How to Do Market Research to Launch a Successful Restaurant Business 

If you want to know how to do market research to start a restaurant business, you will find the points below useful. Follow these key steps to launch a restaurant business successfully! 

Know Your Business Goals 

This is the first step after deciding to open your restaurant. Outline your mission, vision, values, and unique positioning.  

Unique positioning refers to the factors that set your business apart from your competitors. So, ask yourself – What kind of a restaurant would it be? Aspects that make your restaurant unique are: 

• Cuisine  
• Dining experience 
• Culinary approach 
• Theme 
• Customer niche 

This gives direction to ensure that your concept aligns with market needs and demand.  

Decide on Your Target Market 

Looking at demographics like age, gender, and income may help you create a rough buyer persona. But why not dig deeper while researching?  

Uncover psychographic factors to further narrow down the target customer. Psychographic factors include customer attitude, dining habits, values, etc.  

For example, talk to young professionals in your area to discover their dining habits, interests, and frustrations. What do they wish existed, food or restaurant-wise?  

After gathering all the information, create a detailed buyer persona of your customer.  

Analyse the Demand  

Check if the area in which you are willing to open a restaurant is already not saturated. If it is still a hotspot, try finding out what types of cuisine are lacking or oversaturated in the area.  

Conduct primary research through surveys, interviews and focus groups. Ask questions to evaluate interest in your exact concept, menu, pricing, and location mix. 

Figure out the expectations and needs of local customers. Would services like takeout and delivery be helpful? 

Seek input from local chefs, restaurant owners, food distributors, and consultants to assess demand objectively. They have insider knowledge and metrics for the area you have chosen. 

Research Thoroughly on Competitors 

Research beyond direct competitors offering your cuisine or dining experience. Those indirect competitors consumers choose over you also shed light on positioning and gaps. 

Analyse their online reputation and reviews. Look beyond food quality toward environment, convenience, price, and service level. Discover gaps representing opportunities to make your market. 

For instance, a family restaurant with a kids’ playing area is a gap for a new competitor. 

Keep Business Thriving with Updated Insights from a Restaurant POS Machine 

A modern restaurant POS machine offers far more than help with the billing process. The data it captures provides real-time insights to drive better business decisions. 

The sales, deciding menu, inventory level, and traffic data from your restaurant POS machine reveal bestselling items, busy periods, and customer likes. Analyse this regularly to optimise your menu, pricing, staff scheduling, and ingredients in inventory. 

You can track returning customers every weekend, note what they like, and maybe list it as special on the weekends. This makes the customer feel heard and valued.  Tweak recipes or replace not-so-hot dishes.  

The restaurant POS machine also tracks customer visits and order histories. Use this data to customise loyalty programs and target promotions. A modern restaurant POS machine with robust reporting empowers data-driven decisions to keep your restaurant relevant. 

Final Thoughts 

Thorough market research is crucial to launching a successful restaurant aligned with customer needs. Regularly analyse your target audience, local competitors, and industry trends to adapt.  

With robust data insights, a modern restaurant POS system like QPOS enables better decisions. QPOS provides centralised sales insights and customer data from all locations to keep your finger on the market pulse.  

Choose QPOS – the leading restaurant POS machine – for research-driven planning and data-powered growth.