reaching a wider audience. With sites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, you can post pictures and videos of your delicious food to entice people into your restaurant. Social media allows you to inform customers of new menu items, daily specials, and upcoming events at your restaurant. When you interact with your customers and reply to their questions, you are reaching out to all of their followers and connections, potentially bringing in new business. Back to Top Overhead costs can eat away a substantial amount of your profits each month, but managing your expenses is possible, and it can help you boost profits. The most important thing to keep in mind to drive down your overhead costs is to consistently monitor and track your spending while keeping an eye out for cost-saving opportunities.
How to Get More Yelp Reviews
One of the most popular sites for finding, rating, and reviewing bars and restaurants is Yelp. And having a favorable score on Yelp can create a free advertising boost that can bring in more customers. That’s because, for many, the search for a new restaurant starts on the Internet, with 90% of customers seeking out online reviews before making a purchase from a business. Keep reading to learn how this popular site can affect your business and the best practices you can use for getting more Yelp reviews. How Does Yelp Work? Yelp is a social media website that allows customers to review their experience at foodservice establishments. Over 50 million new customers visit Yelp’s website a month. The website features over 135 million reviews and 90% of total Yelp users say that the reviews they read impact their purchases. Yelp rewards customers who post frequent and useful reviews by providing them with the title of Elite Yelper and extra influence. These Yelp reviewers hold a higher impact on a restaurant's Yelp score. Yelp also provides important business information including the address, hours of operation, and amenities included in order to help potential customers decide where to eat. While the website was created with the consumer in mind, they offer tools that business owners can use to communicate with customers and market their restaurant. These include the ability to add a menu, update business profile information, view visitor activity, and respond to customer reviews. How to Get Yelp Reviews When it comes to Yelp, you’ll want not only positive reviews but a lot of reviews in general. This creates the impression that your establishment is popular and busy, which is an appealing attribute for future guests. So, how can you get more Yelp reviews? Here are a few tips on what to do and not to do in order to get your customers to leave reviews of your business online. 1. Don’t Ask for or Influence Your Customers’ Reviews If you want to get more Yelp reviews, authenticity is key. You want customers to give their honest impression of your business, because that honesty is what will persuade other customers to visit your establishment. Explicitly asking customers to leave a positive Yelp review is not recommended. Doing this could easily turn off some customers from writing a review altogether or, even worse, coming back to your restaurant. Never Buy Yelp Reviews or Add Fake Ones One important thing you need to know about Yelp is that they punish users who buy Yelp reviews or have employees leave fake Yelp reviews. The website and its community of loyal followers can easily tell when an unauthentic review has been posted. The Yelp algorithm, as well as other filters, and programs are in place to help them find fake and paid Yelp reviews. Associating your business with these types of reviews can have a negative impact on your restaurant. If the website determines that you buy Yelp reviews, it will post a Consumer Alert banner on your page for 90 days. This banner will notify your potential customers that your company was caught attempting to pay for Yelp reviews, which will break their trust in your brand. Yelp fake reviews and paid endorsements are also a violation with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and can result in serious fines or further repercussions. Yelp filters reviews with these common attributes as fake or insincere: No profile image on the reviewer's profile Review lacks specifics about the dining experience Review is under 135 characters Reviewer writes similar reviews each time Review is either entirely negative or entirely positive, sometimes sounding exaggerated Reviewer has little to no review history with other businesses Reviewer has little to no “Yelp friends” on the profile Reviewer’s profile includes no information about themselves Reviewer posts multiple reviews around the same time or in a day Reviewer posts a 5-star review for one company and a 1-star review for its competitor Yelp’s algorithm will err on the side of caution and filters out reviews that sound fake even when they may be real reviews. For that reason, it is important to advertise review options for all of your customers, encouraging as many of them as possible to write an authentic Yelp company review. 