Restaurants are a cornerstone of American culture. We find ourselves sitting down in one to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, christenings, Passovers, and a whole host of other special occasions. There is something about sitting together with your loved ones and sharing a meal that just cannot be replicated or replaced. In fact, sometimes we don’t even need an excuse to go fine dining and just rock up at our favorite diners just for the sake of it. That was, of course, until the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
As a result of the measures introduced to combat the pandemic, the restaurant business is facing difficulty in the wake of COVID-19. For sit-in restaurants, profits are low, and the number of people who are even allowed to attend is severely diminished. If you’re a restauranteur, then you’ll no doubt be feeling this decline in business more than in most other sectors. You’ll only be allowed to accommodate a few hungry customers, and you’ll have to severely reduce your menu in line with governmental guidance.
Still, the pandemic doesn’t have to be the be-all and end-all of your business. In fact, perhaps there is an opportunity here to grow. Who knows, with the following advice, and a little bit of creative thinking, maybe you can use this time to grow your business into a memorable restaurant brand.
Put the brand online.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock for decades, you surely will have seen that the most successful business ventures have a significant online presence. Why shouldn’t yours? Ok, it’s not a particularly obvious link to have a company that’s so reliant on tactile and taste-filled endeavors to go into the digital realm where nothing physically exists, but actually, you may find that it’s a smart way of both getting your name out there and streamlining parts of the business.
In order to have a website, you first need to buy IP addresses that you can use. In layman’s terms, IPv4 (otherwise known as internet protocol version 4), is almost like a series of locations on the internet that people can readily find. Think of it as a physical building, like your restaurant. Your restaurant has a name, which is likely to be located in a numbered building as part of a street, in a town/city with a zip code. IP addresses are a similar denomination of information. When potential customers go online, they’ll be looking for your restaurant by name and relevant information. If you have a domain name (i.e. a website name that goes between the www. and the .com) that is easy to get to from memory or via a search engine, then the more efficient your IPv4 purchase will be.
The process of knowing whether to buy IPv4 address blocks, IPv4 address space, or why you should even have IPv4 when IPv6 exists isn’t something that you should worry about, with the right advice. Yes, it’s all very technical, and having your own IPv4 address may seem like it’s all jargon that’s a million miles away from the kitchen where your focus should be, so get in touch with IPv4 Brokers (at IPv4brokers.net), and let their staff handle the technical side. They can advise you on how to purchase and effectively use IPv4 address blocks to their full potential so that you can get back to the running of your business with less stress.
Keep the brand online.
Aside from all of the technical attributes of IPv4 attainment or how having multiple IP addresses gives you a bigger foothold online, the main reason why having an internet presence should be a top priority is that it will help you expand your business. By giving potential customers an opportunity to contact you in other ways, (such as through email or website messaging), you help them with not having to find your telephone number, prevent them from having to guess your menu items (as your menu will be available online too), and allow them to be specific with any allergies or requirements. Plus, it keeps them from having to leave the home, so that those who are more-at-risk and asked to self-quarantine aren’t missing out.
You’ve probably already started offering a delivery service to ensure that your meals are still getting out there despite COVID-19 (and if you haven’t, then you should seriously consider it if you want to stay afloat). Adding an online ordering platform via Cuboh will be a serious boon to your business. The process of ordering food and having it paid for and delivered is streamlined into one, which is an efficient journey that’s easier for the customer and more profitable for you. It’s best practice for the future too, as when the pandemic is finally on the back foot, people will remember how easy it was to contact and order from you and will no doubt continue to use the platform well into the future.
Helping Your Staff Stay Active And Engaged
Again, thanks to the Coronavirus outbreak, you’re likely to be running on a skeleton crew. Ultimately, though, you’re going to be able to welcome staff members back into working more hours. Better still, by following the above advice, you may even need them back sooner in order to keep up with the new demand!
As your business grows, it’s no longer going to be easy to manage your staff. You may have to take on a few more hires, you might be able to open a second or third outlet, or you simply might want to take a well-deserved break. As a result, keeping a watchful eye over the efficiency of the business is going to get tougher, requiring delegation and trust. To help, consider laying out some objectives and key results (OKRs) to keep your crew motivated and business booming. Make OKRs fun and rewarding, and your staff will not only appreciate it, but they’ll probably tell friends and potential new staff members about it too. Workboard is offering a good and, you guessed it, online objectives and key results platform to track and observe your business endeavors—check them out.
Today’s World
Of course, it’s been mentioned enough times already, but don’t forget about the pandemic. The last thing you’ll want for your growing brand is to be known for all of the wrong reasons. Keep to the CDC guidelines for restaurants and bars, and stay safe in uncertain times for guaranteed prosperous ones.
