Drive Traffic to Your Restaurants and Venues after COVID Effect

Post-COVID pandemic, the Hospitality industry will see a new reality.

How does it appear?

Recovery will evidently be a challenge for small and medium-sized businesses. It will be a rebound that would not happen between dusk and dawn. But, things surely will fall back into place.

‘Initiating procedural changes and leveraging technology will be the key.’

The restaurant and venue businesses are in need to take some action plans both for boosting their business and to make their surrounding COVID friendly. Here are a few tips to do it.

Clear out Customer’s Confusion: If You Are Open

The new normal tough, whoever you are, an restaurant, venue owner or catering service provider, is a little confusing. So, it’s time to think about the ways to reach out to your customers to tell them whether you’re open, when you’re open, and to what dimensions.

How to do that? Here are a few quick tips:

• Make/update your Google business profile
• Update your website with your reopening schedules, policies and upcoming events.
• Update your status on social media platforms; one of the best and effective ways to reach out to your customers.
• Email your customers; educate them about your upcoming activities.
• Go live on social media and give a tour of the precautions you are taking amid COVID-19, to reopen safely.
• Update/verify online listing site to ensure that the information put on there is correct and up-to-date.

Leverage the Power of Social Media: Build Attraction

Today, NO presence on social media means NO existence in real life. Therefore, it is vital to get your social media plan on point NOW. Take professional assistance to optimize (strategy and creativity) your social media game as per your brand.

Here are some ways social media platforms can help your business grow.

• Do targeted advertisement
• Use dynamic video advertising to engage
• Go live
• Keep visitors up-to-date with up-comings
• Come up with something new
• Keep your audience engaged with interesting industry trends and facts
• Write educational posts about your industry
• Listen to your potential customers and competitors
• Reach out to your audience one-on-one
• Initiate a conversation around your brand

Win Back Lost Customers

Losing a customer is costly, whatever may be the reason; poor service, food, surrounding or vibe. Several businesses agree that it’s easier to retain customers than to find new ones, but only a few make sincere efforts to bring back those they have not seen in a while.

Here are some tricks to regain lost customers:

• Create a ‘we fix it’ campaign To win back, know why they left in the first place.
• Offer lost customers incentive to revisit your place- e.g. Peter Come Back and Take 25% Off.
• Win them back via social media- Re-engage.

Takeaway Is the Lifeline

Enable takeaway and home delivery services, if you haven’t yet. It is the area with the highest potential return that can be worked on now. Invest in the banners (including your service hours, contact details, menu special (if applicable)) and your social media links for keeping your customers up to date with your business trend and for your business to extend its reach.

With your sincere efforts, soon the customers will shine your place with their presence. But, your restaurant and venue businesses are in need take crucial physical distancing and COVID prevention measures to ensure the safety of everyone stepping -in your place; customers as well as employees.

Here are some quick guidelines on how to make your premise COVID-proof.

Use Signboards

Use signboards to enable minimal interaction with your customers. For instance, a board on your front window to tell- you are open. A menu board to tell about what’s special today.

Use Floor Marketing

When customers enter your premises, offer them chairs 1.5 meter apart. If they tend to stand while waiting for the order, put floor marketing or social distancing strips to maintain the distance.

Hygiene & Sanitation

Once your customer leaves after a good meal, sanitize his/her table and chair before serving the next customer. Use disposable cutleries. Avoid putting condiments on the dinner table to discard any spread.

Discourage High Congregation Situations

Amid the area your place covers, calculate the number of customers you can shelter at once to maintain a safe surrounding.

Equip Your Staff with Essential Safety Kits

When the staff are dressed in PPE (personal protective environment) kit, the probability of distancing between the co-workers’ increases.

Introduce Your Business to Technology

Enable cash-free dining services or minimum physical currency exchange at your place. Engage your financial activities with technology to discard the physical contact between employees and customers.

PS: Do sanitize and clean your gadgets like laptop, computer or tablet in between every order.

Final Words:

Pandemic has given us challenges as well as growth opportunities. By adopting the changing times and keeping a positive attitude, we all can not only survive but can thrive in the situation. Simply remember to stay there and look ahead at the road, this too shall pass!