When people meet up with family and friends at a restaurant, what is it they’re looking for? The immediate and obvious answer, of course, is a quality meal – food that satisfies the taste buds.

But, as any great chef and restaurateur will tell you, all five senses play into the quality of a meal. Customers appreciate the aroma of your food as it cooks and take in the aesthetics of your design scheme and lighting. While you likely work hard to control the other four senses, it’s the sound of your restaurant — the music and atmosphere — that truly gives customers that quality dining experience they’re looking for.

Music plays a vital role in shaping customer perceptions and experiences, from how long they stay to what they order, to how they perceive your restaurant, all of which ultimately influences whether they return. With this in mind, let’s go over everything you need to know about finding and playing the right music for your restaurant.

Background music for restaurants — the unsung hero of culinary experiences

When talking about the ideal dinner party experience, Jennifer Aniston once said, “My best hostess tip is to have good food and really good music.” It turns out she’s not alone in that sentiment.

In a TouchBistro survey of 2,600 diners, 58% of American respondents said restaurant atmosphere is a crucial factor in their choice of where to dine. This preference outweighs factors like recommendations from friends and family, online reviews, and even the speed of service.

Interestingly, these same respondents aren’t nearly as interested in the presence of a DJ or live music, signaling that background music is much more important to the restaurant experience. Ambiance is the key to crafting an engaging and inviting atmosphere.

How restaurant music keeps customers and drives purchases

Restaurant music serves a greater purpose than merely eliminating silence or distracting from stale conversation; it significantly influences the mood of restaurant patrons. It plays a key role in customer perception, behavior, and purchase decisions.

And, with the National Restaurant Association projecting that the food service industry will reach just shy of $1 trillion in sales this year, you have an amazing opportunity to build up your base of loyal patrons. The music you select for your restaurant is key to creating memorable experiences that keep them coming back.

Understanding the importance of music in restaurants

Music impacts various aspects of perception and behavior, many of which are relevant to the experience of your diners. Here’s how the driving force behind your brand’s sound experience can influence the mood, thoughts, and behavior of your patrons.

Mood and emotion

Music has a significant influence on mood regulation. The type of music played in a restaurant can shape the overall mood of the diners, influencing how they feel and any emotional connection they establish with your restaurant.

Bettina Stern, co-founder of the trending Maryland brand Chaia Tacos, explains just how impactful the right sound can be for customer experiences.

“Music has the extraordinary effect of setting the mood,” said Stern.

“At Chaia, we like to help set the stage for our guests by inviting them into our spaces with warmth and hospitality. Good music can make them smile.”

By controlling the volume, tempo, and genre, you can create an emotional experience that matches your brand. Slower, softer music can induce a sense of calm and relaxation, which could make customers stay longer and increase the amount they order. On the other hand, faster, upbeat music can make the environment feel lively and energetic, which can potentially speed up the dining process and lead to quicker table turnover.

Music can even help manage stress and anxiety. So, if customers are in a bad mood, the right playlist can help to uplift their spirits and create a positive dining experience.

Thought processing

If you’ve ever had difficulty remembering a special or deciding on your order in a loud restaurant, you’ve experienced the impact of sound on your thought processing. This means the music you play in your restaurant has a major impact on customers.

For instance, low-volume ambient music can enhance the dining experience by stimulating the other four senses without being distracting. On the other hand, excessively loud music can impair mental decision-making, which can result in a less-enjoyable experience for the customers. After all, no one wants to battle music while they try to order an appetizer.

The choice of music can also impact how customers perceive the menu and the food. For example, classical music can create an impression of sophistication and quality, influencing customers to associate the food with higher quality.

Experts find that music can even help patrons view culturally-specific restaurants as more authentic. When diners hear the traditional music that’s associated with the cuisine they’re consuming, the entire experience feels more genuine, and can increase their likelihood of revisiting.

Social interaction

The right kind of music can foster a sense of shared environment that encourages conversation and social interaction.

A restaurant playing familiar pop songs might spur discussions about music among diners, and even enhance the social experience with some singing. Conversely, experimental or intrusive music can hinder conversation and create an unsettling, antisocial atmosphere.

Music can also influence behavior. More formal or quiet music might signal diners to speak softly, while louder, more energetic music could encourage a more vibrant atmosphere.

Matching the music, mood, and menu

There’s a reason why coffee shops are known for eclectic jazz and bossa nova, while fine-dining establishments opt for classical: the music a restaurant plays — the genre, tempo, and volume — can significantly affect customer feelings, thoughts, and behavior in the ways mentioned above.

Genre

The type and mix of music you play in your restaurant has a major impact on the experience of your diners and the type of crowd you consistently draw. Different music genres cater to different demographics and set different moods, influencing customer behavior on the individual and group levels. For example, loud rock and alternative music is often used to draw in the lively crowds you see at a pub or bar.

