Measure before you manage: 6 steps for improved customer satisfaction (and revenue).

Picture the scene, small to midsized restaurant experiencing a drop in revenue for the past two quarters, and things need to pick up and fast. There are a number of options available to the ownership to try and turn thing around. They could spend more on advertising, targeting more affluent media and getting higher spenders in. Redecorate and refurbish, to give the place a fresher feel and lighter vibe, change the menu, or even go the whole hog and rebrand. All of these choices cost money and lots of it.

So although there are options to consider, most of them are an investment and not for the faint hearted. - I hear you saying. Great idea, and I like the way your mind works. But who are you targeting in your strategy? And this is the crux of the matter; do you know where your customers actually come from? They come to you, to your location, sit at your tables and all you have to go on is anecdotal fleeting conversations and judgements based on attire and other non-verbals cues.

Do you know their demographic information? How they found you? Were you recommended by a previous customer. Are they the type to recommend you in the future? Is this their one and only visit? What is important to them when visiting a restaurant, food service, décor, reputation? You need to know all of this (and more) for long term security of your business.

What the owners want is to be looking at a full restaurant most nights, waiting staff buzzing around with plates in both hands, chef barking orders, making sure courses delivered on time, knives and forks and dessert spoons all adding to the cacophony of sound, punctuating the hum of engaging conversation taking place in an relaxed atmosphere and comfortable surroundings. But where do you find out how it got full in the first place? You do your research!

Measure before you manage!

1) Get rid of comment cards! –Yes you read that correctly, get rid of them all. All you really need is an email address, asking the customer to provide it so you can ask them about their experience to help you improve your service FOR them. You could do that instead of comment cards, people have the fill them in at the time, not when it’s convenient for the customer. There have been numerous examples of establishments migrating from comment cards to online satisfaction trackers found that only people who were extremely happy or irate filled in comment cards. And you don’t get much in terms of identifying your core market from them. Over 80% of people who weren’t motivated enough to stay the extra 5 minutes and fill in the card, thought the establishment/service was average. Now as a business person, wouldn’t you want to know why they thought you were just average and not exceptional? Click here for a blog on this point

2) Send them your survey – Using this method, the customer will be able to answer your questions when it suits them, and in the comfort of their own environment. This simple factor gives you a greater level of response, and more honest appraisals of your service. This insight is where you get your golden business intelligence from.

3) Cover all your bases – Ask to be rated on whatever you think is relevant: location, staff greeting, venue layout, speed of service, quality of service, problem resolution, responsiveness of staff. And then there is the food itself, size of the starter, quality and quantity satisfaction, and the same for mains and desserts. So many areas where you might be excelling or failing, and yet you do not know this, card don’t cover these topics.

4) Ask the right questions the right way – Feedback like this isn’t just asking a lot of questions, get some advice on how to do this. Research is a science, and has differing methodologies for different applications. You are asking for your customers’ time AFTER they have spent their money with you at your establishment. The least you could do is offer a survey that flows seamlessly from one topic to another, that’s easy on the eye, and is engaging. Besides there’s no harm in having your branding at the top of their computer screen for a few more minutes is there?? ;-) The act of asking for their opinion shows you care, that’s a good way to be perceived is it not?

5) Get the results – This goes back to point 4 above, the survey should be designed with getting results out in the best possible format. It should be easy to isolate demographics of customer base, and tally that up against different ratings of your services and work from there.

6) NOW plan how to get more business – Little did you realise that 60% of the restaurant goers were of average income who wanted to taste a bit of the high life, or wanted to impress on a date or were celebrating an occasion. They weren’t the richer sections of society at all, but everyone looks so well dressed? Maybe they made an effort that night for the special occasion!
That should have shaved a chunk off your planned marketing spend targeting the right people, I guess you can afford to offer a free meal for two every month for the next quarter while you get more business in. The wisest business will employ a program like this when they are doing well, not before it gets too late. Never a bad time to check your pulse is it?

As for the ongoing marketing strategy, it should be a lot easier now that you know who, what, how, when, where and why, I’ll leave you to search the internet and find someone who knows how to help you with your social media strategy, there are a few around!

Crunch