SERVING UP EFFECTIVE COMMS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
It goes without saying that whilst the Coronavirus pandemic is an unprecedented crisis, we’re all looking for answers, nonetheless. The advice is changing daily, which means that businesses are having to adapt quickly, but when we look to our European neighbours – particularly Italy and Spain – we can anticipate some of the measures that will come into place across the UK. Public fear, hospitality venues being told to close, gatherings (small and large) being discouraged and banned… this all means the coming months will be challenging for us all. With footfall not coming through the door, revenue will suffer, which means that your future will be in the balance. As a fellow small business, and a supplier to so many hospitality businesses who will be worried about “what’s next?”, we want to do all that we can to work together and ensure we get through this. With that in mind, TeamEV is sharing some advice and best practice that can help ease some of the burden around this period of uncertainty. We are working with brands, big and small, and think the key is for everyone to come together and find ways to keep the hospitality industry alive. This might be a temporary state of affairs, but we get how worrying it is. Advice and ideas for hospitality businesses facing months of uncertainty: •
Reassure customers: It’s important, whilst we still can, that we reassure customers that you’re taking the necessary measures to ensure the safety of them and your staff. This can include: • Deep cleans of the kitchen and restaurant, that go over-and-above the average • Serve food in individual portions, rather than any kind of buffet • Change any “open” elements, such as moving from sugar cubes and open sauce bottles to sachets
If you need any help or advice, email tara@eastvillageagency.com
SERVING UP EFFECTIVE COMMS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
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Encourage all staff to stay at home if they feel unwell, and encourage regular temperature checks Serve with gloves, and ensure regular hand washing and sanitising Increase team training and communications, to ensure that everyone is up-to-date with the latest advice Change your layout to encourage social distancing, eg. reducing the number of tables Think about showing some of this in action on social media too!
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Encourage people to #supportlocal: Customers are mindful that businesses may not survive this period, and hashtags like #supportlocal are helping people to get out there (while they still can) and make a conscious effort to shop in independent stores and buy from local businesses. Be part of this movement!
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Push private rooms and spaces: Promote any private rooms or spaces that you offer and waive booking fees, instead making money on the food and drink.
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Adapt your offering: If you have the power and ability to, it makes sense to look at your offering to suit ‘social distancing’. This might include: • Going contactless, so that no money exchanges hands • Offering deliveries, if you don’t already do so • Launching a ‘social distancing’ menu or ingredients delivery service, so that people can make their favourite dishes of yours at home
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The gift of giving: Whether you already offer gift vouchers or not, this really is a great way for you to get your customers and supporters to help keep revenue coming in over the next few months. Actively encourage people to buy gift vouchers and also proactively contact existing bookings to see if they want to exchange their dates for a gift voucher, ready to use when “normal service resumes”. See below what Wriggle launched to help with this.
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Work with partners: As well as delivery companies, look at businesses and individuals who are using their own platforms to promote the hospitality industry. For example, Wriggle has launched ‘Indie Kitty’, a voucher service that lets you enjoy a meal or drink at your favourite restaurant by buying a voucher in advance. They’ve made it non-profit so that as much money gets to hospitality businesses as possible.
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Look at other revenue streams: Some businesses are looking to their loyal customer base to help them by setting up crowdfunding pages; is this something you could do? Can you encourage people to pay a deposit for future bookings? Proactively speak to suppliers about payment terms to help make things more flexible for you, cash wise. Every little helps.
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Use social media… even more than you are now: Social media is already such an important tool for hospitality businesses, but even more so now. Whether you manage it in-house or have an agency to help, get a robust content plan together to ensure you’re making the most of the opportunity:
If you need any help or advice, email tara@eastvillageagency.com
SERVING UP EFFECTIVE COMMS DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS
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Push out regular offers and incentives on social; whether that’s for your delivery service, gift vouchers, or booking for later in the year Show more behind-the-scenes content, to put a face to your brand and show customers how important it is to help keep your business going through these difficult times Post reviews from guests, both current and historical, promoting the positive things that people are saying Keep people updated about what’s happening with the business
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Support your local community: We all need to come together in times of need and, once this is over, people won’t forget those who really stepped up. Are there things that you can do? • Is there a way that you can support local NHS, emergency staff, carers and teachers? Be it discounts, providing food when ‘on duty’ or anything else? • Can your venue adapt to become something else in the short term? For example, click and collect for shopping • Can you use your supplier network to get essential supplies for people? • Are you in a position to send out hampers to those in need, or even set up a ‘pay it forward’ scheme to help people out on the streets?
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Plan your PR: As we’ve said, this is a temporary situation so the worst thing to do is panic and forget to forward plan. Get some good PR out there now and plan for some in the future: • Do a 3 and 6 month plan with potential press releases, comment pieces, interview opportunities, and community stories; 3 months allows for you to think within the current “crisis” and 6 months gives you the freedom to go beyond the scary months and start thinking “what happens next?” • Look at awards to enter; don’t forget, it wasn’t all doom-and-gloom before this • Think about events that you can run when this is all over; new menu launches, tasting events, influencer reviews etc
Most importantly, and we would say this as a PR agency, don’t stop everything… it may help your immediate cashflow worries but without some kind of marketing in place you will struggle to ease the pain of this situation. If you have a PR agency, speak to them about how to manage both of your cashflow – reducing days but still working together, for example – as you’ll be in a better position if you communicate openly and honestly with one another.
In light of all of this, we appreciate that not everyone has a PR agency or even an in-house “team” to help. Therefore, EAST VILLAGE. is offering hospitality businesses a free brainstorming session to come up with a plan of action to help you move forward. No tricks, no T&Cs and no obligations… we just want to use our expertise to help the industry survive because we care about businesses like yours and if we don’t help you, we don’t have a future either. Get in touch if you want to have a chat about the ways that you can prepare for the coming months: Tara Tomes tara@eastvillageagency.com www.eastvillageagency.com
If you need any help or advice, email tara@eastvillageagency.com