The stage is set for your new restaurant. You have decided on the spin that will be given to the cuisine specialties of the house. Your tables have been set up just so, with the perfect table settings to match your tastefully designed interior décor. The staff has been painstakingly hired and trained, from the head chef on down to the dishwashers. You have thought of everything you need to open your doors, but do you fully grasp what that means? You may need to run a new restaurant sales forecast.
Why Is a New Restaurant Sales Forecast Important?
The importance of executing a sales forecast is a critical step that many green restaurateurs miss. Sometimes it is simply because they are unaware of the benefits that can be gained. But other times, it can make all the difference between a long, remembered successful run and a few archaic blurbs on social media. Conducting a sales forecast presents you with clear insights into how your processes and marketing helps you to stand out from the crowd.
Many of the aspects within a sales forecast will give you granular views into each area of your branding voice. Some examples of this are:
- Understanding how menus similar to yours have fared in the local community,
- Seeing if your actual clientele is matching early expectations of what your customer base would look like.
- Determining if you need a better internet presence, such as building out social media engagements or online reservation acceptance.
- Comparing the consumer cost of the dining experience you are offering vs. everyone else.
Though not a complete list, this gives you some idea around the helpful nature of conducting a sales forecast. Knowing what to look for, especially in a technology-driven business world, gives you the foresight to make changes before things can become problematic.
A New Restaurant Sales Forecast Data Requires a Touch of Tech
The most obvious, yet head-scratching element in running a sales forecast is having the data on hand to do so. Opening up with an empty database will require some outside assistance. Even if you have been operating for a short time, the odds of you having the right information to conduct an accurate analysis will fall short. You need a technical solution in order to address this problem, one that not only gives you the data you require but one that makes your restaurant better from top to bottom.
Using a POS sales solution that can track transactions and present you with real-time financial reporting, giving you an operational edge. You can readily see issues as they arise, presenting you with an opportunity to minimize the financial damages caused by misaligned ordering, menu prices, or labor costs. Conducting a competitive analysis becomes much easier, emboldening you to make those menu or branding adjustments that have been on your mind. This also provides you with the clarity you need to see just how effective your customer service policy is driving sales.
Does Your Planned Customer Experience Truly Engage Your Clientele?
Filling your tables in the early days of operating does not necessarily mean that your finger is squarely on the pulse of those you are seeking to engage. A sales forecast will allow you to gain 20/20 vision when it comes to ensuring that the customer experience you are offering translates into the customer engagement you hope to achieve. But how can you accomplish this with a limited amount of information at your side?
Adding social media as a marketing layer can be a large help, especially if you branch out from the traditional Facebook or Instagram outlets and into the world of Yelp, OpenTable, and TripAdvisor. These will appear to be review driven on the surface but can allow you to take things a step further. In publishing photos of your restaurant, posting your menu, and offering a discount promo code associated with each of these outlets, you can gain visibility into what is or isn’t working.
This is another great place in which a POS technical solution can be of service. You can readily view customer payment and dining preferences in a modular way. For example, you can see which tables are more popular, which servers are most requested, and what menu items are most requested. Going a bit deeper, you can easily see what add-ons or menu modifications are being made, allowing you to adjust your menus and ingredients ordering so they are more efficient.
Process Changes Can Provide Customer Visible Service Gains
A concisely constructed sales forecast will give you valuable ideas that can be leveraged into improvements that make a noticeable difference in the customer service you are providing. It is important to understand what must be examined as part of a sales forecast in order to determine these points of improvement. With so much going unspoken on both sides of the dining experience, you will need a focused starting point from which you can build a deeper understanding.
Much of this will center around two key data points: modifications made to the menu at the time of ordering and the accuracy of order fulfillment. These two key data points give you a clear view of the enticement your menu offerings provide to the customer. You will also realize an unobstructed view into how the customer experience process is being executed on the floor; from ordering, delivery to staff efficiency and tableside manner.
This is another area where having a next-gen POS solution in place can provide you with data and reporting for a new restaurant sales forecast. The data storing and advanced, near real-time reporting abilities of many POS platforms on the market today can raise red flags in your sales forecast, giving you the opportunity to rapidly adjust to avoid the loss of revenues or clientele. Introducing a highly functional layer of technology will give you concise numbers that can be used to accurately satiate the customer experience you are presenting.
You can monitor customer satisfaction by watching the tip rates of your servers. You will easily see any trending meal modifications so that your menus can be changed to reflect these. Revenue leakage can easily be reduced by allowing you to keep a watchful eye over order accuracy of orders from the moment they are requested, through the kitchen processes, and out into the dining room. Doing so with a capable POS software solution at your side sounds easy enough, but how can it truly make a positive impact in your restaurant?
A New Restaurant Sales Forecast Requires a Solid POS Solution
Gathering and processing the data you have gathered introduces a challenge. Addressing data limitations when conducting your sales forecast activities must be especially focused on accurately gauging the desires and expectations of diners when they walk through your doors. Conducting market research around the local area in which you operate is a start, but this may be incomplete, especially if you are introducing a new wrinkle on a type of cuisine. So where are you, the new restaurateur, to turn in order to conduct a precise sales forecast?
Starting your restaurant with a next-gen POS platform in place can provide you with the real-time insights you need to address and process misalignments. Engaging with an experienced partner is a crucial variable in this equation. A POS solutions partner must take the time to understand what your optimal brand voice must look like, and will devise a system that gathers and reports on your unique sales forecasts. This will, in the end, enable you to optimize your operating dynamics change.
When you reach out to talech, you gain more than a POS solution provider. We take the time to learn about how your restaurant operates inside and out. This way, we can recommend a solution which represents exactly where you are and where you want to be down the road. Reach out to us today to sign up for a free demo and find out how we can leverage existing POS trends to elevate your restaurant to new heights.
