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How do you attract families to your restaurant?
- 11 Oct 2022
- Restaurant
- 0 Comments
5 ideas to make your restaurant a family-friendly establishment. Build loyalty, be competitive, the solution to become a kid-friendly restaurant.
Attractive menu, entertainment at the table, equipment adapted to children, offer a moment, a welcoming meal for parents and children, here are the actions to be validated by family customers.
Families are big supporters of restaurant outings, many of them taking into account thereception of their child in these establishments. 67% of French families identify going out to restaurants primarily as a time to relax. For 36% of French people who go to restaurants in a private setting with their children, the choice of restaurant is often made according to the desires of the youngest children... Prescribers then! Indeed, parents know that it can be complicated to take children to a restaurant. Unless a restaurant offers the opportunity to keep kids entertained and happy, allowing young patrons to stay seated and parents to feel welcome.
If you, as a restaurant owner, want to attract more customers and improve your sales, targeting a family clientele is an opportunity. You need to know how to adapt your restaurant to this type of customer. In this article, we will guide you to create a kid-friendly restaurant. If you make parents and children feel comfortable and appreciated in your restaurant, they will come back more than once and improve your brand image in a positive way.
What is a kid-friendly restaurant?
A kid-friendly restaurant is a restaurant that is family-friendly and caters directly to children. Offering a children's menu can put your restaurant in this category. Offering a surprise toy at the table is also a way to be considered kids-friendly. The goal is to please the kids, make them want to come back and simply have a good time. But often, restaurants go much further than a simple kids menu or a surprise toy.
How to design a child-friendly restaurant?
To create a kid-friendly restaurant, you need to list your goals, your budget and your clientele. Analyze your customers' needs. Think about the type of customers you want to attract and what improvements you need to make to get there.
Once you have the big picture, you'll have several options to consider. Here are five ideas for a kid-friendly restaurant.
#1. Entertaining children at your restaurant table
Children spend very little time at the table. So you have to keep them busy! For millennials one of the most important things is to be able to use the internet. The use of tablets is interesting but at a cost if you decide to put them in your restaurant. You can also offer a fun surprise that will keep them entertained throughout the meal (7 families game, coloring, construction game, eco-friendly game). You can also offer a surprise toy to collect, the child will definitely want to come back to your restaurant. This is an excellent way to build customer loyalty.
Welcome Family organizes every year a drawing contest: "Draw your superhero". In each booklet we offer an entry to the drawing contest to your customers. Offer them the chance to win a hoverboard, costumes and many other surprises. This is also a good way to satisfy your customers and build loyalty. For more information, go here.
#2. Customize the child menu to your image
Logo, graphic charter and design of your restaurant on lunchboxes, napkins, personalization of a game of 7 families to the characters of the cards, it is a way to bring your customers including children your universe. A way to include them and share your values and reinforce them. A CSR approach in perspective, create an eco-responsible game, a particular event decorate your restaurant for the occasion with logo balloons. Many proposals are available to you, with small or large budgets, but it is once again an opportunity to stand out and build loyalty among this family clientele.
#3. Don't forget the equipment
Parents expect basic amenities if you are a kid-friendly restaurant. Seating children comfortably at the table will allow parents to have a quiet time during the meal. We offer children's high chairs with and without shelves. The children's high chairs without table top offer your customers more conviviality, their children are seated at their table. An additional advantage for these chairs is that they are stackable! Simple and efficient storage. Up to 10 chairs can be stacked.
The chair riser designed in wood is also a very practical product for you. It is foldable, takes up very little space and can be stored very easily.
The range of equipment for children Welcome Family was designed to ensure safety and comfort to your customers but also to optimize the space within your establishment.
So that parents can change their children in complete privacy. It is essential to install a professional changing table in your washroom. We offer wall-mounted vertical, horizontal and foldable changing tables that take up very little space. Our changing tables comply with current standards and collective standards. They are professional changing tables.
All our products comply with collective safety standards.
#4. Add a kid-friendly space
Adding a fun and unique indoor play area is one way toattract families to your restaurant. Considering that half of the parents let their children choose the restaurant, it is worthwhile to focus on what the little ones want and what they like most is to have fun.
#5. Have a child-friendly staff
Service is a major attraction for families. Friendly service, especially in the presence of children, is a must for these young and difficult customers. Training staff to make families feel comfortable and welcome is a service appreciated by young and old alike. Work with staff to organize the way families are greeted, such as seating them at larger tables with more space around them to use the high chairs easily. Encouraging staff to be patient is also a must, knowing how to support parents as much as possible is also a job. Servers should treat small customers as well as they treat large ones. However, they must always take into account the parents' wishes.
The benefits of having a child-friendly restaurant
Attract new customers and more
In 2022, there were nearly 11 million children under the age of 15 in France. That's a lot of potential customers you could attract, without taking parents into account. Adapt your restaurant to children and you can expect an increase in traffic.
Retain your family customers
Children are prescribers and can quickly encourage their parents to come back if they have had a good time. According to an NPD study, in restaurants, children influence the choice of parents in 22% of cases!
Today, children have a say in what they want to do on outings and family vacations. Parents are increasingly taking into account their children's choices, so that they can spend quality time together. Pleasing the children is also pleasing the parents!
As a restaurant owner, it is important to make it a point of honor to welcome families to your restaurant in order to keep them loyal.
Attracting the youngest is a real development lever.
Achieve your return on investment
Investing in your restaurant to make it kid-friendly can help your business last for many years. If youinvest in surprise toys or a durable playground you can expect a long-lasting and reliable return on your investment.
Increase the value of the average basket of your family customers
If the children are busy, the parents are relaxed and will be more likely to stay longer at the table and consume more. Your family-friendly offer allows your customers to have a good time over a good meal. The average family basket will increase and so will your turnover.
Distinguish your restaurant from your competitors with added value
Make the most of it. Work specifically on your offer for children (welcome, entertainment, menu composition). A healthy, quality and attractive offer! Think that the children of today are the consumers of tomorrow!
Moreover, a safe and quality offer, parents will trust your establishment and will end up renewing often the experience of a good meal in your restaurant.
Contact Welcome Family to create a kid-friendly offer
We help you create a global offer for your family clientele. Games and equipment for children. From the lunchbox on the children's menu to surprise toys, from the high chair so that the child can sit at the same height as the parents to the furniture in the bathroom for changing infants. A global offer that sometimes leads to a complete customization of the children's menu.
* Study "Catering - The Habits of the French", conducted by Qualimétrie and Vertone after a survey of 1,000 people - August 2019.
* Insee "Population by sex and age group"- Annual data 2022
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