Objectives of a Restaurant: General and Specific

The objectives of a restaurant they are defined as the goals that their managers must establish in order to achieve the growth of the business and achieve its strategic vision. Like many other businesses, the restaurant industry exists in order to generate a profit.

Their business model is based on producing and serving food; However, they also influence very important factors such as the service they offer their customers. For this reason, and before embarking on the adventure of opening an establishment, it is convenient to consider the objectives that are sought with it.

General objectives of a restaurant

The general objectives are those for which the company exists. Every restaurant should focus on having several general objectives in relation to four important factors: food, service, benefit and longevity.

Food

Depending on the type of food, the restaurant must have as objective that the client's expectations are satisfied and, therefore, be willing to return.

While some restaurants seek exquisite quality and service, addressing a more demanding public, others only seek to provide a fast and efficient service, such as fast food establishments.

Keep in mind that the costs of producing food must be low enough to generate a profit, while maintaining the quality that customers expect.

The food is, together with the service, the two decisive keys for customer satisfaction. Therefore, food should always be served in optimal conditions. Another important factor is that the menu is varied for all types of diets.

Example: the objective with respect to the food of a restaurant in Mexico City could be"to serve fresh, Mexican, quality food with a good presence".

Service

People do not go to restaurants just to eat. They also do it as leisure, to relax and enjoy the complete experience: from the decoration to the music that sounds on the premises. The quality of service makes the difference between a satisfied customer and a disappointed customer and should be a main objective.

Therefore, the waiters have to be educated and always be available for customers, without becoming too insistent. Knowing how to differentiate this line differentiates a good waiter from a mediocre one.

In addition, depending on the target audience and the type of restaurant, the music must be of one kind or another. It is advisable to put it at a medium-low volume, so that diners can talk without having to raise their voices.

And never forget that the customer always (or almost always, since not everything is valid) is right. Therefore, if you have any problem of any kind, try to satisfy him as much as possible, in order to get a good impression of the place and recommend it to your friends.

Example: the objective of a restaurant in Mexico City regarding the service could be"to give a service so that the client is comfortable, at home and at the same time happy".

Cost effectiveness

Every restaurant exists in order to generate a profit; therefore, another of the general objectives of a restaurant is to always take into account the profit margin. The highest costs incurred by an establishment are labor and food costs.

The employees are all the staff, from the chef to the waiter; and those of food include all the supply of the food that will be served later.

In addition to these, the restaurants have other expenses, such as renting the premises, repairs, advertising, among others. That is why, for the business to be profitable, you have to bill enough to cover all these costs and generate a subsequent benefit.

Longevity

The best restaurants are maintained by the great reputation they build among their customers, which motivates word-of-mouth and makes it more and more profitable.

If the establishment owns the premises and is profitable, it is very likely that it can be maintained indefinitely, which should be a general objective of the restaurant.

Example: the goal of a restaurant in Buenos Aires regarding longevity could be"to be the best-known restaurant for families in Buenos Aires from generation to generation".

Specific objectives

The specific objectives are those that seek a concrete and measurable result to achieve success. If we take profitability as a general objective, some specific objectives to achieve it could be to increase customer traffic, increase the average ticket per customer, increase the profit margin or improve infrastructures.

Increase traffic

To achieve success, a restaurant has to make people enter the premises and give reasons for them to stay.

For this, it is highly recommended to carry out a marketing plan, through social networks, written press and radio and television ads, depending on the type of restaurant and the public to which it is directed. The department responsible for this goal is marketing.

A successful marketing plan includes systems to evaluate the impact of these actions and expenses, and has to define the objectives by giving concrete objective figures; for example, the number of new customers expected.

In this sense, the tasks to achieve this goal could be, for example, to invest a certain weekly amount in Facebook Ads, Twitter Ads or advertisements in web pages. Weekly publications should also be established, hashtags and interact with users in social networks.

Increase the average ticket

Once the client is seated at the table, the profits of the establishment generally depend on the quantity of dishes that he requests.

For this there are different techniques, among which are the suggestion by the waiter, the product tests or the upselling.

It can also give good results to increase the menu. To achieve this objective, a strategic objective can be an average amount per client that is to be achieved. The department in charge is the sales department.

Increase the profit margin

The owner of the restaurant must also establish a series of strategic objectives to achieve a greater profit margin without reducing the quality.

To do this, we must seek greater efficiency and less waste in food and labor costs, which are the two largest expenses in this sector. Here the departments in charge could be the one of purchases, human resources and the operational one.

Improvement of infrastructure

The changes of structure entail a great investment, reason why they must be planned and studied meticulously. Remodeling the premises, expanding to new areas or expanding the restaurant are some of these objectives, which must include budgets and times. The department in charge would be the one of expansion.

However, if we took as reference the general objective of the meal, some specific objectives could be to achieve better quality material, hire better chefs or increase the menu that is offered.

References

1. David, F. (2008). " Concepts of Strategic Administration" Eleventh Edition. Editorial Pearson Education, Mexico.
2. Thompson, A. and Strickland, A. (2003). " Strategic Planning - Theory and cases" . McGraw-Hill.
3. Sudhir Andrews (2007). " 1. Origins of the Food Service Industry. Food & Beverage Management" . McGraw Hill.
4. Brown, Monique R. (2000). " Host your own chef's table" . Black Enterprise