"The gods are sad in February and March" is a jargon in the catering industry, which means that the second and third months of the lunar calendar are the most sluggish seasons for the catering market. This sentence is especially obvious for restaurants in Shaoxing. Some struggling restaurants, such as T Coffee and Little Meng Yang, have quietly closed down during the off-season. Small and medium-sized restaurants with transfer notices can be seen everywhere offering discounts, special offers, free beer, and freebies with orders. The above-mentioned promotional methods have been used by major restaurants. How should restaurants spend their time during the off-season? The reporter's investigation found that the "Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea" show their magical powers. The reporter also specially collected some of them, hoping to use them in other restaurants. It serves as a reference for spending the off-season.

Promotion guidance: Make the off-season popular

Promotion is one of the most commonly used methods for many restaurants in the off-season. Many restaurant managers told reporters. Although the flow of people in restaurants has declined, the per capita consumption has dropped faster. This is mainly due to the decline in the ordering rate of high-end materials, seafood, etc. Therefore, off-season promotions must first drive the demand for mass consumption.

The reporter learned that in order to ensure the flow of customers, major restaurants have launched quite tempting services. For example, Dietang Hotel has a 22% discount on stir-fry dishes and a daily special seafood; Xanadu Hotel has a 32% discount on Chinese stir-fry dishes and a 22% discount on dinner stir-fry dishes. , launching a one-yuan special seafood every day; every table in the Hong Kong Capital Hotel will give away fresh dishes... The free ranges of major hot pot restaurants are even greater. You will get 30 when you spend 100, and I will get 50 when you spend 100. One hot pot restaurant even launched

Many restaurant owners told reporters that it is a helpless move for restaurants to promote promotions. For example, the person in charge of a seafood restaurant revealed that the purchase price of seafood is very high these days. For example, elephant trunk clams have risen from 150 yuan to 190 yuan per 500 grams, but the sales price in restaurants has not increased but dropped. The purpose is very clear, which is to make the off-season popular at low prices. Many promotional activities themselves are losing money. Business, but by attracting popularity, driving other consumption, and making enough articles to allow the hotel to maintain capital or make a slight loss, so as to successfully survive the off-season.

Channel innovation: looking for new highlights

The off-season is relative. The person in charge of some hotels told reporters that the off-season in their hotels is not slow, which serves as a good reference for many restaurants that are afraid of the off-season. Marketing, Zhejiang University School of Economics. Teacher Lu Jing believes that no matter it is the off-season in any industry, the test for them is how to use strategies such as mobilization, innovation, and guidance in marketing to keep the company accountable during the off-season.

People told reporters that this year's wedding banquet business was particularly hot, making up for the disadvantage of fewer conference and business guests in the off-season. Therefore, the hotel hit a small climax in the off-season of March, with turnover increasing by more than 10% compared with the same period last year.

The introduction of innovative dishes in the off-season has injected new vitality into the catering market in the off-season. The reporter learned that most Shaoxing specialty restaurants such as Sichuan Weiguan, Shaoxing Restaurant, and Zuimei will replace the old dishes. The introduction of brand new dishes, and the prices are quite affordable, will undoubtedly arouse the appetite of many people.

Creating artificial festivals is another effective way for restaurants to cope with the off-season. During this period, major restaurants hold store celebrations and food festivals quite frequently. This is a good way to win over people. For example, Burton Western Restaurant will launch a themed food festival in the off-season, and British Western Restaurant will soon launch a Vietnamese Food Festival. These different themed activities have made the restaurant very popular.

Increase revenue and reduce expenditure: reduce costs

How restaurants reduce costs is also an important means of "saving food". Every restaurant has tips for cutting costs. The first is salary cuts, with chefs bearing the brunt. The kitchen director of a restaurant told reporters that the monthly salary of well-known chefs used to be quite generous, but now the average chef's salary does not exceed 3,000 yuan per month, while the average chef only earns about 1,000 yuan per month. The number of customers in restaurants has decreased, so reducing waiters is also a means for many restaurants to save costs, especially hot pot restaurants, where the number of waiters has been reduced by nearly half.

The person in charge of a restaurant believes that during the off-season of these few months, the sales of river and seafood are not very good, and as the weather gets hotter, the chance of seafood spoilage and death will greatly increase. Therefore, during the off-season, many restaurants have downplayed the seafood aspect, instead focusing on home-cooked dishes, and strive to innovate the taste of home-cooked dishes.

Store renovation: prepare for the peak season

More and more restaurants choose to renovate their stores during the off-season. In the catering industry, this is also called store renovation. Starting from March, Shaoxing Hotel began to carry out an overall renovation of the hotel. "After several years of operation, there is a certain gap between the current software and hardware and other hotels. Therefore, we will use the off-season to carry out renovations and give it a new look." Welcome the arrival of the peak season," a person in charge of the hotel told reporters.

Tengji Old Chef and Sichuan Meizi Hot Pot completed a comprehensive renovation of the restaurant during the off-season of catering last year. The person in charge of these restaurants believes that the current catering competition is so fierce that consumers attach great importance to the hotel environment. Through the renovation of restaurants, popular elements in the catering industry can be added and the hotel's transformation can be successfully completed. Only in this way can the hotel stand in the forefront. invincible position.

The person in charge of a restaurant revealed that the restaurant renovation cycle is getting shorter and shorter, from once every 5 years to once every 2 to 3 years now.

Some restaurants partially renovate while operating during the off-season to reduce costs. Ruzuimei Fashion Restaurant will slightly adjust the soft decoration in the restaurant in April to give people a refreshing feeling. The person in charge of the restaurant believes that the style of a fashionable restaurant is not static. It is a trend to constantly adjust the design of the restaurant in time according to mood and seasonal changes. However, adjustment does not have to involve knocking, making a big move, or changing the soft decoration. It is enough to transform the restaurant into a full personality.

Integration of resources: Sharpen the knife and chop wood without missing a beat

Promotions and discounts are not common to all restaurants. Five-star and other high-end hotels say little about discounts during the off-season of catering. No. Mr. Wang from the catering department of the International Hotel told reporters that in the off-season for catering, five-star hotels will not consider cutting prices and are not in a hurry to sort out local or specific revenue details. Although business is much quieter during the off-season, many important tasks in the hotel are completed during this time. This task is to practice "internal strength", which is crucial to the improvement of the hotel's image.

Some specialty hotels will also conduct some basic skills training during the off-season. The person in charge of a restaurant told reporters that the off-season is not free for them. They sharpen their wood-cutting knives during the off-season so that the seeds sown in spring can harvest more fruits in autumn. During the off-season, they will strengthen the innovation of chef dishes, and will lead hotel chefs to inspect and learn from various parts of the country to find some good dishes, improve them and introduce them to attract more consumers.