Marketing Your Restaurant Correctly During COVID-19: 5 Top Tips
Looking back at the end of 2019, nobody could have predicted the year we were about to have. For many restaurants, they had grand plans for expansion and growth. Unfortunately, this has transformed into a fight for survival for some. When we look back on 2020, it will be the companies that adapted to the conditions that performed the best. With this in mind, we have some marketing advice for restaurants!
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Expand the Menu
Firstly, this might sound counter-intuitive, but now is actually the right time to expand and offer the services that people need most. As people want to spend more time at home, perhaps you could sell home cocktail kits? Perhaps you can offer flour, yeast, and other essentials to locals? Suddenly, you become not just a restaurant but a pivotal service for the community.
At this time, it seems people want to support local businesses. Therefore, another idea is to sell merchandise and gift cards. When customers buy a certain value of gift cards, you could even throw in a bonus to say thank you.
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Cover the Basics
During the pandemic, customers are looking for certain things from your website and this includes updated opening hours, menu, and delivery options. If they don’t see this information and can’t find the answers to questions, they will simply click elsewhere.
Update the website and be clear about your policies; will you bring the order to their car? Can they collect orders? Do you deliver? Despite the willingness to support local businesses, be aware that many customers are also cautious; tell them exactly what precautions you’re taking on social media and beyond.
If you have social media accounts, add delivery/collection information to the bio (this saves you from answering the same questions over and over again!). For those with an emailing list, don’t be afraid to send out a detailed newsletter with all this information.
We know that some restaurants don’t have a website or social media platforms, so we have one piece of advice for these; get started today. A website is easier to create than ever before, and social media allows you to generate great customer reviews while sharing information with all followers.
Bonus Tip – Lots of people are now using Zoom and similar tools, so why not create a background of your restaurant for customers to use in their own conference calls?
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Use Special Deals and Offers
What better way to encourage customers to come back than with special offers? While some restaurants will offer special family deals, others will have offers for specific days of the week. For example, you might choose to go with a ‘Welcome Back Wednesday’ where all food on the menu is 20% off. If you can do this while also updating the menu, it’s exciting for both existing and new customers.
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Build a Strong Relationship with Customers
In recent weeks, we’ve seen lots of restaurants ask how they can generate business once again. For us, it’s all about building a better relationship with customers. We mentioned being open and honest with your safety measures during the pandemic, but this also includes making your service more widely available. For instance, those who don’t normally deliver can partner with Uber Eats and other delivery apps.
Another great idea we’ve seen is to include a handwritten ‘thank you’ note with every order; your customers feel appreciated and they either order again or endorse the service to others.
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Use Social Media
We’ve mentioned social media already, but there’s never been a better time to build a following on Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and others. Share the latest news with customers, inform them of changes, post photos of your delicious dishes, engage with followers, and become a brand people love to follow.
We recommend doing live streams, introducing the team, and taking advantage of trending hashtags.
Conclusion
With these five simple tips, you can regain customers and thrive, not just survive, as we come out of the pandemic!