Blog for restaurants and gastronomic entrepreneurs

6 steps for my restaurant to eat the competition

6 steps for my restaurant to eat the competition

In Mexico there are more than 450,000 restaurants, which makes this business line a source of growth, innovation and continuous improvement, where competition will always be a key factor.

Since we decided to have a business of this type, the competition has given us the guidelines to define the standards that we must meet regarding the services we provide: a fast food restaurant will never be the same as a Japanese one, and we know this because we know several establishments of those types.

But at the same time it works as an essential element for our business growth, since we always want to stand out from all this range of positions that we are part of. That is why below we give you the 6 steps that will help you "eat" the competition!

1. Define and analyze the competition

We cannot take action if we do not know what we are facing, the first step will always be recognize what we are going to work on: the number of competitors, who compete directly and who compete indirectly, the quality and conditions of the services they offer, the potential market, etc.

For this, there are different strategies that allow us to define who our competition is and carry out the analysis of this information. A method that we previously recommended is the Benchmarking, which is precisely responsible for knowing the competition and then highlighting.

2. Know yourself and be unique

It will be useless to know what others are doing, if we ignore what we ourselves do. It is important to recognize our strengths in order to exploit them to the fullest, if we have one signature that distinguishes us of the rest it will be important to work on it, especially if it is not so obvious.

Remember that in addition to food, customers always value aspects such as the quality / price ratio, the atmosphere and the service provided by the staff, so do not forget to study these points in your business and attend to them immediately.

3. Innovation to grow

The novelty will always produce a reaction in customers, we can apply it to our products or our services, do not be afraid to ask your customers what changes and news they would like to enjoy your business.

Explore ideas in distant or different places and try. You never know when that idea will arrive that will make you potentialize your reach and grow commercially. 

4. Establish and review your strategy

With all the information you have now, you can define the reins that you will follow in your business to make it prosper. A strategy involves establishing a series of steps to achieve an end, so don't forget to establish objectives. These can be short, medium and long term, so that you can comply with the tools you have at your fingertips.

And don't forget that you should always include a evaluation That allows you to assess if your strategy is achieving the expected results, what steps are too many and which ones you could add. This evaluation should be oriented based on the most important recommendations for our business: the clients.

5. Never forget the customer

It may sound repetitive but it is undoubtedly important to clarify that the client has the last word and is the one who will define if all your effort is paying off or it is necessary to return to any of the previous points. Do not forget to implement tools to know their opinion, get close to them, listen to them and take action.

One way to do this is through virtual social networks, very useful to know the degree of satisfaction of your customers and obtain "feedback". Spend time reading and answering each comment or mention that your clients deposit in them.

Remember that, in addition, new and more extensive appear every day artists those that your clients follow, and you will most likely benefit from following them too, as you could find positioning opportunities in a captive market.

6. Be your own competition

Remember that competition allows us to grow but in addition to looking at what is happening outside, continue working on your project. The circumstances on which each business is established will always be different, so do not despair and keep getting better. Without a doubt, you will have favorable results according to your effort!