London restauranteur Ryan Bishti, owner and creator of London’s famed Cirque Le Soir restaurant, and creator of similar, successful dining establishments in Dubai and Shanghai, knows a lot about creating a brand name and a successful image for his restaurants.
And even though new entrepreneurs may not go the ultra-trendy route that Ryan Bishti has followed, nevertheless, Ryan Bishti has a lot to say about creating a successful brand in a restaurant.
Create a niche
Ryan suggests that the reason up to 80 percent of restaurants do not survive the 5-year mark, is that they do not have a clearly defined niche.
If there are 5 or 10 restaurants that serve steak in your city and you open another one, where is the need?
However, if there are 5, and all 5 serve steak the same way, then do something different by serving steak the Brazillian way.
It may take time, but creating a unique niche is essential to stand out.
Build your brand
A niche is actually a teaser for building your brand. If you, for example, open a Brazilian steak house, you then have to expand further about how cooking the Brazilian way excels.
From the food to the uniforms, the restaurant ambiance, and the central story, you would build your brand by telling a unique story.
Emphasize for example, how your steak is seasoned several days in a row in advance.
Connect with your clients
A restaurant will not be successful if clients do not come back. Provide them with out-of-this-world service for example, and they becoming raving, personal billboards for your restaurant.
Keep building on your client base until you practically have to turn people away.
Finally, adapt to new trends
For example, if a company invents a new cooking method that greatly reduces the time it takes to cook a customer’s food and enhances the flavor as well, adapt before someone else does.
Ryan Bishti feels instinctively that any good restaurant owner knows these things, but sometimes it helps to spell out the basic keys to success.