How to Make a Restaurant Successful - Case Study Example

? How to make a restaurant successful How to make a restaurant successful Restaurants, just as is the case with all other businesses requires critical skills and strategic features in operation in order to grow and successfully compete within the market. There are therefore fundamentals in starting and operating a restaurant successfully and there are basic elements/attributes that distinguish a successful restaurant with an otherwise unsuccessful one. The manner of establishing and running the restaurant has great implications on the success of the restaurant and this therefore means that there are specific ways that restaurants need be run in order to successively compete within the market. There is therefore the need for an interested investor within this industry to consider a number of factors, which are important in making a restaurant succeed in business while at the same time having the investor realize targeted gains. However, critical analysis of case studies within the Bora Bora Island reveals high unhealthy competition from restaurant operators, which threatens to lock out interested investors while at the same time making some investors to succumb to business failure and close down. This finding therefore informs this paper’s intention to evaluate on the factors that would make restaurants successful and thus thrive within the hotel industry. In fact, many people get interested in investing in hospitality industry as the industry holds great prospects in profits and returns though many do it without proper preparation, which is necessary for the success of the restaurant. Among many factors that contribute to the failure of restaurants are poor decisions as well as poor management practices. Success in managing a successful restaurant requires that management understands the restaurant’s image, what the customers want as well as the best ways of providing it. Good evaluation of the restaurant’s location in terms of geographic location as well as the environment is basic features that determine the success of the restaurant. Understanding and preparation for start up costs as well as the associated planning are also fundamental in running a restaurant successfully. There are basic facts that all restaurant operators or interested investors need be aware of and they include the following. It is important to have a great business concept, great chef as well as most appropriate business location. Overestimation of business capital is important in that it enables one to plan effectively for the uncertainties that would arise before the restaurant becomes successful in operations. Offering best services in terms of quality as well as pricing is fundamental in attracting as well as retaining customers. Besides, the ability of a restaurant and the operator to evolve with the prevailing business environment results to success in business operations thus is equally a fundamental fact necessary for restaurant operations and management. Moreover, marketing activities are as basic in operating a restaurant as they are in operating other businesses (Karppinen, 2011, p. 19-37). In the case study of restaurants within BoraBora Island, marketing effectiveness is seen to greatly influence the success of the restaurants while targeting foreigners and the locals. Having been in restaurant industry in Dinard for over 15 years, Marcel Fayete and wife visits BoraBora Island and in greatly moved by the environment and business prospects there. This prompts them to decide on relocating and establishing a restaurant there. The island had beautiful physical environment as well as large market in terms of indigenous people and tourists who visit the island on vocations and such other expeditions as honeymoons. Nevertheless, the couple had little research done on the prevailing business conditions in the Island and this would pose a challenge in the future operations of the restaurant. Basic to their investigation was on the rather high priced services, which they understood was caused by high transport costs before the goods reached the island and use of oil for power generation. Main language is French for the reason that the French colonized Tahiti and thus success in business necessitated good command in such a language. This is because the market segment targeted by such an industry comprise of both locals as well as tourists. By the use of Tahitian structure in building of the restaurant, Marcel successfully realizes such marketing objectives of appealing and communicating to the prospective customers. Dominant restaurant operators in the island before the venturing of Marcel into the industry were Bloody Mary’s as well as Wang Koo, which is a Chinese restaurant. Despite the calculated move to invest in European cuisine menu, and taking advantage of the good reputation created with the tourists he does more in business during the day than during the night. However, the outcome fails to breakeven and this increasingly threatens his prospects of effectively competing in the industry as hoped. However, as the case study reveals, Marcel’s alcohol business fails to offer the anticipated returns because of a variety of reasons. Language of communication used hindered the business from thriving as shown by majority of visitors having an English background while Marcel and the workers using French for communication. This would be interpreted to have been the main hindrance to success of the restaurant as no customers were willing to return to the restaurant where communication was difficult. In conclusion, marketing practices have particular responsibilities of attracting new customers to a business, creating awareness of the existence of such a restaurant as well as services on offer while at the same time creating appeals towards attracting and retaining customers. The success of restaurants relies much on the strategic preparation undertaken prior to establishment of the same. Image as well as the quality of services offered works to influence the level of competition in the industry within a particular region. In Bora Bora Island, the success of a restaurant is dependent on the competence of the investor to build attractive structures, adopt the appropriate cuisine menus as well as on language selection. For instance, our analysis of the case study reveals the incompetence of Marcel in choosing marketing strategies as well as in communication, which increases the risks of succumbing to competition from other restaurants. The island restaurants target mainly two kinds of customers who are the local Tahitian as well as the tourists on vocations. Marcel would have been more successful if he adopted competitive cuisines, be strategic in pricing while at the same time conducting appropriate marketing research in order to adopt favorable instruments for successful operating the restaurant. Successful restaurant management requires that management understands the restaurant’s image, what the customers want as well as the best ways of providing it. Bibliography Karppinen M., 2011. Strategic marketing plan for a hotel. Available at:< https://www.theseus.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/34519/karppinen_maarit.pdf?sequence=1> (Accessed on 19 November 2013) Read More