Creating great food and experiences is only half the battle of operating a successful restaurant; there has to be a memorable brand in place. You need a winning factor that makes customers want to recommend your business and keep coming back for more. A restaurant brand goes further than the logo and catchy slogan, it’s about the aesthetic of your restaurant and how you interact with the world.

Write a Mission Statement

You need to have an underlying set of guidelines to build your brand on, which is why the first step is putting together a mission statement. You need to write down what you do, how you do it, why you do it, what your unique selling point is, and what you wish to achieve.

When building your brand, you need to keep your answers to these questions in mind - they will become your scaffolding.

Know Your Target Audience

The next logical step in the branding process is getting to know your audience. After all, your restaurant is built to provide them with a unique experience. Your audience will be determined by your location, aesthetic, designs, and menu. For example, if your restaurant is in the heart of a student population, your ideal guest will be a university student. Armed with your audience profile, you can figure out how to communicate with them effectively.

How Will Your Restaurant Appear?

Outside of putting together a menu, you need to decide how you’re going to come across to your audience. For example, will you be a serious dining establishment or a fun and quirky bar selling delicious food? The way you choose to appear to your audience will steer how you communicate, whether this is on social media, in person, on your website, by email, on the phone, or any other channel.

Design the Look and Feel of Your Restaurant

The look of your restaurant needs to be consistent with your brand and mission statement. For example, if you’re creating a fun bar for university students, you’ll likely focus on fun colors and exciting fonts. Alternatively, if you’re creating a fine dining establishment, you may opt for darker colors and more professional fonts.

Be Consistent in Branding Efforts

Branding doesn’t stop inside your restaurant; it also needs to be obvious regardless of the interaction a customer has. For example, if you’re going to be using box take away containers, you should make sure they have your logo printed on them. Additionally, your box take away must be to the same high standards as the service in your restaurant, so only use packaging from quality products.

Get Active in the Community

A great way to get your brand out there is by being involved in the local community. If you can partner with a local charity and help them out, your brand will begin to gain traction. Additionally, you can team up with other businesses to take the local market by storm.

Creating a restaurant brand involves defining how you want to be perceived and then running with this through everything you do. If you remain consistent and deliver excellence, your business will explode.