MARKETING: 5 Advantages of Influencer Marketing to the Bar & Restaurant Industry
We’ve talked about ways of how restaurants can adapt their business to the current coronavirus crisis. If you’re doing any of those things (or something else), then you need to let your local community know. One way of doing that is partnering with local social media influencers to get the word out. Here are five advantages of influencer marketing for restaurants.
DID YOU KNOWS…
The Restaurant Industry is Collapsing Under the Weight of Coronavirus
As the number of Americans on lockdown grew in line with confirmed cases over the past three weeks, the restaurant trade was one of the sectors hit the hardest. It's possible to visualize the downward trend through data published by restaurant-reservation service OpenTable and it clearly shows why small business owners desperately need financial support. By March 17, most restaurants in Boston, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco had lost 100% of their business with the majority switching to takeout or delivery in a bid to stave off bankruptcy.
How Long do Americans See COVID-19 Lasting?
Last week, Gallup polled 1,020 U.S. adults about expected disruption from COVID-19 with 36% saying they expect the situation to last a few more weeks. 51% of those polled said that disruption will drag on for months while nine percent think it will last for the rest of the year. Three percent are particularly pessimistic, believing it will go on for even longer than that. 66% of Gallup's respondents also said their daily lives have been disrupted either a great deal or a fair amount.
Chefs Turn to IG Live for Home-Cooking
With restaurants closed, some chefs have turned to Instagram to show off their culinary skills with home-cooked meals. It’s been a silver lining to this entire nightmare, not only educating the populace on cooking skills but also creating a sense of community and solidarity among foodies. This sounds like a great way for restaurants to stay connected to their guests and win some much-needed loyalty points.
Coronacrisis: Day 19
TOO LITTLE TOO LATE?
Why it matters to you: The bailout package from congress falls woefully short on helping restaurant operators survive the pandemic.
The statistics are staggering. Our industry is responsible for 4% of total gross domestic product and employees between 7 – 10% of all workers nationally. So, when you radically curtail restaurant service you can expect real blows to the economy. Couple that with the fact that 78% of operators don’t have enough cash reserves to make it one month of being shut down and you have a recipe for disaster.
Of course, this is where the government promised to step in to support us. Through the passed stimulus package, they are giving a $1200 check to anyone who earned under $75k last year -- which is pretty much every hourly employee in our industry. That money will be gone for most of them in days when their rent comes due or they have their regular student loan payment pending.
Another aspect of the CARES Act was an enhancement of $600/week of unemployment compensation from now until July 31st. This provision is actually thoughtful, although some politicians were furious about while others felt it was a minimum way to help vulnerable employees. No matter your opinion politically, this additional cash will help many of our staff weather this crisis.
But is that really enough on the government’s part to address the disaster befalling the restaurant industry? They found plenty of money to bailout one industry in particular -- the airlines. The airline segment is slated to get $60 billion in aid to stay afloat during the pandemic. A bailout of that size would pump $86k in support to every restaurant in the country, but that’s unlikely to be forthcoming.
In a time when service workers are receiving their just due as crucial to our functioning society, it’s time our government followed suit and supported our industry as if it were essential. Cuz, no restaurant industry would just as bad, or worse, than a crippled airline segment and we need the help now, too.
[Source: Eater]
