It’s a theme that has persisted since the pandemic: Consumers simply want more from restaurants than quality food and drink these days. As factors such as food inflation, threats of recession, and the slimming down of menus and staff rosters have made ordering restaurant food a harder sell for consumers, more operators have turned up their experience factor to help attract traffic. The result is a restaurant that feels like it’s as much about the atmosphere and excitement of the experience as about the food on the menu. As a recent Forbes report details, experiential dining can involve such elements as immersive themes, interactive elements, storytelling or entertainment. This can be achieved by changing up guest expectations through rotating pop-up concepts, themed dining events, or collaborations with guest chefs or complementary businesses, for example. Similarly, US Foods reports that more restaurants are boosting their experiential vibe with entertaining tableside prep, such as fancy knifework displays and avant-garde, Instagram-worthy cocktails. These approaches also provide natural opportunities for businesses to promote their offerings on social media, entice guests who are active on social platforms to share content from their visit, and forge partnerships with online influencers who can further spread the word. Even if you’re not looking to put on a show for guests, think of experiential dining as simply a means of keeping things interesting for guests. This can be a natural outgrowth of the way you have had to make regular changes on your menu due to supply chain snags or the changing of the seasons. Consider rotating in more limited-time offerings or specials, or featuring a reinvented menu of drinks, appetizers or entrées each season to keep the experience new and fresh for your guests. A recent article in Eater points to consumers’ subscription fatigue: People subscribe to so many services in their daily lives that asking them to add another can feel like a big ask. Nonetheless, UBS predicts the subscription market will boom to $1.5 trillion by 2025, and restaurants are keen to join it. The more successful ones are finding ways to build exclusivity and even community around their offers. For about $7 a month, P.F. Chang’s Platinum Rewards Program, for example, allows members to jump to the head of the reservation line, earn double points on purchases compared to their unpaid Gold membership, and participate in “insider panels” that the restaurant uses to plan new business developments. While the pandemic supercharged the concept of bringing the restaurant experience home, the idea is here to stay – and restaurants that find ways to use these offers to elevate their connection to guests, whether that’s in the dining room, at home or in between, could gain some die-hard fans. What do your best guests want to see from you? |
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April 2024
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