Restaurant Traffic is Down 4% In December 2022

The latest data shows the restaurant traffic continues to decline. Is this the trend that will continue into 2023? It is important to focus on profitability during these times, but marketing efforts must continue to drive traffic into your restaurant.

Restaurant Trends and Business Success in 2023

The past year has continued to throw curveballs at restaurants, and it has been the most difficult for many operators. As we enter 2023, restaurant owners need to understand restaurant trends for the coming year and determine how to make the most of them.  Top on the list are customer loyalty, staffing concerns and restaurant profitability.

Getting Back to Basics

While we can all get excited about trends, it is important to focus on the basics. The graphic below is from a Harvard Business Review article, “Putting the Service Profit Chain To Work.”

As you can see, the path to profitability starts with your employees and ends with your customers. As owners and managers, it’s critical to recognize the steps to profitability and understand the role you play in determining the culture of your restaurant.

 Combining Trends and the Basics for Restaurant Success

To be successful, restaurant owners need to stick to the old school basics of the service profit chain and apply the latest trends and proven business tactics that work. If we look at the three basic operational areas of restaurants (operations, management, and marketing) and then look at the trends, we can see a roadmap to 2023 business management for restaurants. The CORE Restaurant Marketing “Core Advantage Program” focuses on the eighteen key profit contributors in a restaurant (below) and can help you identify what action is needed in your restaurant to achieve success.

Marketing	Operations	Management
Quality/Value Driven	Menu Management	Organizational Culture
Building Customer Trust	Employee Stability	Employee Satisfaction
Loyalty Programs	Front of House Productivity	Employee Productivity
Online Ordering	Back of House Productivity	Customer Satisfaction
Direct To Customer Marketing	Food Cost Management	Financial Management
Cause Related Marketing	Digital Marketing Management	Technology Implementation

Sound interesting? The first step in the CORE Advantage Program is to assess where you are in each of these areas and determine where you most need improvement. Our baseline measurement tool can help you see the areas where you may need help. The next step is to  sign up for the CORE Advantage Program Coaching Newsletter and subscribe to the CORE Advantage Program YouTube page to receive valuable information from industry experts and connections to resources to help you improve your restaurant profitability.

Charting a path to success in 2023 will not be easy, but together we can walk side by side to achieve the end goal of restaurant profitability.

At CORE Restaurant Marketing, we have helped many restaurants design and execute a business strategy. Our mission is simple, how can we help restaurants succeed. Our services we offer touch and the experts we utilize have generated proven results for restaurants of all types. Contact us at info@corerestaurantmarketing.com for more information or schedule a time to speak with one of our restaurant marketing coaches.