Restaurant Marketing Strategies to Safely Reopen post COVID-19

Trying to draft restaurant marketing strategies to reopen your restaurant post-COVID lockdown?

With the spread of the novel coronavirus, the world witnessed a widespread change in the way we conducted life earlier on.

Restaurant business witnessed a drastic change in its selling curve as the pandemic spread.

Keeping safe measures in mind and social distancing, restaurants are now adapting actionable strategies for reopening their dining service.

Being an owner are you still concerned about what restaurant marketing strategies you need to adapt to keep your restaurant business running post-COVID?

Here, in this post, we give you a perfect insight on how to draft and adopt different restaurant marketing strategies as you still shift and move on with the changes post-COVID.

Re-aligning restaurant strategies for reopening

1. Contactless is the way – touch-free menus, delivery & pickups

Convert physical menus into a contactless menu

Before the spread of the virus, dining in had an overall different approach. Menus, food delivery, etc were not so much of concern to the restaurant owners. Now, a major change is required. Everything should be contactless.

A major concern for restaurants right now is using physical menus. Customers are now hesitant to touch physical menus. Disposable menus are the talk of the town now. However, printing disposable menus are not ideal given the rising costs.

Digital QR Code menus have emerged as the best solution to the touch-free approach and it is cost-effective at the same time.

What is a QR Code menu for restaurants?

QR Code menus, in other words, are digital menus that enable diners to scan and access on their smartphones. As the restaurants are reopening after the COVID-lockdown, to ensure the safety of the diners, QR code has become mandatory.

How to make a QR Code menu?

To convert menu PDFs into contactless QR Code menus follow these three easy steps:

1. Upload PDF
2. Add your brand/restaurant logo to the QR Code
3. Download the QR Code

These QR Codes can be now pasted directly on the tables or other places.

How to use QR Code menus?

1. Place the QR Codes menus on the table, or on the posters or directly at ordering areas.
2. When a customer scans the QR Code, he/she chooses the dishes he/she wants to order and submits the form.
3. The staff inside then receives the order and processes it.

Learn about 4 ways Restaurants can use QR Codes HERE.

Contactless takeaway or delivery

It is best to partner with a food delivery app that comes with the option of dropping the food package on the doorstep of your customers.

At the ordering area of takeaway, place the QR menus on the wall or glasses so that consumers are on their way can stop, scan, and take their food package.

2. Hygiene to beat the taste

Novel Coronavirus has given rise to a new bench-marking parameter for restaurants in case of hygiene. Restaurants need to go the extra mile to convince their customers about their hygiene standards and what safety measures they are implementing.

5-star ratings on taste and ambience are no longer sufficient since hygiene rating matters the most now.

Various countries tried to combat this situation by using QR Codes when it comes to displaying hygiene and safety standards.

Using QR Codes to collect hygiene rating

Combining a QR Code API with a food delivery app is the fastest ways to scale hygiene rating collection. If your restaurant is already listed on a food delivery app, make sure you do not miss the opportunity of getting feedback and ratings from your customers.

3. Home cooking is making a comeback now

Some restaurants have understood the pattern of consumer behaviour nowadays. Consumers are now craving for homemade cooking than restaurant food, in other words, restaurants are now changing their menu according to consumers’ wants.

Some of the bakeries, pizzerias are adopting concepts like selling mini pizza kits including the dough and the toppings instead of just selling mainstream pizza dishes.

4. Position your restaurant as a safe place to gather

To combat, the concerns consumers have, restaurants need to take additional steps to make the customers feel safe. You need to assure and reassure your customers that no one around is carrying COVID 19 symptoms, and this can be done by using thermal scanners, high tech cameras, or a basic online form which provides information about their health conditions and travel history.

Also Read: Restaurant Marketing Ideas to increase sales during coronavirus ( COVID 19 )

5. Choose digital channels over walk-ins

While the restaurant industry has not been able to handle the COVID-19 effect, a surprisingly large number has already adapted to the storm by shifting to digitalization like posting on social media platforms, updating the website and digital ordering.

Digital ordering

Consumers can comfortably text or interact with chatbots. Placing an order through text messages is easy, contactless and essential post-COVID.

Social media in the times of COVID-19

Social media has emerged as a powerful tool in this Pandemic. Businesses of all sizes and categories are now relying on social media platforms. Schedule your campaigns and social media posts accordingly, plan ahead of time about each post.

Make changes in seating arrangements and adopt safety measurements

Set new systems to enable near-contactless dining. Make changes in the sitting. Have a lesser number of seats with enough distance between each sitting arrangement.

Chefs and working staff should wear masks and sanitize their hands from time to time. Kitchen surface and other areas of the restaurant should be well cleaned, maintained and sanitized several times during the day.

Digital Menu Boards

Every customer who has been to the outlets of Kentucky Fried Chicken ( KFC ), McDonald’s or Burger King know what Digital Menu Boards are. Digital Menu Boards have several advantages over all other kinds.

1. They can be read by all the buyers collectively in the restaurants; saving time.
2. They are more visible and tend to be more attractive.
3. They can be easily updated from time to time.

A Final Note

The scale of the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic is directly proportional to the impact on the business. Under these difficult circumstances, restaurants need to plan ahead. Some measures like masks and screening are taking place, while other measures such as contactless menu and contactless engagement are also being implemented. What do you think about these restaurant marketing strategies? Tell us in the comments below

Wish to promote your restaurant business online? Whether you are targeting local customers or online customers, we work hand in hand with both your online and offline requirements to get your business to the top.

Build your QR code menus, digital menu boards, grab every opportunity that digital platforms offer, We will create, optimize your Google My Business listing, your social media actions and posts, your content marketing strategies. Talk to us.