Tempo

Like genre, the pace of your restaurant music also impacts the dining experience. Fast-tempo music encourages customers to finish their meal at a faster rate, freeing up tables for more customers. Playing this type of music is great for quick-service restaurants and pop-up stands that rely on volume and turnover. Alternatively, slow-tempo music encourages patrons to relax, stay longer, and potentially order more food or drinks–perfect for places that rely on higher average-order values.

Volume

Naturally, volume is one of the most important aspects of your restaurant’s sound experience. Loud music can create an invigorating atmosphere that stimulates drink sales, while soft music can foster a tranquil environment, enhancing the dining experience. There’s a fine line to walk with restaurant music volume; go too far in either direction and you can distract from, and even ruin, an otherwise great meal.

How to create a high-quality restaurant music experience

Creating a remarkable music experience in your restaurant, one that will make an impression on your patrons and help amplify your brand, requires a lot of thought and attention to detail.

In particular, delivering a high-quality sound experience for your restaurant requires three core components: hardware, music, and control.

Thoughtful placement of these components throughout your restaurant  is necessary to ensure perfect acoustics and the right ambiance. Then, you need to consider how you’ll connect all your speakers to a central system, so you can deliver your restaurant music at the same volume, bass, and stereo separation. Speakers with WiFi connectivity are easy to control, helping you provide a consistent sound experience and make adjustments as necessary.

Finding a high-fidelity speaker with superior audio quality will help you fill your space with consistent sound.

But before you find your brand sound, it’s important to remember that streaming music in your restaurant is different than streaming at home. Playing music in your business requires commercially-licensed music.

Your best option? Use a commercial music streaming service that offers a  catalog of pre-licensed music. This way you can play music worry-free and focus on delivering the best customer experience possible.

Managing sound within a single location is difficult enough — that complexity compounds as you add multiple locations. What if you’re already using one brand of speakers at your flagship location but found a better product for your latest one? How are you going to ensure that each speaker is playing the same music at the same volume?

You also need to keep your employees in mind. They need to be focused on taking orders, serving food and drinks, and clearing tables, not running back and forth to adjust the music. Plus, you want to make sure that you have control over who has access to your sound system.

With the right hardware and software systems, you can centralize control of music, volume, and access across multiple speakers and locations from a single tablet or mobile device.  This can significantly enhance your restaurant’s music experience. This type of comprehensive system control is the differentiator between a good or a great sound experience.

Choosing the right sound solution for your restaurant music needs

Providing a consistent brand sound requires more than just a music streaming service. It also demands the integration of high-quality hardware with a tool for precise, centralized control.

When selecting the sound solution that will handle all the music for your restaurant, here’s what you need to prioritize:

Remote monitoring and management

Remote monitoring and management systems give you a high-level view of the music playing across multiple locations, so you can keep the sound consistent as your restaurant brand grows.

Ambience is key to retaining customers. Inconsistent sound experiences across different locations or even in the same location at different times can be jarring for customers.

With remote monitoring and management capabilities for your restaurant, you can easily ensure the consistency of your sound experiences. This means you can centrally control the volume, music, and other settings from anywhere, ensuring that your customers always receive the same high-quality, enjoyable sound experience whenever and wherever they dine with you.

Music and control that work for You

The type of music played in your restaurant can significantly influence your brand image and the overall dining experience.

Finding a streaming service with a large catalog of pre-licensed music gives you the freedom to curate your brand image, establish the desired atmosphere, and create experiences that truly resonate with your customers. You can even tailor the music depending on the time of day or the season, ensuring that the atmosphere always fits the mood.

Once you’ve found the right music, you also want to have customizable control over who can access the system and what they can do. This helps you empower your staff to manage the music, while also ensuring they stay within the bounds you establish.

Premium product support

In a bustling restaurant environment, you need assurance that if there’s a hiccup with your sound system, help is readily available.

Complete sound solutions provide premium product support, giving you a direct line to your success manager and to on-demand resources. With access to a product specialist, you can quickly troubleshoot and resolve any issues, minimizing downtime and ensuring that the quality of your restaurant’s atmosphere is not interrupted.

Unrivaled sound experience

The sound quality of your music significantly impacts the dining experience. Poor sound quality from budget speakers can distract from the overall experience, while high-quality sound from a reputable brand enhances it.

With a premium speaker system, you’re investing in best-in-class sound quality that can truly amplify your business’s potential and give customers a memorable experience that keeps them coming back.

Create memorable restaurant experiences with Sonos Pro

Sonos is extending its industry-leading speaker technology to the business world. Sonos Pro equips restaurateurs with a comprehensive package, offering  hardware, music, and control required to create outstanding experiences across all locations.

This comprehensive sound solution is a powerful tool for restaurants, providing seamless control over the sound experience, a versatile music library, reliable product support, and exceptional sound quality; all these elements contribute to a memorable dining experience that encourages customers to keep returning again and again.

Check out the Sonos Pro plan and pricing today and begin the process of transforming your restaurant into a place that’s not just about eating, but also about creating unforgettable memories.

*Sonos Pro is only available in certain territories.