There is a lot of competition in the restaurants space with hundreds of restaurants in Cork. Fast food and franchise businesses on top of that.

Your main question probably is “so how do I stand out in such a crowded and competitive space?”

The answer to this is to have a strong restaurant brand.

It is not simple or straightforward to build a restaurant brand. Although creating a brand that truly resonates with your customers and keeps them coming back requires a lot of hard work, it is worth the reward of a sustainable business with a loyal audience.

There is a difference between branding and a brand and it is important to know the difference.

Below is a step-by-step guide on how you can start building your restaurant brand.

1. Define the Brand
A solid foundation is a must for your restaurant. Make a mind map of what your brand is all about. You should explain three thing:

• Who you are
• What you are doing
• Why you are doing it

How can you be different from the competition? What is your unique selling point (USP)? It is important that you can answer these questions. Write it down and display it somewhere so that you can refer back to it throughout the process of brand development.

2. Position the Brand
Positioning yourself in the market allows you to be able to communicate with your prospective customers effectively. The four main points to decide on here are:

• Price
• Product
• Promotion
• Place

3. Find the Restaurant’s Identity
With hundreds of restaurants in Cork, your brand voice is a vital! It is part of what makes your brand unique and is the main tool for communicating with and marketing to your customers. The personality of your brand, they way you speak and act, makes up your restaurant identity and and is what attracts and retains customers.

Start by describing your brand (as if it is a person) with three words (ie. Bold, Fun, Authentic) and then elaborate on each until you have a good understanding of the personality of the brand. Once you know this, the rest should be no problem; when knowing what type of “person” your brand is, you should be able to easily figure out how they would speak to your customers.

4. Develop Your Look
You want a brand that reflects all the things we’ve already covered in this article as well as being something which stands out among the different restaurants in Cork. Most importantly, it should be memorable. Remember that the way your brand looks is the first thing to catch your potential customers’ eyes, even before they read what you’ve got to say.

Your branding goes beyond the obvious things like logo and letterhead and comprises everything from your restaurant interior to your menu. Create a moodboard of logos, colors, designs and other aesthetic elements you like. This combined with the personality guidelines you’ve already put together is a great foundation to bring to a graphic designer or to use as inspiration if you’re doing it yourself.

5. Be Consistent
Just as important as always serving great food or providing quality service is being consistent with your brand. With every interaction your customers have with your business, you want to strengthen and emphasize your brand as you’re building a relationship with them.

Whether it be online or offline, the way your brand looks, talks, and acts must be consistent. As you can’t control how or where your customers or potential customers first come in contact with your brand you’ll want to ensure that no matter what, you offer an invariable experience.

None of the above really matters unless you actually back it up with great products and service. Your brand is only as strong as its weakest component and impacts your ability to build a relationship with your customers.

If your premises needs help with food or drink stocktaking then call the professionals at Synergy Stocktaking and find out how we can help keep the cash in your business! Visit our website here. You can also check us out on Facebook!