For all start-ups in Ghana looking for ways to; fully stand on their grounds for business growth, this article has reached you well.
Usually, the term Quick Service Restaurant is interchanged with fast food joints in Ghana. However, they ultimately mean the same things.
A quick-service restaurant (QSR) is a restaurant that offers certain food items with minimal preparation time.
It is also known as a fast-food joint delivered through quick services.
QSR restaurants are known to have standardized, modular, and efficient processes that help them in reducing the time it takes to fulfill orders. And maintain the quality expected by the customers.
What is a Quick Service Restaurant?
A quick-service restaurant (QSR) serves customers with food as quickly and efficiently as possible. Most of the QSRs are usually self-serviced. Meaning, customers are required to collect their meals from the counter.
Examples of quick-service restaurants are KFC, Burger King, Papaye, Las Palmas, ZooZoo, Cheezy Pizza, etc. Recent trends have shown a tremendous shift in the operations of local quick-service restaurants. With the rising number of food delivery services in Ghana, these restaurants have started separating a division for food items cooked in bulk and then stored to supply to the delivery services. It allows them to earn margins by not investing in the restaurant seating spaces but also provides brand marketing for their restaurant brands.
Let us take a look at the strategies you can take to grow your start-up Quick Service Restaurant.
1. Document your business plan: This might sound generic, but it is the most vital point.
Have a quick-service restaurant business plan in place.
It will help you define the business and understand the various aspects of it. Set clear objectives, and implement them in a much easier way.
2. Conduct research to define your target market: The concept of defining your target market is not one to get confused. As indicated above, QSRs need to have a concept. But for that concept to work, the restaurants must segment their customers. Know your customers' jurisdiction and what sells, what their preferences and their purchasing behavior. For instance, you cannot set up a continental QSR in a town in the Upper West parts of Ghana.
Focusing on the wrong market segment can result in a wastage of marketing budget and resources.
3. Innovation and creativity are the keys
Presently we can all agree there are several quick-service restaurants or fast food joints in Ghana, which has led to tough competition.
To stay ahead of the game, you need to strengthen USPs and tap into the psychological aspect of your customers. You have to explore different ideas in terms of design, ambiance, or menu.
As much as you would strongly argue on this, restaurants today are much more than just the food. People expect a lot of things. And for a QSR to succeed in this generation, it must give up on the old way of doing things and take a drink from the spring of youth.
4. Change your marketing game
Your restaurant's success is directly relative to its marketing plan. Setting up and operating a QSR is one thing, but you also have to make sure that you are marketing it in a unique way to a broader audience.
5. Engage in branding
First, understand that branding is not the same as marketing. Branding is about defining who you are as a business.
There is no doubt there are marketing efforts involved in branding. But that is a little different. Marketing campaigns for branding must be, in a way that your quick-service restaurant characteristics, values, and mission are loud and clear.
We hope this blog has served its purpose. Be sure to try out these strategies and let us know how effectively they worked.
Always take note, Society is fast- fast food, fast cars, fast everything- B. J Armstrong.