7 Reasons To Get A Food Truck For Your Restaurant

As a restauranteur, you are constantly challenged with ways to maximize your profits. You may have tried many different tactics to accomplish this goal. Rewards programs, new menu items, happy-hour specials, and more have done well but you still feel there is more that needs to be done.

After exhausting the ideas you have to increase sales and traffic at your brick-and-mortar restaurant you can investigate delivery and catering options to boost your bottom line. Another great option you need to look into is to buy a food truck as a way to expand your customer base and increase your profit margin.

At one time, the standard was to move your operation from a food truck to a more traditional restaurant setting. The truck was used as an introduction and paved the way for your eventual creation of a stationary dining establishment. While this paradigm still can work, there are also benefits to be accrued by adding a food truck component to your restaurant business.

Let’s take a look at seven reasons you might want to get a food truck for your restaurant.

Advertising With a Side Benefit

One of the most important aspects of running a restaurant is how you market your establishment to attract new customers. According to foodnewsfeed.com, the amount that you spend on marketing can have a direct and dramatic effect on the growth of your business. In extreme cases, 50% of revenue was spent on marketing to increase customers and sales.

The statistics confirm the idea that marketing is a key component to running a successful restaurant these days. Pictures of your delicious food and testaments from satisfied diners are all fine and good, but what about advertising with actual dishes that are available in your restaurant? That’s where the food truck comes in.

Potential customers can now sample a selection of your offerings rather than being tempted by an advertisement. As an added benefit, your truck should eventually become financially self-sufficient. Advertising that pays you back in cash. I think you can live with that!

Expand Your Business with Low Startup Costs

You may be considering expanding your business by opening another restaurant in a new location. This is a common route as your business grows and you search for ways to continue that pattern. Why not consider used food trucks for sale instead of another brick-and-mortar location for your expansion?

In addition to the obvious flexibility regarding location that a food truck affords you, there is that sticky detail about startup costs. According to mobile-cuisine.com, opening a high-end restaurant can cost over $500,000. Opening a food truck with the same style of menu can often be accomplished for about $50,000.

Since you already have an established menu in your restaurant, you can make adjustments and pare it down to fit your truck. Now customers can enjoy the same quality of food in two locations, one of which is mobile. That flexibility can prove essential to your business’ success.

Offer a Specialized Menu

An advantage of having a food truck is the versatility that you have in where you serve your patrons and what you serve them. You can certainly change your restaurant’s menu, but radically changing the offerings of a successful establishment can have negative consequences with your long-term customers.

Your food truck allows you to experiment with new items or completely different menus than those available in your stationary restaurant. You might want to try to capitalize on the vegetarian market and offer a specifically designed menu. Or you can simply experiment with new variations on your current offerings. If you find they are successful they can be incorporated in all of your restaurants.

Cater Special Events

People love your restaurant. The community has made it a popular dining spot which is why you can consider expansion in the first place. With a food truck, you can bring your delicious food to your loyal fans at any of their special events. Catering opens up a new revenue stream for your business that may not have previously existed.

There are advantages to catering with a food truck rather than just delivering food from your restaurant to your clientele’s location. It allows custom preparation of food right before it is served and lets you control your resources more efficiently. An additional benefit is the free advertising that comes with catering. Everyone who attends will now have tried some of your food and may be tempted to try out your restaurant next time they dine out.

Increase Community Outreach

The presence of your food truck at various community functions can only help foster good relations between you and the local residents. Try to obtain space at fundraisers for local charities and any other community gathering. Local and county fairs are great places for your food truck to be seen.

Finding a central location in a busy business park or shopping mall also increases your visibility with the local community which can often lead to an increase in restaurant traffic.

Take Advantage of Seasonal Opportunities

There may be seasonal opportunities that you can capitalize on with a food truck. Depending on your location you can bring your truck to beaches or parks in the warmer months. You might be able to obtain space outside a local arena and capitalize on the hockey or basketball fans in your area.

Universities are busy sites when students are moving in and out and are another potential place for you to generate some extra income. Give it some thought and you are bound to find ways to use your truck in this way.

Expanding Your Customer Base

Essentially, a food truck offers you many ways to expand your customer base while still generating revenue for your business. Potential customers who might never have thought of trying your establishment can be influenced by that great snack they got at your food truck.

It’s a perfect way to grow your restaurant business while opening up new revenue streams.