• My Admin
• 6 days ago
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The pandemic has hit the restaurant industry harder than anyone has ever imagined. Even if the restaurant industry isn't the topmost industry that's impacted by the pandemic, the scenario is still bleak.

In the US, UK, and in the European countries the projected revenue has hugely got impacted. The bricks and mortar model of restaurant businesses have lost most of their diners and hence, it's almost impossible to get back up from the pit.

The team of data science at Womply has calculated the trends of the local restaurants in the US. They have analyzed the transaction trends of over 400,000 local businesses that include 4,600 bars and 48,000 restaurants.

The local restaurants and bars mentioned that from the month of March 2020, the revenue went down by 19.6%. And since many restaurants got closed down for almost no revenue generation, the truth is harsher than it looks on the surface.

If you look at the total spending on local restaurants above, you'd be able to see the real picture. The spending on local restaurants has reduced more than 70% due to the pandemic.

So, what should the restaurants do to reclaim their business and generate at least similar revenues if not more?

Here are the only growth areas they should pay attention to -

The emergence of virtual ghost kitchens

When the brick and mortar model of the restaurant business has fallen apart, there's only one thing that these restaurant chains and bars can do, i.e. embrace the trend.

The trend for ghost kitchens, dark kitchens, virtual kitchens is an all-time high and for good reasons -

• When you don't need a huge space to run your restaurant business, it immediately reduces the cost of the rent, infrastructure, electricity, overhead, etc. It means the concept of a virtual ghost kitchen helps the restaurant owners to curb the cost of running the business.



• Ghost kitchens focus mainly on food preparation. It means the cost of hiring waiters, managers, and hospitality executives will go down. Yes, that also means employees who are working in the restaurant industry will lose their jobs. Only chefs will remain as a part of the ghost kitchens. And the food delivery would be the crux of the business.


• Virtual ghost kitchens have been able to provide delicious foods at the doorstep while keeping the safety and convenience of the customers in mind.

It also means generating more revenue, hiring less staff, putting in better systems for the business, and shifting the gear from dining-in to complete food delivery solution.

The introduction of chatbots & food delivery apps

Once the management decides that they would introduce the concept of ghost kitchens, one thing that they can't take their eyes off is - delivery.

How with limited staff, less infrastructural cost, the food could be delivered at the doorstep of the customers.

The only option that's left is developing your own chatbot/app. Yes, signing up for a third-party app is cheaper but it also doesn't generate enough revenue that the owners and the management expect.

One of the adopters of the online food delivery app reported on Twitter that by using his own food delivery app he was able to generate 30% more revenue and reduce his costs while running his virtual ghost kitchen.

If you run a restaurant and still don't have a food delivery app or didn't build your own chatbot, it's time.

Can you see the sudden increase in the curve of food at home? There lies your opportunity. Though, it can be reduced in the years to come; it would never go back to where it was before.

Leverage the opportunity you have with the lunch, evening snacks, dinner, and even local fast foods of the WFH professionals through your ghost kitchen/s and online food delivery app, and you will thrive.

Improving customer service & offering personalization

Customer centricity is old stuff.
The new trend is customer-delight.
If you're wowing your customers, then you won't be in business for long.
Since the circumstances are already bleak and customers are only looking for safety & contactless delivery, you need to be one step ahead of your competitors.
How about offering one piece of additional meatloaf for the first order or the tenth. Or a pack of white sauce as a complimentary offer.
When you use a chatbot to understand the pattern of each customer, you'd be able to add more personalization.
Plus, it's an overemphasis to say that you need to be polite in your approach and make sure that your customers feel heard even if you need to go out of the way to serve them.
The idea is whenever your name would pop up, they should have a positive picture of your brand in their mind. They should know the exact value you want to convey in every transaction.
And this will eventually make you build brand equity, will help you make more money, and establish yourself in your niche of the restaurant industry.

Conclusion

These are the four areas that you can utilize and ensure that you make your mark.
If you can take each area sincerely and work on these, your restaurant business won't suffer like the whole industry has been doing as of now.
The idea is to take one step at a time and first do your research before stepping into any of it.
Take your time. Do your research. And then make sure that you're the only one the customer remembers.