By Lisa Michaels, Contributor
Just like any other kind of business, restaurants are vulnerable to changes in the consumer market.
When trends change and customers evolve, restaurant owners need to be ready to transform their business too, or they risk losing all of their guests’ attention and profits.
Nowhere is the need for restaurant agility more evident than in the post-pandemic landscape. Since 2020, many hospitality companies have gone through some significant changes to keep the lights on.
Many have had to shut their dine-in areas completely for months at a time to reduce the spread of the disease.
Even as hospitality locations begin to reopen their doors, restaurants are forced to make significant changes to the way that they serve their customers.
So, how do you ensure that your restaurant remains resilient in challenging times?
Put Guest Safety First
Restaurant consumers have always been cautious about where they choose to dine.
However, in recent years, the focus on choosing restaurants with safe, organic, and planet-friendly practices has been even more significant.
Whether you’re reopening after the pandemic or creating a new environment for your customers, it’s important to think about how you can make them feel safe.
Introducing new booths and partitions in your space to limit contact between customers is one way to do this.
Many businesses are also investing in smartphone apps and contactless ordering, so consumers can interact with fewer people when getting their food.
Even simply making sure your guests know what you’re doing to keep the space hygienic and safe can improve your chances of sales—so post on your website about your latest safety precautions and what they might mean to customers when the order from or visit you.
Design a Digital Presence to Attract Customers
One downside of trying to keep your restaurant as contactless and hygienic as possible is that it’s often much harder to build relationships with guests this way.
As consumers continue to avoid anything that might be deemed dangerous, like sitting at a bar and talking to staff, you’ll need to find other ways of developing stronger connections.
For instance, why not create a stronger social media presence where you can chat with potential guests, and encourage them to share pictures of their food?
You could get people involved in competitions for a chance to win a free discount on their next order.
Posting blogs and other forms of content online, like videos and podcasts, will help generate more attention from all customers, even those who haven’t dined with you before.
You could also look into designing your own app where customers can make reservations when they want a table for a specific day, order food in advance, and just check in on what’s going on with your business.
There are plenty of designers and developers available online to help with this.
Come Up with New Products to Keep Diners Interested
Restaurant owners know how important it is to remain innovative if they want to attract customers.
Therefore, introducing new menus and al-fresco dining options for guests keen to eat outside could be a great way to demonstrate resilience and get people talking about your restaurant again.
You might also look into making foods that are easier to deliver.
Another option is to consider ways of serving your customers with products that might be appealing to them if they’re looking to recreate the restaurant experience at home.
For instance, you could create a “date night” bundle with wine and desserts, as well as a main course.
Many restaurants also offered “make your own” kits to families during the pandemic.
The option to make your own pizza or pasta dish at home is a great way for loved ones to get creative and spend some fun time together when stuck in the house.
Serve Customers in Different Ways
Perhaps the most significant change to happen for restaurants in the last couple of years has been the rapid shift away from cluttered in-house dining experiences.
To stay safe, consumers have been asked to avoid eating out at all in the last couple of years, or at the very least, restaurants had to change their layouts.
Outdoor eating environments and private pods became more popular as a result.
Additionally, for customers trying to avoid leaving the house, many restaurants that previously offered only dine-in experiences had to complete their offer with delivery and “dine out” alternatives.
What could you do to change things up for your customers?
Delivery is just one option.
Companies could also look into opening outdoor gardens where guests will be less concerned about shared spaces.
To prepare for an unpredictable future, restaurants need to be ready to adapt and serve their guests in more than one way. Plan a new sales strategy that takes advantage of all opportunities available to you.
Listen to Your Guests
Finally, the best way to run an effective restaurant is to understand what your customers want most from you.
Listening to the feedback that your clients provide can give you some amazing ideas for how to run your business that you may not have considered in the past.
For instance, perhaps you could invite your customers to visit a virtual cocktail-making class for a small fee or show people how to make versions of your signature dishes on home from YouTube.
Your clients will also be able to give you some insights into which strategies you’re trying aren’t working as well as they should be.
For instance, you might learn that although people love your delivery service, they’re currently not getting their meals as quickly as they’d like.
Therefore, hiring delivery drivers could stop you from missing out on sales.
Your audience are a great source of inspiration when you need to get creative about the way you connect in any situation.
Find a New Recipe for Success
Making your business strong, stable, and resilient during difficult times can be a challenge.
Fortunately, there are countless restaurants out there providing that they know how to be creative when disaster strikes.
Use some of the ideas above to ensure you can withstand your company’s next big surprise.
About the Author
Lisa Michaels is a freelance writer, editor, and a thriving content marketing consultant from Portland. Being self-employed, she does her best to stay on top of the current trends in business and tech. Feel free to connect with her on Twitter @LisaBMichaels.