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How to Stand Out in Today's Competitive Market

There are so many options for today's demanding consumers. Dine here. Dine there. Take out. Order in. Deliver to the doorstep.

Merely offering good food and good service is not a guarantee of success in traditional dining. Few restaurants can survive, let alone prosper, from the one-time customer. Your marketing goal should focus on repeat business. "Catch and release" is good for trout, not restaurants. That has always been the case. Today more than ever, you need to create a memorable guest experience.

The good news is that many independent operators are creating a "wow" factor in their restaurants to avoid the doomsayer predictions of a restaurant business cannibalized by other food service options.

And the great news is you don't have to reinvent your concept to be outstanding. It could be as simple as changing or enhancing one aspect of your restaurant. Do you need some inspiration to get started? Well, here are some examples of how various restaurants turn the "wow factor" into a concept to help create a memorable experience for their guests.

Revisit Your Mission

Depending on your individual brand, your stand-out offering could be any number of things, but you may discover that the quickest route to finding your point of differentiation is to take a closer look at what you already have.

The hostess seats the guests, the server takes their order; the food arrives, they consume it; the bill arrives, they pay it, and then they leave. 'That was nice', they think. Will they return again soon? The best operators don't leave that to chance.

"Mission drift" is a term applied to organizations that stray from their original purpose. You might have started your restaurant with a strong vision of what you wanted to offer your market. Did you lose sight of things that set your concept apart? Did you adopt an "on-trend" item that seems out of place on your menu? The key to your success might be paying homage to the reason you opened your doors.