How to create a restaurant or café that guests are happy to return to

Do you make delicious meals, sweet-smelling coffee, or refreshing drinks in your restaurant but still can’t win the battle for the customer? Build on effective sensory marketing and gain a unique competitive advantage

Perhaps everyone who has already had a bite of the business pie in the hospitality segment is struggling with the question of how to succeed in the ever-increasing competition. The market has been saturated with restaurant facilities for quite some time, so it is challenging to favor customers. Coffee shop owners are in a similar situation. Cafés are, so to speak, at every step, especially in larger cities. How to attract more guests? How do you set your business apart from others and offer your customers something more that will subconsciously make them return to you regularly?

The essential element is, of course, the perfect service: delicious food and drinks made from quality ingredients, served by helpful and smiling staff, in a clean and pleasant environment. Did you know that the environment is the element that can differentiate you from the competition? However, proper disposition and cleanliness are not enough. Support the premises of your restaurant or café with potent tools of increasingly used sensory marketing, also known as perception marketing, and random guests will become your regular customers

Create a fragrant environment that guests will enjoy

Sensory or perceptional marketing uses the power of the human senses to its advantage. Focusing on your customers’ smell, hearing, and sight, you can effectively influence their perception and attitudes towards your company and your brand. In the restaurant services segment, two senses in particular – smell and hearing, play an essential role in marketing. Do you know why?

Good food means excellent taste, appearance, and aroma. While the taste and appearance of the food are perceived only by the guest who ordered the food, everybody in the restaurant can smell the aroma. In many establishments (e.g., pizzerias or various fast-food establishments), the smell of food is prominent and sometimes annoying. Customers who don´t like their clothes smelling like a kitchen tend to avoid such places. You can significantly eliminate these negative aspects of restaurant services through aroma marketing and make the lost customer return to your business. A tailor-made scent not only eliminates unwanted odors but also conjures up the most pleasant welcome effect right at the entrance or even in the vicinity of restrooms.

A similar use of the so-called Fragrant marketing can also be found in cafes, although the scent has a slightly different reason for their use. Unlike restaurants, cafes do not serve cooked food, so there is no need to combat overexposed smells from the kitchen. On the contrary, the aroma of freshly roasted coffee is specific to these cozy places. It inspires and tunes the human senses to the right wave. Aroma marketing will therefore find its application here in amplifying these pleasant feelings. Specific aromas can enhance the smell of coffee and increase the appetite of guests, e.g., whiff of freshly baked cakes.

Melodies that make the taste grow

To complete the perfect atmosphere in restaurants and cafes, it is vital to strike the second sense mentioned: hearing. Can you imagine entering a cafe with a grave silence? In such a space, most customers would feel at least awkward. Music is a genuinely essential helper for the comfort and convenience of guests. However, classic radio is full of distracting advertisements and music content that does not always correspond to your business atmosphere. A great solution is therefore to use the so-called In-store radio. A music manager will create a special playlist that will reflect the character of your business and support the positive mood and impressions of your guests. The advantage is that the in-store radio does not require a constant internet connection or special equipment, as with modern applications.

Get ready for your customers, and in addition to gourmet delicacies, serve them a delicious sensual menu. We will be happy to help you mix the right sensory marketing ingredients to turn your guests into regular customers.