Every restaurant owner has the same nightmare: Shutting their doors due to rising operating costs, staff shortages, and decreased consumer spending. 

That is the reality thousands of bars, restaurants, and pubs across the UK are currently facing, according to an article in the Independent earlier this year. One study found that restaurant closures were at a record high in the UK for the final months of 2023.

The reasons cited for these closings? A toxic combination of skyrocketing energy, rent, and food bills; staff shortages; and no-show bookings; coupled with the ongoing impact of the pandemic and Brexit. 

Those troubles affecting UK establishments are similar to what many restaurants are facing in the U.S.—especially when it comes to increased expenses and staffing shortages. The good news is there are ways to not only stem the tide of rising costs but to also increase revenue. 

By choosing the right technology for your needs, you can get ahead of the common challenges faced by the industry and help grow your business. Here’s how: 

1. Attract new customers with an interactive website

One of the best ways to combat rising costs is to increase revenue – and that can be accomplished by wooing new guests. A restaurant’s website is a critical tool for gaining the attention of new customers and driving them to take a variety of actions, from making reservations to ordering takeout. In fact, nearly 80% of people look at a restaurant’s website before deciding to dine in or order online.

A key way to enhance your website performance is through dynamic menus. These menus feature information and imagery, such as reviews and dish photos, that play a crucial role in whether a guest chooses your establishment or looks elsewhere. Plus, each dish has its own web page, which improves online discoverability and exposes your restaurant to more potential customers. Finally, can collect guest data and contact information, details that can later be used to create targeted, revenue-driving marketing campaigns.

2. Make the most of data-driven marketing

Speaking of targeted marketing, there are a lot of opportunities to engage with new and existing customers and encourage them to place an order or make a reservation. Technology plays a critical role in helping to both save time by reducing manpower and lower costs by reaching more customers in less time. The right technology can send emails or SMS/texts automatically after a guest performs an action on your website. And customers are keen to receive communication from restaurants–especially if they include an incentive: 45% of diners indicated they want to receive special promotions and discounts from restaurants every week. 

For example, Bay-area restaurant GIOIA pizzeria sent one customer 21 emails throughout 2023 that resulted in the guest placing 119 orders, netting the restaurant over $6,900 in online food sales. That’s just one example of how powerful capturing a follower’s information and re-engaging with them via targeted marketing can be for your bottom line. 

Including offers or incentives in emails can also go a long way toward increasing customer loyalty. Take Emporium Thai for example; they found that guests who redeemed an offer were 3x more likely to place multiple orders than guests who didn’t redeem an offer. 

(P.S. You can learn more marketing best practices in our Beginner’s Guide to Restaurant Marketing.)

3. Use tech to bridge the labor gap 

As mentioned above, technology can handle many of the mundane, time-consuming tasks, freeing up staff to focus on other, more important aspects of the customer experience. 

For instance, sending automated, personalized emails to guests can keep your restaurant top of mind. These types of emails are triggered after diners take specific actions on your website, such as VIP signups, dish likes, and past online orders. In fact, Popmenu found that just by turning these on, restaurants can earn an additional $300 in online food sales each month.

Another tech-focused tool to help make up for staff shortages is order injection. Rather than paying a staff member to submit online orders into a POS, choose an online ordering system that integrates with a POS to automate the entire process. By switching to an automated system, you reduce repetitive tasks and create a seamless workflow, leading to an improved staff experience, higher morale, and increased retention. 

Artificial intelligence serves as yet another excellent solution for getting the most out of technology in the midst of a labor shortage. Phone calls are often one of the first things to be ignored when staff is tight, and 83% of customers will move on and find another restaurant if they try to call and get voicemail more than once. Investing in AI phone answering technology, which can take messages, make reservations, add a guest to the waitlist, and answer commonly asked questions, ensures your customers are taken care of no matter what. 

What’s more, AI can play an important role in a restaurant’s digital marketing plans. Tools that utilize automation to send out marketing emails, social media posts, and targeted ads to the right people at the right times can maximize views, click-through rates, and more. AI marketing can also be used to retarget recent diners with the customized messages to encourage repeat visits. 

4. Save on additional expenses 

According to research, 53% of UK diners want to place online orders directly on a restaurant’s website. Making online ordering available on your site doesn't just benefit customers, it also lowers costs for the restaurant because it eliminates the need to pay pricey third-party vendors. It also provides yet another opportunity to capture contact information from guests and retarget them with news and promotions. That’s a win-win. 

Now’s the time to embrace tech

Whether your restaurant is based in the UK or it resides stateside, investing in the right technology can help you not only keep the lights on at your establishment, but make them burn bright for years to come. Having cost-reducing technology is great, but having it all in one platform is even better. Learn more about how Popmenu’s simple, single solution can save you time and money.