Chain restaurants have a number of advantages like purchasing capacity, menu development team, big marketing budgets and great locations (for most, at least). However, it doesn’t mean independent ones can’t stand strong on their own. As an independent restaurant, if you aren’t clever about how you compete with the giant chain restaurants in your vicinity, it is sure to affect your business. However, there are number of ways for stand alone restaurants to hold their own and coexist with the popular chain restaurants.

Product:

One of the biggest and best tricks you have up your sleeve is—no prizes for guessing—your food. Food is your product, and if your product isn’t worth it, there isn’t a point competing. Get your food right; change things around if you have to and make it worth competing for. When your neighbourhood chain is dishing out 10 burgers every couple of minutes, you know you can compete with the quality of said food. This won’t guarantee an overnight success or that the fast food goers will find their way to your restaurant. But it’s a start and a good one. You have the flexibility to change your menu to make it more appealing and make tweaks that will help improve your food. The chains have to go through a long process to get the same thing done. Use this to your advantage. And it doesn’t stop here. Make sure you market the menu on the right platforms to reach your target audience, to let potential customers and your regulars know about what’s cooking.

A li’l something:

As an independent restaurant you can be a tad more personal with your customers by doing little things to get them back. At the end of a meal, give your customers a couple of cookies with the bill, or even a cupcake on the house, maybe garlic bread. It’s sure to take them by surprise and ensure you remain on their minds. This is something that will certainly allow you an edge over the chain restaurants. It’s also hard for chain establishments to give personal attention to each customer. You can do it at your restaurant. Customization of dishes, special requests, and the likes are sure to work in your favour. Great service goes a long way. Even if you aren’t sold on the idea of giving away food, you can sure have your staff give your customers the best experience. More often than not, service is why customers go back to a restaurant.

Promotions:

As the owner of a stand alone restaurant, you have the luxury to market your restaurant and come up with various offers and promotions whenever you seem the time is right. For instance, you can bundle a couple of dishes together and make it a combo offer and run it for lunch or if you have a buffet spread, offer a beverage on the house with every buffet. Offers like these are sure to catch the attention of customers and have them walk into your restaurant. Going a step further, you can also run events like karaoke, stand-up comedy, live music, poetry slam and the likes on a weekly basis to have a variety of audiences come in, giving everyone something they want and something to look forward to. You know the market better than a giant chain restaurant because you’ve been there longer. Use that to your advantage and create market specific events and promotions to attract customers in. A chain outlet seldom do that. Besides, they have to go for pan nation promotions or offers, which may or may not work for every market. Don’t forget to put up signs outside your restaurant to ensure people know about the offers and promotions you’re running.

Value for money

One of the biggest reasons why diners go back to restaurant chains for is value for money—or so we think. For ₹250 they get a fairly sizable meal that is equally satisfying. That’s why you’d see college students flocking to these colourful outlets ordering burgers and all the frills that come with it. Get more for less is the mantra for big branded chain restaurants. That doesn’t mean you can’t compete with it. Going back to promotions and offers, ensure these relay the message of  value for money. Of course, it’s not easy to bring in college students with limited money and want a lot more for a lot less. But you’re not losing much by putting out these offers that might draw their attention. Promotions aside, you might need to revise your pricing to make it more competitive in the market. You can’t be dishing out burgers for ₹400 upwards, when the chain burger joint is giving theirs for ₹200 as a part of a combo meal. If revising prices might set you back significantly, then you’ve got to make the ₹400 burger into something that is value for your diner’s money by adding extras like unlimited soft drink or extra fries—the works. What gives you an upper hand is that you’re a neighbourhood restaurant that serves great quality food.

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It does look like a not-so-silent battle between David and Goliath. However, if you play your cards right and are clever about standing your ground, you’ll certainly survive the beast.