Take a moment and think of the restaurants that you would consider to be your competition. They likely have similar hours to you, and offer a similar dining experience when it comes to dine-in versus delivery or carry-out. They also likely serve a similar audience, like families or college-age students. These are the restaurants that you’ll want to form restaurant partnerships with.
Why Form Restaurant Partnerships?
You may be wondering if forming restaurant partnerships is actually important enough to become part of your restaurant operations plan. What are the benefits of collaborating with another business? Good question! We’ve found that having another business to partner with, especially if they serve the same audience as you, can drastically increase business and promote customer crossover for both companies. In short, forming strategic partnerships with other restaurants is definitely the way to go!
Types of Partnerships
The first type of restaurant partnership is the kind that most people think of when they think of “business partners”. In this type of business venture, you and the owner of another restaurant team up and each have a stake in each other’s business. In simple terms, you both become owners of each other’s businesses. Making a business move like this requires lots of thought and planning as well as careful legal action to make it official. But it can be extremely beneficial when it comes to restaurant operations and staffing! This is because you have someone else experienced in the industry that now has a stake in your business.
If you’re not looking for a formal, legally-recognized business partner, that doesn’t mean that restaurant partnerships aren’t for you. Partnering with another restaurant can be a casual affair, too! You can work together with the staff of another restaurant to strategize in ways that benefit both of you.
Strategies for Restaurant Partnerships
One of your favorite ways to start a casual restaurant partnership is with a coupon or giveaway. Consider having both restaurants run a special where diners can win a coupon for one restaurant by ordering a meal or drinks at the other one. This will increase traffic from one restaurant or bar’s “regulars” to the other! It will inspire diners to branch out and bring you more business! You can also host a giveaway or contest at each restaurant where the prize is a gift card to the other one. This strategy may seem less effective because there’s only one winner. They’ll also be spending the gift card when they make their purchase. However, it can inspire that guest to return to the restaurant. Plus, entering the giveaway can inspire countless other guests to try your restaurant whether they win or not.
We hope that these tips for developing strategic restaurant partnerships were helpful to you!
