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How To Make Your Restaurant Stand Out When Selling
How To Make Your Restaurant Stand Out When Selling
When it comes to going out for a meal, diners have never had more choice. If you want to boost your clientele to grow your business so that you can boost the value before you sell, you’ll have to consider creative ways to make those customer-friendly elements of your business even more appealing.
Here’s some features you could address to make your restaurant really stand out to customers and, therefore, potential buyers.
Check out your aesthetics
As a consumer, you must have walked past a retail business with a visual appeal so strong you felt almost compelled to look inside. To get such an effect working properly for your business, you should think on how to include this into your business.
When you are selling your business, the aesthetics will be a factor in attracting a serious buyer and getting a good price. The less that a buyer has to spend on the aesthetics of the business once they buy it, the more likely that they will be willing to pay the price that you want for your business.
Consider what might attract a busy passer-by at first glance. You could add hanging lights to bring a touch of romance to early evening dining.
It’s essential to look at things through the eyes of a potential buyer. Will they see an open kitchen pulsing with culinary action, or just a tired functional space? And do your tables look fresh and welcoming in a way that accurately reflects the core ambience of your enterprise?
Be aware of trends
You can add a new dimension to any restaurant by demonstrating you are aware of current trends. Adopting this approach demands not only a good understanding of your existing customer base, but also a willingness to consider the needs of other target groups you may wish to attract.
For instance, if you want to market your restaurant to Generation Z or urban millennials, you will have to appeal to the ethos which drives their specific consumer behaviours. This includes matters such as using sustainable food sources, taking great care with the provenance of your supplies, and demonstrating your support for an overt ‘farm to table’ food philosophy.
Even though you are coming to the end of your journey with your restaurant, buyers will be looking to the future. They will want to be sure that their new business is in a position to attract customers in the coming years. Keeping up with current trends is a part of this.
Buyers will also be attracted by an online booking function for your restaurant. And if your facilities can respond to new purchasing methods (e.g. digital wallet payments), such convenience will also go a long way towards marking your restaurant as a go-ahead trendsetter in your area.
Take your website beyond the functional
Diners rarely get to see behind the scenes, but your restaurant website could easily be used to reflect contemporary culinary values. You could profile your staff and highlight their achievements, include action shots of your kitchens, and also detail the stories behind the food sources you use.
Any potential buyers will also be able to look at your website to get a sense of your business. They will also be combing through online reviews to get a sense of your restaurant’s reputation.
Your website could also be a place to highlight appreciative customer reviews, offer detailed information about your menu, and post advance information about any upcoming guest chefs or special tasting events.
Make sure your staff are well-trained
Just as restaurant diners notice and appreciate staff who are prepared to attend to little details, so will a buyer. Often the impression your guests (or buyer) will gain really comes down to whether they felt comfortable throughout the evening.
It’s vital to have staff who are friendly and focused. Staff should also be encouraged to develop their understanding of the restaurant’s cuisine. This should include a good knowledge of wines and spirits and the ability to communicate this information in a confident and engaging manner.
These are all ways that you can increase your restaurants appeal to customers and, therefore, buyers. If you are looking to sell, you should be hoping to boost your business’s value.
If you start preparing for the sale of your restaurant long in advance to when you plan to put it on the market, you can focus on making your restaurant relevant and up to date. Buyers will be attracted to this because of their focus on the future of the business once it is theirs.
Don’t lose steam as the sale approaches. Keep pushing ahead and you’ll reap the rewards once the sale is completed.
By Matthew Hernon is an Account Manager at Dynamis looking after Business Transfer Agents and Franchises across BusinessesForSale.com and FranchiseSales.com.