When you open up your restaurant’s books each month, how do they look? Are you making a profit or are you falling into the red? If it’s the latter then it might be time to upgrade your point of sale system.
Of course if your restaurant is just starting out, then investing in a POS system is probably not where you want to put your money. But if you’ve been open for a while and sales are going down, it might be time to consider upgrading your POS system.
A restaurant POS system can be a great way to help your business increase profit. If you’re considering adding a POS system in order to make more money, there are some important things that you should know.
Use Price Changes
By making price changes on a daily or weekly basis, a restaurant POS system can help you maximize revenue. By changing the price of certain items on a daily basis, your business is making it more likely that customers will purchase those particular items.
For example, if you’ve noticed that steak tips have been going quickly every Monday night, consider increasing the prices for those orders. A restaurant POS system can help you keep track of price changes so that it’s easy to make adjustments when the situation calls for them.
Have Specials on Your Menu
Specials are a great way to encourage sales during slower times at your restaurant, while also increasing profit margins.
Different specials throughout the week can entice customers to visit your restaurant instead of a competitor, and if you limit the number of items each week (or day), you can really bump up your profits.
Specials not only allow you to increase profit, but they also give customers something to look forward to when they come in for lunch or dinner.
Use Discount Codes Effectively
Discount codes are a great way to get new customers in your door, but they can also be effective for increasing profit margins. Be sure to only give out discount codes when the situation calls for it, because you don’t want to devalue your product or service.
If the average diner is spending $40 per visit and you offer them a discount to bring a friend, you should include a fine print that states they can receive their own meal for free if their visit exceeds $40. If not, then consider limiting the number of times that your customers may use the discount code as well as any other terms and conditions.
Target Marketing
Target marketing is all about knowing who makes up your customer base, and then figuring out how to leverage this information. By taking the time to analyze who comes in to visit your restaurant, you can better understand who is interested in what type of food or drink, as well as other items on your menu.
Target marketing allows a business to give customers exactly what they’re looking for while increasing the overall value of their experience.
BOGO (Buy One Get One) Deals and Discount Offers
These types of discounts go hand and hand with target marketing, and they’re another great way to increase the overall value of your customer’s visit.
BOGO (buy one get one) deals allow customers who are looking for a specific product or service to be able to enjoy it at a discounted rate, which means they are more likely to come back in the future.
These are just five ways that you can use your restaurant point of sale system to increase profits for your business. An effective POS system allows you to make changes on the fly and analyze customer behavior so that you can better serve them.