\n<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re a restaurant owner or marketer, you need to understand how to define a restaurant\u2019s niche. Foodservice is a highly competitive business.\u00a0<\/span>Studies say<\/span><\/a>\u00a0that a whopping 60 percent of new restaurants fail within their first year; almost 80 percent don\u2019t make it to their fifth year. A few factors influence that failure.<\/span><\/p>\n The main factors that make or break a restaurant are location, funding, the actual food, staffing, and reviews. To find success, you need to have an understanding of all those different areas. You also need to have a birds-eye view of your entire concept \u2014 a strategic and creative vision. If you align all the moving parts of your business from the ground up, it\u2019ll be a little easier to\u00a0<\/span>make it<\/span><\/a>\u00a0past that fifth year.<\/span><\/p>\n Ideally, you defined your restaurant concept long before opening your doors and building everything towards that vision from the ground up. Even if you didn\u2019t, you can still\u00a0<\/span>successfully pivot<\/span><\/a>\u00a0towards a new concept as long as you have the funds. Agility is the name of the game in this business. Whether you\u2019re starting from scratch or pivoting, there are a few crucial steps.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Where is your business located in relation to your potential customers? Is it downtown? Is it in an up-and-coming industrial area? Is it near a highway offramp? What are other types of businesses located nearby? What are other restaurants located nearby?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n You absolutely must understand what\u2019s going on in the area around your restaurant, why people go there, when people go there, and what people might want to spend money on when they\u2019re there.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019re opening up shop in a busy restaurant district, you shouldn\u2019t serve the same cuisine that other existing restaurants in the area already serve. On the other hand, if you have an amazing chef and you believe in your vision, then sure, you can try to compete directly with an existing spot. Just understand that you\u2019re fighting an uphill battle. Maybe you\u2019re opening up in an area with many nightlife spots but not many full-service restaurants. Great! There\u2019s an opportunity to become the go-to dinner spot for bar-goers before they hit the clubs.<\/span><\/p>\n Factoring location into your restaurant concept isn\u2019t difficult. To recap:<\/span><\/p>\n When it comes to figuring out what food to serve at your restaurant, there are two routes. First is the food-based passion project, when there\u2019s a specific cuisine you care deeply about and feel driven to serve. The second is the business strategy-focused decision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s great to bring passion, but you must\u00a0<\/span>complement it with strategy<\/span><\/a>. For example, if there\u2019s already a great barbecue spot near your restaurant, don\u2019t open another barbecue spot. You\u2019re hurting yourself from the get-go.<\/span><\/p>\n Once again, like optimizing for location, figure out what other restaurants are nearby and fill in the gaps. Are there a lot of dive bars but nowhere that serves fancy cocktails and refined small plates? There\u2019s an opportunity for you there. Think deeper, though \u2014 have other restaurateurs tried and failed with that model before? Maybe that\u2019s not what locals want.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019ll be different depending on where you are, so it\u2019s up to you to do the research. Just figure out what\u2019s missing, what locals actually want, and then go from there.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The last aspect of defining your restaurant\u2019s concept and niche revolves around service and ambiance. Counter service or sit-down? White linen or paper napkins? Soda machine or glass bottles? Brightly lit or dark and dim?<\/span><\/p>\n Again, figuring out how to organize the service and ambiance of your restaurant is a matter of filling in the gaps. There\u2019s a pattern here:<\/span><\/p>\n So you\u2019ve picked a concept, and you\u2019re opening your doors for the first time, or you\u2019re pivoting from an unsuccessful concept. It\u2019s time to\u00a0<\/span>get the word out<\/span><\/a>\u00a0\u2014 advertising is crucial!\u00a0<\/span>Use a contest<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to get people aware of and sharing the news.\u00a0<\/span>Update your website<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or create a new one. Then, start advertising in the real world.<\/span><\/p>\n Billboard advertising is a fantastic way to announce yourself to the world. If it\u2019s in your budget, pick a location, design an ad (or\u00a0<\/span>hire a freelancer<\/span><\/a>) and watch customers flow to your business. It\u2019s tough to ignore a billboard; people will gain awareness of what you\u2019re offering.<\/span><\/p>\n If a billboard isn\u2019t in your budget, go with grocery store advertising<\/a>. Shopping cart advertising rates specifically are very affordable. Cartvertising<\/a> and Receipt Tape Advertising<\/a> is a guaranteed way to reach customers where they are \u2014 everyone goes to the grocery store. Make sure you put a deal or a promotion to entice potential customers since that\u2019s much more likely to drive new business than an ad simply featuring your location and hours.<\/span><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve done your due diligence and designed a clever, niche-forward concept, your business should start seeing more customers walk through the door once you start running ads. Remember, it\u2019s all about combining passion and strategy.<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section><\/div>\n The post How to Market for Your Restaurant\u2019s Niche<\/a> appeared first on IndoorMedia<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" People go to different restaurants for different reasons. Let\u2019s say you live in a busy downtown area with dozens of different eatery choices. You probably have your weekday breakfast spot. There\u2019s a weekend brunch spot. There\u2019s a special occasion (birthdays and such) brunch spot that\u2019s a little pricier. There\u2019s a coffee shop for mornings when […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":152076,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12023],"tags":[45871,44479,11209,25258,24340,12767],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-152075","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advertising","tag-brand-advertising","tag-coupon-advertising","tag-market","tag-niche","tag-restaurant-advertising","tag-restaurants"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to Define a Restaurant Concept<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Location<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Food and Drink<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Service and Ambiance<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Marketing for Your Restaurant\u2019s Niche<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n