Fewer consumers are trying new restaurants

Despite the sluggishly improving economy, customers aren’t flocking back to restaurants en masse, as numerous reports and studies have shown this year. But even more alarming, according to a recent survey of 7,000 consumers from Market Force Information, fewer customers are trying out casual-dining restaurants.

Just 11 percent of consumers reported visiting a new casual dining chain in the past 90 days, while last year 27 percent had tried one in the last 30 days. Of those customers trying new dining options, restaurants serving continental fare got the largest share (18 percent), followed by steakhouses (11 percent) and seafood restaurants (eight percent). Pizza Hut, at 3.4 percent, was the leading brand, but the top 10 brands were separated by less than one percent.

Beyond the bad news, the survey did offer some insight on what brought those 11 percent to a new restaurant. The biggest reason, not surprisingly, was that nearly 40 percent were spurred by recommendations from friends and family. Almost half the customers trying new restaurants said they were “delighted” by the experience; the remainder said it was OK or bad.  

“It’s a case of one strike and you’re out, so being adequate is no longer good enough,” says Janet Eden-Harris, chief marketing officer for Market Force. “We’ve found that delighted customers are nine times more likely to recommend a restaurant than those who had just an OK experience. Chains that truly wow their customers on their first visit can establish brand advocates who are almost guaranteed to recommend the restaurant to friends and family.”

The Market Force study also found social media is a factor in consumers’ decisions. Forty-one percent said they read an online review, blog or tweet about a restaurant before dining there, and 18 percent commented in one of those forums after dining.

The takeaway here is consumers aren’t fighting to get into your restaurant, but when they do visit, you’d better provide a positive experience because those customers are the keys to attracting even more new customers, via referrals and reviews.