Under the current circumstances, consumers’ needs and behaviours are changing rapidly.
This especially applies to food demand. The situation requires a different approach to the usual way of doing business. In this article, you will find a handful of aspects you can take into consideration to continues business while facing covid-19.
Optimize in-store management
Adapt Opening hours
Making sure your shop is open, clean and stocked can be a demanding task these days.
To keep your service up and running, consider rearranging your opening hours to allow yourself sufficient time to follow up on hygiene measures, restock and keep your team members healthy as well.
Analyze your product range
Take a thorough look at your product range, taking into account how your customers’ buying behaviours have changed since the beginning of the outbreak. Check what changes you can make to meet these needs.
At the same time, you may also want to minimize your usual bread range to stay focused and keep your services up.
Foresee loyalty cards
Selling loyalty cards (aka. punch cards) will offer your customers a safe way to handle purchase in the future as allow less money handling while supporting their favourite local business.
For you this means repeated visits which will keep the cashflow going. To make it even more attractive, you can think of an incentive. This could be a discount or a free product when they use the gift card at a later stage.
Pick-up and delivery at home
Offer your customers the possibility to order and pick-up at their convenience or to have their order delivered at home. Apart from servicing your customers by being able to order 24/7, online ordering will make it easier for you to manage orders and react to customer demand.
Furthermore, customers do not need to queue. They then show the order number, collect their goods in a timely manner and all payments are managed digitally, which will help in maintaining hygiene measures and social distancing.
Interested in such a service? Note that you can create your webshop for free, no strings attached, with Bakeronline, a technology that allows bakeries to create a personalized webshop where consumers can easily order.
If you start offering home delivery, review and communicate your health and safety measures accordingly.
This may include the delivery person not to enter the house and leaving the order at the door.
Communicate. Openly and honestly.
Be open and transparent
These are extremely uncertain and - for some even anxious - times. You can help your customers by being open and honest in your communication. More than ever, it is essential to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and try to understand what type of information they are seeking. You can think of:
- Hygiene and safety measures
- Availability of products
- Adapted product range
- Additional services
- Changed opening hours
Keep in touch
While social distancing is diminishing contact, find other ways to connect to your customers. To keep them informed, make sure your company website and Facebook page are updated regularly.
To open up to your customers’ questions and ideas, you may offer communication by using WhatsApp for Business or Facebook live. If you choose to do so, please be aware that messages should be handled adequately.
Of course, you and your staff members know your customers the best. Team up and start thinking out of the box to generate creative ideas to adapt your services even more and please share with us to update this list. #sharingiscaring
More about how Puratos is facing COVID-19
As goes for everyone, at Puratos, the health emergency caused by Coronavirus is having a significant impact on our work and our daily lives.
We would like to inform you that, in full compliance with local authority guidelines around the world, Puratos has taken all the internal measures necessary to strengthen the health and safety of our employees and business partners, as well as to continue to ensure the production and supply of our products to all our customers.
If you have any questions, please visit our website or contact your local Puratos representative.
This article is based on current available information and will be updated accordingly.
