Top 5 Concerns for Your Restaurant Business Plan in 2014

As we go into a new year, restaurant owners should be developing their restaurant business plan for operational efficiency and marketing strategies to increase sales.

Restaurant Business Plan

Restaurant Business Plan

A recent study of restaurant owners in Columbus Ohio cited the top five concerns to be dealt with in 2014. Outlined below are their thoughts.

  • How will I increase sales and decrease cost?
  • What will be the impact of commodity price increases and will they hurt my business?
  • How do government policies impact my profit potential?
  • What will increases in the minimum wage do to my business?
  • Where will gasoline prices go this year and how will they impact discretionary spending of my customers?

Obviously there is always change that a restaurant owner has to deal with during the year. These things never change. The projected food and labor cost are expected to rise 4.6% this year over last with the largest increases showing up in beef prices. There will be an offset with a lowering of poultry pricing. Labor pricing will be impacted by the Affordable Care Act implementation and the rising of the minimum wage in many states.  Gasoline is always a roller coaster ride , but states like Pennsylvania have enacted a gas tax increase that took effect on January 1, 2014 with an immediate hike in prices of 10 cents per gallon. The program will raise gas taxes by 30 cents per gallon over the next few years.

How do you plan for these impacts to your business? Clearly, developing marketing strategies that increase traffic and raise check averages is the soundest solution.  The projections are calling for a 1% increase in traffic while check averages are anticipated to rise 3.5%. How will your plan beat the projections and improve your operating position? What percentages of independent restaurant owners actually develop a business plan? A colleague of mine recently stated that in their opinion only 5% of owners actually develop a plan. What about the other 95%?

CORE Restaurant Marketing is offering restaurants a marketing plan consultation that will look closely at your current plan and make recommendations to improve your strategy. This consultation is part of our CORE Coaching Program and is designed to show you revenue improvement strategies moving forward. To learn more about the free consultation, please contact CORE Restaurant marketing by calling 888-890-9492 x 101 or send an email to info@corerestaurantmarketing.com

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