Profiting During an Economic Downturn

Running a restaurant is full of ups and downs. As wonderful as this business can be, the reality every owner is all too familiar with is that economic downturns hit the hospitality industry hard. However, just because times are tough, it doesn’t mean all is lost—there are still plenty of ways your business can stay profitable.

The key to surviving (and even thriving) when the economy isn’t on your side is all about being strategic, cutting costs where you can, and being proactive about protecting your bottom line. 

At Adora, we know how tough it can be out there. Between inflation, economic uncertainty, and customers adhering to tighter budgets, it can be a difficult time to run a business. However, we’re experts at helping restaurants succeed in all kinds of scenarios, and we have a few tips that will help you weather the storm. 

Read on to learn how to keep profiting during an economic downturn:  

Be Smart About Scheduling 

When business is slow, having too many people scheduled is extremely detrimental. It can be difficult to predict how many hands you’ll need on deck, which is why Adora’s scheduling features monitor previous sales to help you make the best possible choices. 

Our data-driven projections use previous sales to accurately project scheduled labor costs and percentages, so you can have all the information you need at your fingertips. 

Cutting back on staff can be good from a budgeting perspective, but difficult for your team members. That said, try to make any scheduling cuts evenly and fairly, and keep your team in the loop about what’s happening with the business so that they can plan accordingly. 

Small Mistakes Can Make a Big Difference

In the restaurant business, mistakes happen. Even the best chefs in the world occasionally misread a ticket, and the most experienced servers sometimes ring in the wrong entrees. It’s not the end of the world, but small mistakes really add up over time, and in a bad economy, every dollar counts. 

While you can’t prevent these types of mistakes completely, using an advanced POS system like Adora can reduce their occurrence by a significant margin. To set your team up for success (and stop mistakes before they happen) Adora offers features like: 

● Color-coded tickets

● Delivery tickets that look identical to in-house orders

● An intuitive user interface designed to cut down on clicks 

● Kiosks and QR codes so guests can enter their own orders

Sometimes, Less is More

While we know it can be tempting to put a wide range of dishes on the menu, sometimes less is more. Not only can offering a curated selection of options reduce decision fatigue for your guests, but it will also save you money and help your business profit. 

The best way to go about paring down your menu is to do a deep dive into your sales data. Doing so will allow you to recognize which dishes people are ordering consistently, and which ones are just eating into your inventory costs. 

Adora monitors every aspect of every sale, so you’ll have all the data you need.

Offering a smaller menu doesn’t mean limiting your culinary creativity. You can always offer specials, especially since our customizable system allows you to make updates with ease! 

Everyone Loves Incentives

When the economy is down, your customers are undoubtedly looking for ways to save a little dough (pun intended), too. This means it’s the perfect time to start offering some promotions, coupons, and deals. If you need some incentive inspiration, take a look at the ideas below:

● Offering specific deals on certain days of the week

● Increasing the length of your happy hour 

● Offering a percentage off for students, seniors, teachers, healthcare workers, or veterans

● Implementing a customer loyalty program

If the idea of putting these ideas into practice gives you a headache just thinking about it—don’t worry. Adora makes adding coupons and promotions a breeze, and we even have features designed to make happy hour run smoothly. 

Cut Down on Credit Card Fees 

You’ve heard the old adage: you have to spend money to make money. While this definitely rings true in many cases, it shouldn’t apply to credit card fees. With Adora, it doesn’t have to.

Most big box POS companies force you to use their credit card processing systems—at whatever their rates may be. Adora is credit card agnostic, so you’re free to use whichever system makes the most sense for your business. 

Since you have the freedom to shop around, you can choose a system that charges a smaller percentage for each transaction. While a fraction of a percentage point might not seem like that big of a deal, when you consider how many transactions you conduct per day, it really adds up. 

Adora allows you to keep more of your hard-earned money in your pocket, which is a good thing in any economy! 

Adora Helps Your Business Thrive—No Matter the Times

No matter what’s going on with the economy, there are ways to strengthen your business and insulate yourself from tough times. People will always want to go out to eat, so profiting during an economic downturn is all about staying on your toes. 

The good news is, that you don’t have to face tough times on your own. Adora’s goal is to help restaurants succeed, and we’re always here to help you build your business. 

With a great POS like Adora, a solid plan, and a lot of determination, your restaurant can thrive no matter the times.