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Owning a restaurant is not easy. A lot of time restaurant owners are scraping money together to clear the large amounts of overhead they have, and cash flow is at a minimum. On top of the financial burdens Restaurant owners can have, the competition is fierce.

In any industry it’s tough to own the competition and have an edge up – in the restaurant world, it’s not an added plus if you do, it’s a necessity for success.  Below I’ll discuss a few ways that you can ensure you are not falling behind to your competitors and that you are reaching your entire potential audience by doing everything you can to succeed.

Proper Website

Notice the word proper. I didn’t just say website. Many, many restaurants don’t want to pay for a custom website. Whether they don’t see the value or say they don’t have the money, each has their own reasoning. A website, however, is not an investment you make when things are going great and you have extra cash – that may never come. A website is an investment you make so that you can solidify the success of your company.

Every restaurant needs to have a custom website in which the restaurant is being showcased for all that it offers. A state of the art design to showcase the beauty in the restaurant and the items on the menu and a content management system to keep the content (such as your menu, promotions, coupons, and events) on the website fresh is super important.

Having a website can make all the difference in the world when someone is choosing where to eat their next meal. The last thing you want to do is let that visitor go to your competitor because they dotted their I’s and crossed their t’s and have a proper website in place.

Social Media Engagement

FYI - If you haven’t read our articles on the benefits of using social media for your company as a whole, you should head over to the Social Media category on our blog, and read those.

Social Media is huge. It’s an equal playing field where the ROI is great on both the money and time you put into it. Social Media gives you a platform with an audience unlike anything else. A platform such as Facebook lets you engage with your customers, educate your audience, and build loyalty with existing customers.

Just this past Friday, when I got the idea for this blog article, I wanted a Fish Fry. The problem is every restaurant I wanted to get one from has a poor online presence. I didn’t know who had a fish fry and who didn’t. It was a headache trying to order food. That was a problem that should never exist. Same goes on holidays when I don’t know what pizza places are open and what ones aren’t.

URGENT TIP: Restaurants, you need to be using social media to communicate your message – whatever it is – to your audience quickly and effectively. It will grow loyalty, bring in more business, and solidify your customer base.

On The Go

Americans are always on the go. If you’re not able to be discovered on the go, you’re behind. According to a recent study, 95 million people in the United States are accessing internet for one reason or another from their smartphone every-day.

Just last week when the iPhone 5 sold 2 million phones in 24 hours of pre-ordering, the urgency grew even more. This alarming number should be an eye opener to how much Americans are looking for information on the go, and that they are using their phones for more than just calling people and texting friends.

Your next potential customer is sitting in the back of a taxi, driving home from work, running errands, waiting for kids to be done at the soccer game, chatting with friends – whatever the case, you name it - fingers are running wild on their smartphones.

There is such a high demand for restaurant owners especially to be mobile that we created another company called eMobileMenus.com. eMobileMenus.com caters directly to the everyday Restaurant owner that has high overhead and low cash flow by allowing  business owners to have a website built just for mobile devices for only $25/month.

Basch Solutions, LLC , a Rochester, NY website design and development company, has been helping business owners in all industries be ahead of the curve for years. Don’t be left in the dust. If you need help with bringing your business – restaurant or not – up to speed, use the contact box on the right hand side and reach out to us. We’d love to help!