When it comes to the subject of the global economy, food remains the top contributor – with or without a pandemic.
Unfortunately, the food sector was not safe from the once-in-a-lifetime global health event that is COVID-19, and also took a major hit during recent years. Plus, with the unpredictability of – well, everything – restaurants are having a hard time shifting back to in-person service.
But if you’re one of those few lucky and successful ones, accept our congratulations on overcoming this giant hurdle. Those who are on their way to doing so, we wish you all the best. Know that we truly believe in you to finally bring about a sense of normalcy in our society once more.
Now, we’re not trying to burst your bubble or be a party pooper here, but reopening a restaurant isn’t as straightforward as it seems. SOPs and safety policies aside, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of marketing, branding and promotional campaigns.
Let’s talk about the details.
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Absolutely! As more and more people become restless and accustomed to the idea that they will have to navigate their lives around COVID-19 instead of avoiding it completely, restaurants remain that number one place people would flock to. Guaranteed.
After all, many of us miss our chats with friends over coffee or lunch, or just the idea of dressing up and going out somewhere. While ordering in is extremely convenient these days, people are looking for an opportunity to eat out whenever they can.
So if your restaurant can provide that drive and excitement, you should definitely take advantage of it.
However, you shouldn’t forget one crucial detail here (aside from the fact that your restaurant is ready to welcome diners): your restaurant is SOP-compliant, safe and hygienic, and this must be communicated effectively to your customers to instill confidence.
On top of that, you’ll also need to think about exciting offers that would convince your customers to leave their house and check out your restaurant. It could be new menus, amazing discounts and more – that’s totally up to you.
The point is, it all needs to be communicated through ads, posters, social media, your website and more.
Image: Pexels
Not to demotivate you or anything, but hundreds of other restaurants are also in the midst of planning or executing their reopening at this moment.
No matter how big or small they are, they’re all vying for the same thing: the customer’s attention and appetite.
This means that you need to double down on your promotional efforts and stand out among the sea of restaurateurs all aiming to entice customers.
The experienced team of graphic designers at Brandripe are more than happy to discuss ideas with you and even execute them, but for now, let’s first talk about how to start your promotional efforts.
The general rule is usually “less is more”, but not when it comes to letting everyone know about something so important such as your restaurant’s reopening.
Now’s your chance to bombard your customers (old and potential new ones) about this big event – on Instagram, Facebook, billboards and even newspapers and flyers. Try your best to get this news out there through as many avenues as possible.
Brandripe tip: You know by now that humans are visual creatures, so it’s best to keep your visuals – wherever they may appear – minimal yet appealing. This means letting your logo and colours shine through and keeping text to a minimum.
Imagine you’re driving by a whole block of restaurants and deciding which one to go to. Chances are, you might want to opt for the one with the brightest, most attractive sign, and an amazing-looking storefront to match.
If your signage and storefront seem like they have seen brighter days since the pandemic, it may be worth considering a visual overhaul.
Then again, we understand that the pandemic has been rough on businesses, so only do this if this is something you can afford or want to invest in.
Brandripe tip: There’s no harm in putting up some COVID-related posters, guidelines and so on and so forth. This will also help to send the message that you’re taking safety very seriously in your reopened establishment.
With more and more people being stuck at home and working remotely, you have yourself a captive audience on social media. This means that it’s time to bring out the big guns when it comes to revamping your Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other platforms on which your business has a presence.
But we don’t mean just pushing out a poster announcing your reopening. We mean changing your cover image, profile photo and whatever collateral you may have on there to reflect the news.
This is also a good opportunity to attract customers with a sneak peek of a new menu, discounts or even the revamped layout (if applicable). Show your customers exactly what they are missing out on, and before you know it, reopening day would be fully booked!
Brandripe tip: Though it may be tempting to write paragraphs about what customers should and can expect when they dine in, try to opt for visuals that will do all the talking (and typing) for you.
Image: Pexels
If you have listed your restaurant on other third-party platforms like Yelp, Trip Advisor or anything similar, do take the time to update all your images and announcements there too.
Most importantly, don’t forget to update your Google listing with your revised hours, menu and pictures – since people are more likely to come across your restaurant on Google.
Brandripe tip: It’s always a good idea to get new photographs of the restaurants, as this will show the customers how serious you are about welcoming them back and keeping them safe. What’s even better is if you can edit and brand your images while you’re at it. If you’re unsure of how to do this, the team at Brandripe can help.
We mentioned updating your restaurant’s listings on other websites and on Google, but this must be followed by an update to your website as well.
Since most of these platforms (even Google) have a toggle that will allow users to be redirected to your restaurant’s website, this step should not be neglected.
Could you imagine being led to a website that looks run-down and outdated? Nothing would kill the customer’s desire faster than that!
Brandripe tip: Be sure to update your banners with the announcement and put up new photos of the restaurant. If you’re unsure about how to communicate all these things on a website banner, feel free to reach out to the Brandripe team.
Now, this step is totally optional but would work best if your restaurant already operates solely for takeaways or drive-throughs at the moment. In fact, your packaging could be one of the best ways to advertise and announce your restaurant’s reopening.
You could entertain the idea of redesigning the labels, wrapping and packaging of your meals to reflect your message. There’s no way that your customers would miss such an announcement – especially if it’s that one thing they have to see before digging in.
Brandripe tip: You can try a truly unique, repurposable packaging that can make for Instagram-worthy shots, which in turn, can help you spread the word organically. Talk to us for more ideas!
Image: Pexels
We understand that organising and planning for a restaurant reopening is no easy task. There are simply too many things to pore over such as sanitisation, change of layout, reshuffling of furniture and government regulations.
This could mean that the actual announcement may be left to the very end and executed very hurriedly.
But let us just tell you that most of the success of the reopening relies – very heavily – on how much effort you’re putting into marketing and promoting. The buzz is worth creating especially for such a major event, and you wouldn’t want all your effort and hard work to fall flat.
On that note, you’ll need a creative partner that can really take the reins where all of this is concerned. We here at Brandripe are ready to take this on, as our highly experienced team of graphic designers can help ideate and execute everything that you may need for a successful restaurant reopening, such as brochures, flyers, ads, social media collateral and more.
Leave it to us, so you can focus on the nitty-gritty of your restaurant’s big day by checking off “marketing and campaign materials” on your list.
Working ahead of time? That’s not a problem for us, as you can engage our services for a flat fee every month. Working on a short deadline? That’s not a problem for us too, as we guarantee a 24- to 48-hour turnaround time.
Both options require no contract, hidden fees or costs or HR work, so all you need to do is contact us at hi@brandripe.com, chat with us on our main page, or better yet, schedule a 15-minute VIP Demo Call with us so we can get right to it!
