Following the second wave of Covid-19 and the confinement that has heavily impacted the catering sector, the Belgian government is planning to reopen restaurants soon. To get your restaurant ready for reopening, we’ve compiled a list of key actions and tips for you.
Let’s start with the beginning ! Here is a handy checklist to prepare you to welcome customers back to your establishment:
- Be sure to order masks, hydroalcoholic gel or plexiglass walls if you plan to use them
- Start ordering your dry ingredients to replenish your stocks
- Simplify your menu to make it easier to manage your restaurant
- Build easy-to-prepare recipes if you have fewer employees when restarting your business
- Estimate the number of employees you will need for lunch and dinner (taking into consideration that many employees continue to work from home, which means that your activity may be lower than before at lunch)
Is your restaurant reopening its doors soon?
Here’s a quick checklist to help you update your restaurant profile on TheFork Manager and get ready to receive reservations again!
- Update your calendar and opening hours according to your new availability so that your customers know when your establishment is open or not
- If you have any, upload your Christmas and New Year’s Eve menus to inform and engage TheFork users
- Consider updating your set menu and a la carte menu
- Make sure to update your stocks to comply with Covid-related legislation
- Indicate the number of guests according to government restrictions
- Display your Covid Badge on your TheFork profile to show users that you comply with Covid security measures.
- If you have a terrace, prepare it and add it to your floor plan to be able to receive your customers there.
- Manage and improve your online reputation. Processing all your ratings and comments and taking care of your social networks are key elements in giving your establishment a good reputation online.
- Customers can’t wait to get back to the restaurant! Update your photos , especially those presenting your dishes, in order to attract the attention of users and encourage them to book.
- Communicate on social networks about the reopening of your restaurant and plan dedicated CRM and SMS campaigns
- Update your Google MyBusiness profile to ensure users are notified when your restaurant reopens
Use useful marketing levers to get more bookings
Bet on social networks
Did you know that TheFork’s partner restaurants now benefit from a free reservation widget to install on their social media page to get more reservations? With just a few clicks, you can install TheFork reservation widget on your restaurant’s Facebook and Instagram pages to get more reservations.
Learn more about this feature here
Rely on the TheFork loyalty program
If you’re not already part of TheFork loyalty program, it’s time to sign up and take advantage of it to attract more customers and keep them coming back. Learn more here.
Offer discounts
To improve footfall in your restaurant, look to special offers to increase reservations during off-peak hours to ensure good footfall and generate revenue throughout the day.
Communicate better with your customers
The PRO and PRO+ versions of TheFork Manager allow you to build your customer database and prepare email and SMS campaigns to announce your restaurant’s reopening and special offer. Access to the premium software is free for 6 months if you register before February 2021. Don’t miss this opportunity to grow your business!
In order to revive your activity more quickly, we have also prepared some tips to help you diversify your offer and generate revenue throughout the day. Learn more here.