Differentiate Your Restaurant Give Customers A Reason
To Choose Yours Over The Competition
You must differentiate your restaurant business to give customers a reason to choose you over the competition.
Food is the primary way restaurants differentiate themselves but it’s not the only one.
Where to Start Differentiating
Survey your market
Determine what your competitors are doing to differentiate themselves.
You don’t want to position yourself as the family-friendly pizza parlor if somebody else in town has already staked that claim.
Unless they’re doing it badly, which can be an opening for you.
Just avoid mentioning the competition by name; that can be more trouble than it’s worth.
Don’t stop with the current competition either.
Keep your ear to the ground to get the early scoop on who else might be coming to town.
Flavor Innovation
Both the global research firm AlixPartners and the Chicago-based research firm Technomic Inc. identify flavor innovation as a key differentiation strategy for restaurateurs. According to Technomic’s Flavor Consumer Trend Report, 73 percent of consumers who try an item with an innovative flavor and enjoy it are highly likely to return for the same item.
Forty-one percent say new flavors can influence their dining decisions.
Crave Ability
According to Technomic’s most recent Menu Positioning & Occasion Driver Consumer Trend Report, 83 percent of consumers say cravings are the main reason they purchase food away from home at least once a month.
Cultivate crave ability, Technomic advises, by developing and refining “unique signature items that have the power to transform guests into regulars.”
Authenticity
“Convince me it’s real”, diners want menus to thoroughly describe dishes.
Listing ingredients, where they came from, and how they were prepared.
Tell your customers how and why you use authentic recipes and local, imported, or unique ingredients.
Sustainability
In addition to eco-friendly ingredients and practices, how companies treat their employees, and their communities is important.
There is tremendous marketing value in being a great place to work and a true business objective differentiator.
Technology
Operators who enable customers to use technology, notably smartphones and tablets, are positioning their restaurants as more progressive, more efficient, and more customer-friendly.
Meal Customization
Meal customization and demographic tailoring.
Meeting the needs of specific markets, such as millennials and Hispanic populations will be greatly valued by customers.
You can have more than one differentiator.
Don’t let the message get muddled. Clearly and simply communicate through your menu, staff, décor, and marketing vehicles why you’re different.
Customers should be able to get it, just as they would with fewer words on a billboard as they speed past.
Every Restaurant Can’t Be The First or The Biggest
BUT every restaurant can offer something unique and different!
Where Casual Meets Elegant Dining Experience
So a great example of differentiation is Bascom’s Chophouse a popular steakhouse in Clearwater Fl.
They express in every way what makes them the perfect destination for any occasion.
There are several steakhouses in central Florida, Flemings, Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Bern’s, and Out Back to name a few.
The competition is incredible!
Why Bascom’s?
It is a comfortable, yet elegant American restaurant. You can wear relaxing attire or a suit and tie.
They offer a superbly crafted wine list and Certified Black Angus American Mid-Western beef, aged to their exacting specifications to ensure the most tender and flavorful steaks served anywhere at any price.
Their signature bone-in ribeye with a featured, homemade sauce of the day.
They offer a hearty 16 oz. New York Strip!
And, true to their name, they also offer hand-cut veal, pork, and lamb chops all prepared to perfection, as well as a great selection of native seafood dock fresh.
Succulent aged steaks, fresh seafood, and delicious chops including lamb, pork, and veal highlight Bascom’s menu.
Enjoy a relaxed atmosphere!
Start your meal with an appetizer of Oysters Rockefeller or Escargot.
Delicious entrées favorite such as their Prime Rib, 28 ounces.
Porterhouse, Lobster Tail, Atlantic Salmon, Grilled Lamb Chops, or Veal Marsala.
Finish your meal with a slice of Florida Key Lime Pie and a cup of specialty coffee, a glass of red or white wine, or one of their martinis.
Established in 2001, the original Bascom’s came to Florida to build railroads with Henry Flagler. He brought with him a love for aged steaks and chops and later fell in love with fresh gulf seafood.
All of them come together at Bascom’s Chop House as they serve only the finest cuts of meat and the freshest seafood available.
If you are starting a restaurant and would like more information on how to differentiate your NEW business you should ⇐start here⇒
I think that being able to stand out in the restaurant industry is all about offering something that other locations don’t, whether it’s a focus on more exotic flavors, a wider array entrees, or what have you. Good insight here!