Embracing Change to Survive and Maximise Food Service Sales

EMBRACING CHANGE TO SURVIVE AND MAXIMISE FOOD SERVICE SALES  

Australia’s two major cities have currently been in lockdown for over ten weeks with Melbourne now being in lockdown longer than any city in the world, 246 days so far and one month remaining. The prolonged closures on food and beverage venues have ranged from hard to devastating, not just from a sales perspective, but on the lives of hospitality workers and their families.

However, creative food and hospitality operators have managed to innovate, stay agile, plan for the end in sight and have reinvented their business in order to prepare for the huge demand that has been building up and will let rip once the lockdowns end. Cafés and restaurants, along with bars and hairdressers are at the top of everyone’s to do list. 

““Nobody’s asking about our safety protocols, they’re not even asking to be seated outside. They don’t care where they sit – they just want to go out to dinner again.””

— Alessandro Pavoni, a’Mare Restaurant, Sydney AFR 17th September, 2021

Firstly. let’s be clear from the beginning, the new normal, is not normal as we know it. Our industry has changed forever, this is not a bad thing, so we must all embrace change and use it to thrive in the new food economy, let’s call this supply. 

Secondly, we have cashed-up customers who are hungry for hospitality, let’s call this demand. We’ve learned from the USA, UK and Europe that money is not an obstacle, however, securing a table reservation or a seat in your local café is. 

For those that were able to effectively adapt, takeaway and delivery sales have been the lifesaver of food business large and small, but getting back to dining out is what people truly want. Customers are human and humans yearn social contact and service when it comes to dining and drinking experiences. Never has the demand been so great from customers seeking positive experiences from food and hospitality, due to such a significant decline in ‘in-store’ interactions.

In saying this, on-line shopping is here to stay, as Australians under forty are totally addicted to food delivery and this is set to increase as delivery services include alcohol, coffee, groceries and even popcorn for your next stay-at-home Netflix night.

Some trends may have changed for the long-term, with drive through sales globally at an all-time high, with the world’s top QSR’s (Hungry Jack’s, Mc Donald’s, KFC, Chick Fil A and Taco-Bell) redesigning their drive thrus to accommodate 3 plus lanes of traffic, plus technology to reduce service transaction time featuring pre-order apps etc.

These types of redevelopments and solutions appear permanent, as it is evident that some habits in a post-covid world may be retained.

Another significant shift we are seeing is the import role that communications are playing in the delivery of modern hospitality. A Covid normal landscape is unchartered territory for all of us, but what customers are expecting is a safe environment that is welcoming to their needs, that it is clearly communicated what is on offer and when, and evidence that there are suitable protocols in place to keep them safe. Signage, entry and exit doors, dine in or grab and go, sanitised menus, table availability, seating restrictions, capacity numbers, the list goes on. Well executed signage, communications and information provision leads to greater customer confidence, in turn leading to amplified spend per head and increased repeat visitation.

From celebrity chefs to small café operators many are proud of how they have been innovative and creative, and this is reflected in their capability to go back to FIRST PRINCIPLES when it comes to food and hospitality. Countless local operators pivoted their business out of necessity during 2020 and from all accounts, many have found their new calling, with a new business approach and product focus reshaping their future business plans. As bricks and mortar businesses start to welcome customers back through their doors, it is imperative that this new business direction and new product offers are adequately communicated to inform all customers of this refocus. Achieving continued success in their ‘pivoted’ business model will help spread the risks associated with future potential lock downs and ensure their auxiliary revenue streams lead to more robust businesses with less frailties for the future.

Only time will tell how many maintain their new business approach and how customer behaviours may change, but in the interim the industry as a whole waits with bated breath just to see how many of our much loved operators are still there, ready to rebound and ready to deliver the level of hospitality that they have become famous for, after what has been such a tumultuous time for so many, for so long. 

MAXIMISING SALES IS A RECIPE OF COMBINING COMMUNICATION, CONTACLESS, CONSIDERATION AND CUSTOMERS

The most important ingredient in the reopening of our cafes, bars, restaurants and hospitality establishments is the customer. If sales are to be maximised, profits optimised and employment in our industry treated as a career and a valued job, we must adopt a Customer-First strategy building on the four “Cs” philosophy;  Contactless,  Communication, Consideration and Customer.  This philosophy will be well and truly tested in the coming weeks as we move towards fully reopening our beloved food and hospitality venues in a vaccinated-only access Australia. Sales can’t be maximised and profits made if any one of the four C’s is absent from the recipe.

Battles Continue for Hospitality Businesses
Read More - Click here: www.tlnews.com.au/edition/the-local/

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Image credits

• Spending Money at Bar: https://financialpost.com/personal-finance/young-money/how-much-money-we-waste-on-booze

• Welcome Back: www.drinkripples.com/blog/welcome-back-how-to-attract-customers-to-your-business-after-the-pandemic

• Restaurant Set Up: www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/pressure-s-on-for-new-sydney-hospitality-venues-ahead-of-october-11-big-bang-20210928-p58vhr.html

• Contact Free Ordering: www.mcdonalds.com.au

• Vaccine Passport: www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/why-your-neighborhood-bar-or-cafe-might-ask-to-see-your-vaccine-card