Welcome to the last installment of our series on A Checklist of Considerations for 2023. If you missed our first two installments on maxims 1-3 and maxims 4-6, be sure to go back and read them! This week, we’ll finish things up with the last two maxims: outside partnerships and community involvement, and technology and automation.
7. Outside Partnerships and Community Involvement
What’s good for the community is also good for you. Invest in the community by supporting the local schools, places of worship, non-profit organizations, and even the local government. By being vested in and entrenched in your community, the community will give back to you through customer loyalty and grassroots marketing.
Consumers equate supporting local business with investing in the positive health of the community. “Buy local” is worn as a badge of honor and a provision of higher quality. Featuring locally farmed and produced products addresses climate concerns and limits fossil fuel usage, while also providing patrons with the emotional wellbeing that is good for revenue. Supporting community business creates a virtuous cycle within the community in which “all boats rise.” Supporting local products bolsters the health and wellness of the local community, drives awareness and financial support to local businesses, which then helps those businesses grow in the marketplace and makes their products more recognizable and desirable to the customer base.
For local bars, this can mean ensuring your beer list includes all the local microbreweries and local wines in your area. Or for restaurants, this can mean marketing the bread from the local baker or the fish caught nearby. Don’t be afraid to temporarily outsource for savings on COGS, while getting the halo effect of partnering with a revered local business. For example, I have worked with businesses that no longer make their own desserts but instead work with a local business to curate custom made desserts just for their business. This provides revenue for the local baker, savings on labor and COGS for their restaurant, and great marketing for both.
8. Technology and Automation
Given that 84% of customers use mobile phones to shop when in store, it would not be too farfetched to say that the future of retail and food service is wholly reliant on technology. Given everything from sanitizing stations and CRM Management to app-based menus and inventory management and automation, technology will be the cornerstone of our current reality in 2023.
Legacy digital ordering apps will face challenges in 2023 as “new age” ordering apps such as Zuul, ChowNow, and BBot will put pressure on legacy brands to provide a better experience and smaller fees for food service operations. Get ahead by learning what options are available to you as you adapt your concept.
There are innumerable systems out now and more on the way to help you advance your business: social media aggregators, next-gen reservations systems, HR management such as Harri or Bamboo, and automated guest follow-up such as Ovation are just a few. Investigate every system available that can help ease the pressure on your day-to-day operation, but remember technology and automation don’t make you better – they only make it easier for you to do what you already do well!
Stay focused on the guest experience, and for goodness sake, answer the damn phone, text, email, or messenger app. The biggest complaint I often here is no one returns my call, email, etc. With all the unique technology out there to connect with guests, how can you create regulars if no one can reach you?
Nick Mautone has 40 years of hospitality industry experience. Mautone believes in the power of mentorship, leadership, collaboration, and possibility. A highly regarded consultant, investor, and restaurateur, Mautone is the architect of an inventive process called "Hospitality Sabermetrics"--think Moneyball for hospitality. He has a sixth sense when it comes to foreseeing trends, and he is known for nurturing sustained success, streamlining operations, and aligning core values in every sort of hospitality business.
Plan to Attend or Participate in Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 27-29, 2023
To learn about the latest trends, issues and hot topics, and to experience and taste the best products within the bar, restaurant and hospitality industry, plan to attend Bar & Restaurant Expo, March 27-29, 2023 in Las Vegas. Visit BarandRestaurantExpo.com.
To book your sponsorship or exhibit space at Bar & Restaurant Expo, contact:
Veronica Gonnello (for companies A to G) e: [email protected] p: 212-895-8244
Tim Schultz (for companies H to Q) e: [email protected] p: 917-258-8589
Fadi Alsayegh (for companies R to Z) e: [email protected] p: 917-258-5174
Also, be sure to follow Bar & Restaurant on Facebook and Instagram for all the latest industry news and trends.