Get your message out

Now is the time to get your message out and let your customers know that you are there to serve them.  Many will be concerned about their safety, you will want to make sure you highlight your safety and cleaning procedures.  If you have gotten any certifications make sure you let your customers know.  

Email blasts - use your email list and inform your customers that you are open, what your hours are, introduce your menu, highlight your sanitation plan.
Signage - clearly sign curbside pick up areas, store hours


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​​Social media

Up date all your social media and web pages
Post often
    Daily on social media pages
     Timing matters - post just prior to the dinner hour to influence dinning choice
Clearly communicate your hours
Curbside/take out procedures
Your menu should be easily found
Consider regular posting on all social media platforms
Highlight what you are doing to keep your staff and customers safe
Encourage sharing of your posts
show images of your operation and what you are doing 
       Curbside pick up
       Sanitation
       Satisfied customers
Special offers

Web sites
Update your website
   Clearly show hours
   Menu must be easy to find 
   Clearly show your location
   Sanitation and safety policy must be posted
   Curbside/take procedures should be clearly stated
​   Community outreach projects you have been involved in
Show pictures of what is happening in your operation (not just the food)
    Sanitation and safety
    Curbside pickups
    New menu items
Consider online ordering
   Cashless & safer 
   

​How loyal are your guests?

Chances are you have some kind of loyalty program at your restaurant – and if you have graduated past the little plastic loyalty cards carried on keychains, you might think your program is doing okay. But have you studied exactly how well it’s helping you turn a new customer into a loyal one? Are you able to assess large amounts of data and translate that into targeted promotions that reach customers at just the times when they’re most likely to respond? According to a recent podcast on Pizza Marketplace with Tom Byrnes, vice president of marketing at LedgerPay, most loyalty programs aren’t succeeding. Research from Deloitte found that the average loyalty app loses 95 percent of its active user base within 90 days of it being downloaded, so most restaurant loyalty programs are engaging only a small portion of their customer base. Still, loyalty programs, when done right, are worthwhile: It’s nine to 11 times more expensive to recruit a new customer than to retain an existing one, so having a loyalty program that attracts and continuously engages new members is paramount. Your program should allow you to not only collect consumer data but to easily slice and dice it in a meaningful way. When you create a promotion for a subset of your loyalty program members, you should be able to readily find out how many people took you up on it, for instance – and how that offer’s response rate and profits compared to the promotion you sent them last month. How well does your program deliver for you?

Keep them coming back

Loyalty programs
    Start a loyalty program offer a free appetizer after 10 curbside orders.
    Consider a percentage off for a limited time on curbside orders
   Offer your first dine in customer a free meal on their next visit.
   Offer gift cards for purchase
   Offer discounts to nearby business employees
​It will be even more important now to effectively market your operation and the changes that you have made to your established customer as well as new customers. Here are some ways to help get your message and brand to your customers:
  • E-mail blasts
  • Signage
  • Local (town or county) Newspapers
  • Social Media
  • Loyalty or Special Offers for returning customers (multiple new visits)
  • Company Discounts for employees of businesses nearby
  • Establish your Sanitation & Safety policy and post it on your website