August 16
The best background music for restaurants fosters is an aura of belonging and welcoming. Customers are more likely to return if they feel comfortable and welcome in your establishment. If your tunes are unique, be prepared for more customers than ever before. Read on to learn how to turn your business into a mean earning machine!
Use Music to Attract New Visitors
Restaurant background music has the power to add or detract from the customer’s overall experience. You want to choose music for your restaurant background that keeps your customers coming back for more. Your music selection can offer you a competitive edge over other establishments. After all, many restaurants have good food, but how many have good music to accompany their dishes? The best restaurant music sets the tone for the experience your customers should expect. Choose selections with a message that reflects your brand’s values and personality. This allows you to connect with your patrons on a deeper level and distinguish your originality.
Perfect Music for Your Desired Restaurant Experience
All restaurants need to abide by rules established by the Performing Rights Organization. Make sure you do not have to pay any licensing fees to BMI, SESAC or ASCAP before streaming music from satellite radio or Spotify. Good restaurant music will reflect the time of day, emotion and liveliness of its guests. Choose tunes that create an environment of comfort and engagement. Any televisions in the establishment should be on mute to prevent too much noise (unless you have a sports bar). The pace in any establishment varies throughout the day. You experience high-pace, busy hours, but other times, everyone could sit around and watch paint dry. Vary the tempo of your music throughout the day to stay in sync with your patrons.
Make a Long Playlist
One of the worst things a restaurant can do is use the same generic playlists as every John Doe in the town. Create your own custom playlists to stand out from other establishments. You should have at least 600 songs on your playlist. The old saying if it isn’t broke, don’t fix it does not apply in the realm of background music restaurant flair. Expect to update your playlist regularly and cycle the songs to keep things fresh.
Pick songs from a broad scope. If everything on your list is a Top 40 hit, you need to do some re-evaluating. You also need to do some re-evaluating if your playlist only includes your favorite songs. Select your music from a wide variety to accommodate almost all of your patrons. After all, background music for restaurants has the potential to boost food and drink sales from 15.6 to 40 percent.
Schedule According to Intensity and Energy
A general rule of thumb is to increase the background music volume with the more guests you have. The music tempo can affect customer turnover rates. During busy times of the day, play faster tunes to encourage your guests to eat quicker. They will feel they were there a good amount of time and were able to eat their meal without feeling rushed. Slower music, contrastingly, encourages patrons to stay and relax. You can increase you per-person spend with slower music during the sluggish hours. Patrons may be more prone to indulge in desserts or other after-dinner extras.
The best music for restaurants will depend on the type of food you serve. Higher-pitched music or frequencies emphasize sweet flavors, so throw in some high-pitched songs if you specialize in desserts. Establishments with bitter foods or tastes should instead opt for lower-pitched music or frequencies to enhance the flavors.
A Soundtrack for Each Part of the Day
Keep the pace of your restaurant in sync with the pace of your patrons. Morning tunes should be soft and relaxing. Help ease your guests into their busy day without jarring them awake like a horror movie. People are usually more awake by lunch, so it is a great idea to play more upbeat music for the lunch time rush. To get the most out of happy hour, crank up the volume and keep the tempo upbeat. Both actions will liven the environment and make those drink sales skyrocket.
You want to bring things back down around dinner time, but gradually increase volume throughout the evening. Just pay attention to the environment so you can make any necessary adjustments to create the perfect atmosphere. After 8 p.m. during late evening hours, you can keep a similar energy to what you developed around dinner time.
Tips for the Best Restaurant Background Music
The best music for a restaurant designated casual or family-friendly should incorporate some country tunes. The typical patron of these establishments is a country music fan. One in two of these country fans gross over $100,000 per year, so you do not want to miss out on those big bucks! Expect them to bring along the entire family when frequenting your establishment. Furthermore, country music fans are more likely to go out to eat than the average American. Cater to your clientele to enhance the taste of their food and drinks.
Gourmet restaurants or restaurants renowned for upper echelon cuisine should incorporate more fancy restaurant music. Fine dining music features musical instruments that will accompany and enhance diners’ food. Never should they feel the music distracts them from their meal or their conversation. Your music choices should only serve to enhance the overall patron experience.
Faster paced restaurants can choose pop or any range of upbeat music to accompany the environment. You just want to make sure the music still creates a positive, enjoyable setting.
Keep an Eye on the Volume
Always remember that the best background music for restaurants stays in the background. When the volume is too loud, guests cannot enjoy their meals. Observe your guests and their positions. Are a lot of people standing? Feel free to increase the volume slightly. However, if you notice most people are seated, decrease the volume accordingly.
Summary
Get busy on a new playlist to blow your customers away. Always vary the tempo and volume of your selections to match the overall demeanor of your patrons. Not only will they be happier, but so will your employees.
