Why marketing should mirror your table layout

Revenue is a product of 4 numbers:

Customers (who book) x Avg Total Visits x Avg Booking Size x Avg $pp

When creating a plan to grow revenue, Avg Booking Size is 1 of the 4 key metrics and should be considered when both marketing and configuring the table layout.

If you're unable to take larger groups, because you don't have the space, you could be turning away lucrative bookings. If you have the space, but can't attract groups, your larger tables are under utilised. 

The plan between table layout and marketing should be cohesive.

If your restaurant has lots of 2s, you might want to consider more 'date night' style marketing.

If your restaurant has lots of 4s & 6s, you might want to consider offers where a min 4pax or 6pax is required.

If your restaurant has multiple PDRs, you might want to consider running paid ads for private dining events.

But wait, there's more...

Of course it makes sense to choose the right marketing tactics, for your specific table sizes. But what about choosing the right table sizes for the most profitable marketing tactic?

If all other metrics were equal, 

and the cost to acquire 1 customer is $50 where;

Avg total visits = 1.5

Avg $pp = $100

Then the ROI on a 2pax booking is:

(1.5 x 100 x 2) / 50 = 6

But the ROI on a 12pax booking is:

(1.5 x 100 x 12) / 50 = 36

If all other factors were equal, the larger the booking size, the greater the ROI on marketing spend.  

This is why some of our clients have reconfigured their seating to capitalise on the increased ROI.

So there are 2 ways to look at this:

1) Create a marketing plan based on your current layout

2) Change your layout based on the highest ROI of your marketing