How Local Restaurants Can Survive During These Uncertain Times

The world has seen economic crises before - like the dot com bust and '08 financial crisis but the crises that we're all faced today is directly impacting the business model of local businesses.

Some local businesses, such as coffee shops, breweries, and restaurants have pivoted and turned their operation to a curb-side pick up service.

Kudos to these businesses for acting swiftly in an attempt to serve their local customers while keeping some of their staff employed.

However, these same local shops have and continue to miss massive opportunities in engaging their local community and positioning themselves as a business aimed and setup to provide valuable services during this period.

This particular post is for local restaurants and even coffee shops.

Here are what local restaurants need to be doing while they're able to keep their doors open in limited fashion.

Serving Customers

1. Enable your website to easily take orders
2. To do #2, get setup with https://www.exploretock.com/
3. Send out a bulk postcard to your local neighbourhood announcing how you are serving clients
4. Update your social media and point it to your Exploretock order or your website order page
5. Enrol customers in a rewards/loyalty program - for example, when a customer orders 3 or more meals from you, they automatically start getting 15% off their meal and they enrol in your restaurants lifetime rewards program where you can shower them with exclusive perks when things return back to normal
6. With every order placed, collect customer email addresses so they can be notified first of special meals that will be available for pre-order
7. Why just remain as a takeout place - partner up with your local suppliers and repackage all purpose flour for those who want to bake bread at home with their family

Lowering Costs

1. Your business credit card, most likely has recurring bills for services you don't even use anymore. Call your bank and have them re-issue you a new credit card. Then those services you were paying month after month, will email you, and you can decide to continue or cancel their service
2. If you haven't yet, e-mail your landlord and ask for rent concessions until things stabilized
3. Budget a 40% revenue reduction and the costs necessary to be able to stay profitable or breakeven
4. Take salary cuts across the board
5. Reduce any software providers to one-time payments
6. Transition your email provider to one-time payment

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When you look back at past recessions and crisis, companies that survived the best played offence: re-thinking how they can best serve their customer that is relevant to their needs and issues.

If you're a local business owners and want to think up unique ideas to engage your community, schedule a free call with us, we would love to help in anyway we can to support you.
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Podcast from Business Made Simple

The Canlis Brothers—What’s (Actually) Possible For Your Business? Worth a listen for every restauranteur.