Digital Menu Board Strategies For ‘Novel’ or Covid-19 Times.
Maintaining social distancing in shopping mall.
Prepare For Demand Potential For Take-aways/Home Delivery.
The proverb ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ – could well apply, among others, to the restaurant business worldwide, given the deterrents and constraints of the business arising out of the present Covid-19 pandemic.
With social distancing norms in place, people have been asked to stay indoors and maintain good health and hygiene, and people in many states/countries are witnessing severe lockdowns and restrictions of movement in their daily lives.
Hence currently, your business is really in an ‘unusual’ phase wherein your digital screens on the Point-of-sale locations may not create the same impact as it does during normal times, since many of your potential and current customers would be advised to stay indoors. Just the same, it will be indispensable to attract customers if vehicular movements are permitted in your city. And of course, there will be a surge for online ordering.
So, as a restaurateur and a owner of a Quick Service Restaurant, how would you run your business in these difficult times ?
Please ensure social distancing, offer hand sanitizers to customers, and serve with safety delicious and quality food with lucrative offers. This will go a long way in enhancing your revenues and reputation which will translate into brand loyalty.
We offer below a few broad pointers.
Stimulate Business With Focus On Safety As A Priority:
- If you are a QSR with point-of-sale locations, and if you are allowed to keep open, you need to prepare an in-store ambiance which will focus on the health and safety of your customers.
- Abiding by the social distancing norms, you may place your tables a few feet apart, provide soaps and sanitizers to customers for washing their hands, and your waiters serving them by wearing gloves on their hands.
- The food needs to be full- cooked and served in clean dishes. In short, you’ll have to put the safety of your customers as top priority.
- At the cash counter too, you or your staff need to take precautions to avoid any physical contact with customers and transact business by covering the mouth and nose by a mask and your hands, with gloves.
Prepare For Demand Potential For Take-aways/Home Delivery:
- This is of course, subject to state/country advisories given the present pandemic situation. If vehicular movement is permitted in your town/city then there could be a vast potential demand for take-away food/home delivery.
- People who are unable to come to your restaurant due to social distancing norms may well come in their cars and line- up outside your restaurant. In which case, you need to be prepared with your digital menu board at all times.
- Also, you may network for potential customers staying at make-shift accommodations like hotels, motels, lodges, paying guests, shared-apartments who may need home delivery of food or take-away.
Change Of Menu Items And Their Preparations:
- Stands to reason in these times. If you have a Quick Service Restaurant you need not go completely out of the way to change your menu, but keep in mind that your customer will prefer health foods (or foods that boost immunity) over fast foods.
- Preferred food items should be Soups and salads, cheese, stews and sandwiches. Along with health drinks like milk, orange juice, lemonades, green tea, ginger tea etc.
- Meat preparations must be fully cooked. Chicken should be the most preferred meat. Steaks, beef preparations, rolls such as Tacos, and other spicy fast foods in meats including hotdogs should preferably be kept out of the menu for the time being.
Gear Up For Effective Social Media Networking:
- As many cities during this time will be in lockdowns or the movements of people severely restricted, the best way to promote your business is online. You will get a large captive audience to whom you can promote your digital menu board. Hence, this is the best time for digging into your customer database and advertising your health foods through facebook, instagram, and other food apps.
- You may also share with them your current plans on cuisine innovations and ask for their feedback, tastes and preferences. This will help you in your sales strategies as well as stocks in inventory.
- Excellent opportunity for scouting for potential customers staying at make-shift accommodations like hotels, motels, lodges, paying guests, shared-apartments who may need home delivery of food or take-away.
Enhance Customer Engagement:
- Go beyond business. Communicate with the smart phone. Share your concerns on the pandemic. Empathize with your customers. This is a good time to build customer engagement by advising them on food safety if they are staying at home and cooking.
- Being sensitive and offering suggestions on your customers’ best interest will go a long way in strengthening the bond with them, as your customers will realize that you think (and feel) beyond business relations.
- When normal times return, these potential customers will flock to your restaurant recalling your genuine concerns.
Promotions Through Digital Menu Boards /Screens:
- At any point in this current pandemic, if your business is open, point-of-sale promotions will be indispensable. If you change your menu, focus on advertising the health foods.
- Present offers like ‘have a bowl of chicken soup for $10 and any other entree on the menu free’. Or, ‘have a cheese sandwich plus a carton of milk for $12’. If you wish to stick to burgers/pizzas & steaks you may offer free extra meal with a price point.
- If you see a good demand for take-aways prepare and design your menu board so as to emphasize on the graphics as people coming with their cars will see it clearly and place their order immediately.
- A good opportunity for you to promote select items and advertise them on your menu board. The digital screen will certainly illuminate your vicinity and will be best noticed by motorists.
- Even in a pandemic effective advertising pays. Make your marketing message short and sweet. Let your customers know you have what they want and that you care.
- Be sure to mention the working hours, as this will help your customers plan a visit in advance. In these difficult times, you may hike-up your prices depending on the demand of certain health food items. And your BBQ videos and animations will certainly entertain and perk-up your customers.
While it is truly sad to see the Covid-19 pandemic taking a heavy toll, it is indeed heartening to learn that the medical fraternity and pharma companies worldwide are racing against time to bring out a vaccine to combat the virus at the earliest. We at DS Menu empathize with the restaurant fraternity in these difficult times and hope we all return to normal (and better) times soon. Be rest assured, there is light at the end of the tunnel !