Promote your restaurant as a particularly sanitary environment
One of the most important and discussed subjects during the Covid-19 pandemia period concerns the hygiene practices, cleaning and sanitation. At the present moment these topics continue to be а crutiall issue because of the upcoming re-opening of restaurants, shops and stores. Nevertheless, most of the restaurants are still closed, their staff has already started to prepare and implement related strategies for the future activity restart. Considering that going out for a dinner or a snack is not an essential activity for poeple, the re-opening process will be longеr and more difficult for the restaurant industry compared to other businesses. Customers will need more time to be sure that the venues have taken all the necessary safety measures and are able to assure a particularly sanitary environment. Moreover, the fact that the restaurants are in line with all the sanitary recommendations, doesn’t mean they will succeed to re-attract easily their customers. To do that, they need to communicate it in a clear way, convincing their clients that they are offering a safety place. The venues need a well prepared communication strategy including all possible channels.
Social networks
Photos and videos
Use the social media profiles of the venue to communicated the sanitary measures you are about to implement or have already implemented. The communication should be structured and constant in time in order to cover all the period before and after the re-opening. Publish photos and videos of everything related to the safety environment you offer – how your staff is cleaning and disinfecting; photos of all the disinfectant products you use and have in stock; photos of the space reorganization you have made to make customers maintaining a safety distance between them etc.
Don’t forget that every detail is important to be communicated. Thus, there is higher chance to motivate customers visit your restaurant making them confident for their safety. After the re-opening of the venue, you can show the first customers came in place in order to encourage others to do the same. Take them pictures by respecting, of course, their privacy. Take the photos from a certain distance from behind without showing their faces.
Describe in social media posts all the sanitary norms you are compliant with by publishing links to the official governmental websites and those of related organizations where your customers can find information about the obligatory measures for the restaurant industry. This way you can reassure them that you are informed about all the best safety practices concerning your business niche. You have to communicate in a clear way that these are not measures you have personally decided to implement, but it is about official safety policy of the government and the Ministry of Health. Take pictures, as well, of all the sanitary materials used by your employees as masks, gloves etc and of the implemented workplace controls to reduce the virus transmission among employees. If you have isolated areas in your restaurant or have a garden, you should highlight them in your communication. Such areas will be very attractive for the customers in the future months because of the lower risk for contamination.
Surveys and comments
Social media offers relevant tools to make surveys and interact with online users through the comments under the posts and personal messages. Be proactive and stay connected with your clients. Ask them if there is something else you can do to make them feel safe and comfortable when they come to your restaurant. Stimulate them to ask questions related to the hygiene subject. Moreover, you can make some survey, using for example Instagram stories, sharing online afterwards the results. This way you show your responsibility for the safety environment and try to be transparent about your actions. The messege you promote is that the customers can trust you and feel secure.
Venue website
The venue website is another channel you can use to communicate the safety measures you are about to implement. Put a banner on the Home page announcing your strategy for safety environment. Prepare different articles to publish in the blog section with photos and videos related to the undertaken measures. Put the logos of all official health and sanitary organizations which recommendations you are following and link them to their websites. This way each customer can check the sanitary requirements and norms.
Keep it positive
It is very important to use positive and inviting messages in order to make the communication friendly instead of formal and too serious. Try to be creative and show your customers your positive intentions to deal with the situation. For instance, you can print T-shirts for your staff with a positive message. Or, instead of positive message you can put a logo or a sign to assure customers in the safety environment you offer in your venue. Another way to communicate the safety place is to position some posters on the walls of the restaurant, distribute advertising materials on the tables or on the cashier’s desk etc.
Mailing lists
If you have an already built mailing list of customer emails, don’t forget to use it and send some communication related to your sanitization efforts. Use all the materials, photos and videos, you have prepared for the social media. Thus, if somebody didn’t see the publication in the social media, will do it thanks to the emails. Of course, the communication format is different than the one in the social media, so you can use the same messages but presented in a structured text.
Communication and interacting with your customers is more important than ever! Encourage your clients to visit your restaurant after the lockdown by reassuring them in the safety environment you offer. Keep in mind that it is not enough to implement all the necessary measures but also to inform customers about them. Use all the possible channels, be creative and positive in your messages and you can make the re-opening process easier and more effective.