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- New Years resolutions for restaurants (part 2)
We're only about two weeks into 2019 so there's still plenty of time to set New Years resolutions for your restaurant this year. By using these as a guideline to set goals for your brand, you can make 2019 your best year yet. Before you read on, click here to check out part one of this post and get more New Years resolutions for restaurants.
4. Find a balance between experience and convenience
This is one of the bigger challenges restaurants face today. Your brand may pride itself on the guest experience within the four walls of your restaurant, but today's guests increasingly crave an easier way to order, receive, and pay for their meals. How do you stay competitive without eliminating the things your guests love about your restaurant?
We recently blogged about the off-premises shift and its impact on restaurant operations. Increasing number of ways that guests engage with your brand to get their meals challenges both your inventory and labor management operations. It comes back to having the right data for accurate forecasting. Having the tools to accurately forecast sales as they are made through a growing number of channels will go a long way towards maintaining guest experiences while improving convenience.
5. Streamline information processing
The good news is that your restaurant is going to generate a tremendous volume of valuable data in 2019. The bad news is that making sense of your data so you make the most of it is a major challenge. With a technology stack full of disparate systems, tracking down the right information can be a time-consuming process. In many cases, the answers you seek might be buried in a complex spreadsheet or database that isn’t easily searchable. The details may be there, but finding them is an immensely frustrating process.
An integrated back office platform provides one version of the truth. Getting your information from one system eliminates the pain of pulling data from multiple places and allows you to leverage information more effectively without wasting time and money on tedious tasks. Many people take the new year as an opportunity to declutter various aspects of their life. Why shouldn't your information sources receive the same treatment?
6. Grow confidently
Growth is likely near the top of your brand's 2019 goals. But as you know, restaurant growth presents a number of challenges, particularly when facilitated through
franchising. There have been plenty of stories recently regarding tensions between franchisees and franchisors. Some franchisees have pushed back against corporate mandates while others have lost confidence in brand leadership.
In franchised environments, there are more moving parts with the potential to disrupt company-wide operations. Maintaining brand consistency while adhering to the unique needs of your new locations is challenging. A flexible restaurant management system with strong franchise functionality can help overcome those challenges.
Following these resolutions will help ensure your restaurant is in a good place by the end of 2019.