Everyone around the world is feeling the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) – especially restaurants who are forced to only offer take-out and delivery. Without the daily foot traffic as a source of customers, it’s become necessary to tap into other channels to find new customers.
Here are 8 ideas for restaurants to find customers to support your business and order food:
Ideas for Restaurants
- Gift Cards – Offer your existing customer base to purchase a gift card through email and social media posts.
- Select Menu – Limit your menu to only select items that are simple and to only have to stock certain types of ingredients.
- Food Delivery – Join a food delivery platform (Uber Eats, Grubhub, DoorDash, etc.) to expand your reach.
- Catering – Connect with other essential businesses in your community (grocery stores, government offices, hospitals, etc.) to ask about catering lunch every x-day during the week.
- Kid Friendly Meals – Offer with a Kids menu (if one doesn’t exist) since most families are staying at home with their kids and helping them with homework.
- Loyalty Program – Start a customer loyalty program by printing “tickets” at home and including them with each order. A customer can collect them, and redeem them in person at your location at certain date.
- Free Sides – Promote a free drink with every meal (can of soda, bottle of water).
- Sell Pantry Items – Include prepared items to your menu including basics such as milk, butter, eggs, and custom sauces.
Considerations for your Customers
Many people in your community would be more than happy to order food from your restaurant, but some may be facing similar financial struggles. There are people who have been laid-off, furloughed, taking a reduction in wages, medical costs, or child care costs. Buying groceries and cooking at home helps people save some money, and use it to pay their own bills.
If you don’t see your regular customers coming by to order your food, don’t feel that they have forgotten about you as they may be struggling during these tough times too.
Need help updating your menu on your website or posting a notice? Contact us and we’ll be more than happy to lend a hand.
With over 10+ years of experience in marketing and design, Jiun help businesses manage and execute marketing campaigns, track goal metrics, develop SEO-friendly content, optimize the buyer lifecycle, and collaborate with multiple partners, vendors, and press to maximize a brand’s lead acquisition strategy. Her background in marketing, graphic design, and front-end web development allows her to easily plan, communicate, and develop projects to meet your organizational goals.
