Communication is Key During a Crisis

The outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has caused an unprecedented situation for the restaurant industry. Business owners are grappling to deal with the crisis. In an article recently published by Restaurant Hospitality, author Gloria Dawson has culled advice from a number of industry experts.

The most frequently cited item is simple: restaurants need to focus on communication. It appears frequently throughout this list of tips from industry insiders. Here is what they recommend:

• Use the situation to differentiate your business and brand.
• Regardless of how your business is responding to the crisis, keep channels of communication with your customers open.
• Cultivate trust by increasing safety measures (and their visibility).
• State the obvious: let your customers know that your team is regularly washing their hands and sanitizing equipment.
• Make a game plan for when business begins to return to normal. A lot of important events have been canceled but may be rescheduled—be proactive about pursuing event opportunities.
• Be transparent about how you are working to maintain employee and product quality.
• Communicate how your priorities in this situation align with your customers’ values.

For more details, click here to visit Restaurant Hospitality and read the article in full.