Blog

With Covid cases rising across the US, it’s clear that many restaurants will face another round of dining room closures. During the summer months, restaurants found new ways to expand offerings, like outdoor seating and contactless dining; but colder weather will render outdoor seating impossible across much of the country. Even in warmer climates, on-premises dining may be prohibited as the nation weathers a second wave of infections. 

Since the pandemic truly took hold in March, our clients have been trying out new ideas and learning how to transform their businesses to handle the next wave. The restaurant industry has a huge impact on employment in the US. In New York City alone, the introduction of outdoor dining added as many as 83,000 jobs after the initial layoffs in April. The threat of these jobs going away again will have a huge impact on restaurants and employees in the near-term. 

Here are 5 things we learned about how to retain business during a slowdown in on-premises dining: 

[…]

Subscriptions can be a boon to your bottom line, thanks to benefits like increased customer loyalty and higher per-customer purchase amounts, but if you don’t have the right technology to streamline it, achieving those advantages can become an ongoing headache.  

In the same way that subscriptions can be tailored to each restaurant or c-store customer base, technology must be flexible enough to accommodate additions and modifications, like adding referral bonuses, sending membership prompts about renewals, swapping out perks, and other features.  

[…]

Given the potentially meaningful return on investment you can see with subscription programs, it makes sense to want to jump in with gusto. But what exactly does that entail? 

As we’ve covered in a previous blog post, there are several different models when it comes to subscription-based services, but those are only starting points. Like loyalty programs, subscriptions are completely customizable based on your restaurant or c-stores and its customers. 

Whether launching a subscription program for the first time or freshening up an existing one, here are some ideas that can set you apart from the competition: […]

This has been a year of rapid change: restaurants and convenience stores alike were forced to make quick pivots in how they approach guest engagement, technology, and business operations.

During times of tumultuous change, solid brand leadership becomes even more critical to success. During PXUX 2020, Chief Executive of Market Platform Dynamics Karen Webster led a panel of other chief executives in conversation about how the hospitality and convenience landscapes have changed over the past few months, and how they’ve positioned their brands to weather the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Speaking about their brands’ strategies were: 

• Gus Olympidis, CEO, Family Express
• Simon Richards, CEO,  Thorntons
• Ray Wiley, founder, Hot Head Burritos and Rapid Fired Pizza
• Ryan Dion, CEO, 110 Grill Restaurant Group
• Adam Halberg, CEO, Barcelona Wine Bar

These leaders described the ways they’ve led their brands through monumental changes this year, about the investments they’ve made that are already paying off, and about how they’re supporting their employees, an essential piece of the puzzle. The panel left attendees with five key takeaways:

1. Meet guests where they’re comfortable. Whether it’s understanding shifts in consumer behavior or using traditional loyalty channels, use technology to create multiple opportunities for the guests to engage with the brand. 
2. Create technology ecosystems, not silos. Consumer preference and public health guidelines shift rapidly, so the guest-facing technology will need to keep pace. Ensure each piece of technology, from fuel pumps to mobile apps, works together to adapt to this changing environment. 

For the remaining three takeaways, download your free infographic here.