The motto of a restaurant operator should be:

"This is a Profit-Making Organization, That's The Way We PLANNED It, And That's The Way It Is!"

In my 50 years of experience in the restaurant industry, I am firmly convinced that if you are going to make a profit, it is going to take PLANNING.

Many restaurant operators have had menu prices that are too low, for too long. A restaurant operator should not try to compete on price. Customers buy based on value, not price. Do not undercharge for your menu items. Give higher value and charge a fair price, you need to do everything else so well that the cost of the meal is not that important in the mind of the guest.

Just Raise Your Prices!

This is the simplest method to increase your sales. But, this strategy creates a problem for most restaurant operators. Many operators think that they couldn't possibly charge more money or they would lose a lot of business.

Let's examine this idea for a moment. Many businesses are so focused on Low Price that they believe that Low Price is the only thing that the customer is looking for. This is just not true. Customers do want a good price, but they first want a great dining experience. You also need to understand that many times there's a difference between what the customer says they want and what they really want.

Customers are looking for VALUE First. You also need to understand that customers many times don't even really know what they want. You have to be sensitive to what their real needs are. Customers want what they really want whether they know it or not. It's up to you to provide it for them and to help the customer to understand the real value to them.

When a customer visits your restaurant, you are under obligation to offer the customer the very best products and services you have. It is your responsibility to make the customer aware of your best dining experience available for them. If you never make an offer to the guest, you are failing to serve them properly. Do not let your serving staff do this type of DISSERVICE to your customers.

Where do you fit on the price scale with your other competitors? Think about this ... with one being low and ten being high, where are you on the price scale? If you are on the low level Raise Your Prices. This is the most sensitive areas that affects your profits. You do not want to be on the low end of the scale. When you Raise Your Prices, you instantly, dramatically, increase your profits. Even if you are already making a good profit and you are on the low end of the price scale, Raise Your Prices. If you want your business to grow, if you want to add more units or add new equipment or a host of other items, it just makes sense to Raise Your Prices. You will still be fair to the Customer and to yourself.

Another thing, if you are on the low end of the market, potential customers may doubt the quality of your food and/or service. This is one of the dangers of having low prices.

How can you use restaurant marketing programs to the best of your ability? You need to step back and ask yourself this question. "How can you?" You know your business better than anyone else. If you keep an open-mind and continually ask "How" you will have a lot more marketing opportunities.

Many opportunities can be explored through point of purchase materials to get impulse sales. If you display a new product that can add real value, benefit a more enjoyable dining experience for the customer, you can get immediate benefits and perhaps a long-term, Frequent Diner Customer. Inexpensive color printers makes this approach very feasible to test new menu items at a higher price.