2. Post Reminders and Yelp Signs in Your Dining Space There are ways that you can let your customers know you’re on Yelp and interested in receiving reviews without explicitly asking. Directly asking for a review is against the Yelp review policy, but a simple “Let us know how we’ve been doing!” sign in your business and on social media is an effective way to encourage your guests to share their thoughts. Place an official Yelp sticker around your establishment to let guests know your business is active on the site and you’d appreciate their reviews. Consider placing these stickers near your cash register or front door so it’s the last thing your customers see before leaving. Seeing the Yelp stickers in your business may remind your customers to write a Yelp review when they return home. Yelp even offers the HTML coding that allows you to add a Yelp badge on your website and social media profile pages. You may pair the badge with a caption inviting customers to visit your Yelp page, along with some authentic review examples that previous customers have written. If you do so, choose well-formatted reviews that can show customers how to write a Yelp review that will be approved by the Yelp review filtering process. 3. Follow up with Customers After Their Experience Customers usually don’t think about leaving a review after a dining experience. It is estimated that only 15 in 1,000 customers will bother to write a review about a business. A great way to increase the number of customers who are willing to leave a review is by following up with them after their experience. This interaction can begin face-to-face by training your staff to ask your customers how their meal and experience was before presenting the check. If the customer expresses a positive experience, kindly suggest that they share their feedback online on their favorite review website. If the experience was negative, you then have a chance to make it up to the customer by asking further questions and offering some sort of discount or freebie as an apology. This may save your Yelp business page from a negative review. Consider adding a location on your receipt where customers can provide their email or phone number for feedback. You can then enter their information into ReputationStacker’s system, and the website will automatically send them a single-question survey asking about their experience. Once your customer replies, they will be guided to the review sites of your choice and you will be notified about any negative reviews that need addressing. 4. Offer Exclusive Deals and Gift Certificates on Yelp While businesses should not offer deals or coupons in exchange for reviews, Yelp Deals can be an effective way to get customers in the door and leaving a review of your business. These deals can be in the form of a discount coupon or a gift certificate, and customers can print or pull up these coupons on their smartphones to easily show their server. Offering a discount or coupon is an excellent way to bring Yelp users into your establishment and, because they got the coupon from Yelp, there's a good chance that they'll leave a review after their visit. You may also offer a discount or promotion to customers who bring in a copy of their Yelp review, regardless of star rating, during their next visit. This will encourage them to write reviews on Yelp and become repeat customers. 5. Respond to Both Negative and Positive Yelp Reviews It is inevitable that customers will post negative reviews on Yelp, but negative reviews aren’t always bad Yelp reviews! Fortunately, Yelp allows owners to respond to reviews, so you can turn negative reviews into a positive for your business. Here are some tips you can use when responding to a negative review: Respond within 2 weeks of the original review posted Read the entire review before responding Start the response by apologizing and thank them for reaching out Admit any mistakes your business may have made in the situation Include details in your response that show you read the whole review Do not insult the customer or accuse them of lying Defend your business without becoming defensive Try to offer a solution or offer to contact the customer directly for further discussion and a personal resolution Provide manager contact information such as a phone number or email Try to reserve public messages for comments that will benefit all customers. If you can add something to a positive review, then post it publicly—but recognize that multiple public “thank yous” can look like pandering to customers for reviews. If your customers posted a review, it means they had such an impressive visit that they want to share it. 6. Keep Your Business Profile Up to Date As a restaurant or bar owner, you need to claim your Yelp business page to ensure the information posted is accurate. Yelp licenses business information from third party data collectors and posts that information online. As a result, the information that Yelp puts up on your business's page isn't always correct. It’s also important to post your restaurant’s menu on Yelp. This could be the difference between a guest coming to check out your new dinner special or heading to their regular place down the block. Posting a menu will also give you the advantage when out-of-town guests are looking for somewhere to eat. Yelp is a valuable resource for curious consumers and business owners who refuse to pay for reviews. Thanks to an entire community built on offering candid, honest feedback, restaurants can be held accountable for their actions, praised by happy customers, and offered valuable critique to help them improve. Follow these simple tips to build your business’s reputation and get more reviews on Yelp.