Top 5 Ways Your Restaurant Can Compete During A Pandemic (part 4)

As the nation begins the process of reopening, your restaurant's way of conducting business (if you are fortunate) will be part of society's new norm. Take out and online ordering has and will continue to be essential with how you conduct business. Inspections will most likely be altered to include such components as safety for workers, safe distancing and policies for wearing personal protective equipment i.e. masks, gloves, and proper sanitizing of dinning rooms just to name a few.

Now is the time to update your restaurant to be "COVID19 Proof." I took notices to pick up windows being installed to keep customers from entering the business. Also ground markings to support social distance policies. According to Restaurantbusinessonline.com restaurant owners and managers should reevaluate their menu and reinforce their takeout and delivery strategy because it’s now likely a vital component of their business

Pivoting

Takeout and delivery customers tend to be your most loyal, which is good news for you. If you aren't currently doing take out and delivery, begin NOW but with caution. As I mentioned in Part 1 of this series 3rd party delivery companies charge a 25%-30% of the bill.

You may want to consider doing curbside pickup so that customers don't even have to leave their car. If you don't currently use delivery, many third-party organizations (GrubHub, DoorDash, UberEats) are running promos. A loyalty program could even be a good option, increasing customer frequency!

Enticing Offers

Start posting more frequently to Instagram/Facebook showing guests picking up orders and offer discounts for checking in. Be prepared to answer any questions about your menu in a profession manner in the comment sections. You can easily capture customer's information to optimize for more repeat business.

For example, you can make a flyer offering a 20% discount off their next bill when they sign up for a VIP club via text message. Make sure you include the flyer in every delivery or stick them on your pizza boxes. This can help with building a data base of customers that can sustain your business during the reopening or should (God forbid) another shutdown have be ordered.

If you would like to exchange ideas for new customers or more repeat business, please reach out to me here on LinkedIn or book a call by clicking here: BOOK A CALL