“The trouble with opportunity is that it’s always more recognizable going than coming.” Author unknown.
I am hearing it everywhere – on TV, Radio, Internet, in the office, at work, at church….just about anywhere. The economy is not where any of us would like it to be. Sales are down. Customer counts are down. Profits are down. Everyone is getting a little nervous. Are you? What are you doing? How are you going to insure that you are going to come out of this better than your competition? Have you even thought of how to take advantage of this economic slowdown?
When faced with situations like this there are three primary options – 1) DOING SOMETHING ABOUT IT. 2) Doing nothing about it. 3) Complaining about it. Which category do you fall into? I hope the 1st! Now is the time to act – to reinvest, to retool, and to reinvent. Don’t put it off - holding on to what you have always done is not taking advantage of this opportunity. Take a look at your best practices and see if they can be improved.
The major areas to look at are your menu, your labor, and your marketing. Let’s take them one at a time. Your menu – when is the last time you took the time to cost it out? Are your prices set profitably? Food costs have risen significantly, have you adapted your margins? Over the past 5 years national chains have reduced their menu options by 20% - why? To make sure that what they had on their menu sold….no sense in tying up inventory dollars on items that don’t turn. Do your menu selections reinforce your reputation and brand? If they don’t why are they on there? These are just some of the things we need to be looking at while the market is slow. Now is the time to do the leg work and put in the investment for more profitable and busier times.
Your labor – are you over staffed? Are their labor saving opportunities available in the marketplace that may cost a little more on the invoice that could result in long term financial savings. I know – none of us likes to let someone go, but is carrying too much staffing worth running your profits into the ground? Slow times like this are the perfect times to review your best practices models. Is there some retraining that could be done? Is there an opportunity to stream line your business model so that in busier times you can be more profitable and turn more tables? How about in the back of the house? Is your line set as efficiently as it could be? I know that everyone is resistant to change, but if nothing changes, then nothing changes!
Your marketing – are you reaching the right people with the right information and messages? I know I harp on this one a lot, but I believe that strong marketing ideas can drive sales exponentially. What are you doing to draw people into your establishment? There are lots of options available to the consumers. What are you doing to earn your slice of the pie? There is business out there to be had – the question is what are you going to do to grab it? Limited time offers, prizes, community groups, monthly themes, and daily specials – just about anything goes when you are trying to draw customers into your restaurant. When consumers are watching their pennies, we need to raise our games to get our share of them, and slow times provide a great opportunity to explore some new ideas.
Believe me, I see what is happening in the marketplace and it frightens me a little too. How much longer will it last? Who knows! What I do know is that there is no time like the present to put into action those steps necessary to create bigger, more pronounced points of difference between you and your competition. Consumers haven’t stopped spending, they have just changed how, when and where they are spending, and the challenge lies before us to raise our games to go out and grab our market share. I know that you – the people reading this – can do it and have done it in the past. I believe in you and your businesses and I want to be a part of your success!
