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Adapting to a Changing Market: Tips for F&B Businesses
The food and beverage industry is among the hardest hit by the recent crisis. Restaurants and other industry players are working hard to survive the changing market, and there are some serious challenges to overcome.
For starters, businesses in this industry need to adopt a higher safety standard in order to protect customers and employees alike. At the same time, demand is shifting, and customer behaviour is changing.
So, how do you adapt to a changing market? We spoke to industry experts as well as seasoned players, and here are the top tips you can use right away.
Optimise for Safety
First, let’s start with the way restaurants and other establishments are set up. In the old days, restaurants were designed to maximise throughput, meaning that the space was utilised to accommodate as many customers as possible while maintaining a good flow.
That focus has shifted to a layout that best accommodates the safety expectations of customers. This has led to a serious reduction in capacity, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. With table and physical distancing in place, establishments can focus more on the customer dining experience.
Communicate Safety
Optimizing your business for safety is only the beginning. You also have to think about communicating the safety precautions you have taken, including the extra steps taken in the kitchen. Restaurant marketing needs to move away from promotional offers and more towards building relationships.
That’s the real challenge in today’s market. You have to take extra steps to make sure that customers understand how much you care. Relationship-building will be a key ingredient to ensuring business sustainability in the F&B industry.
Move to Deliveries
Of course, we also have to address the elephant in the room: customers are more likely to order food to be delivered than they are to dine out. This too is a change that your business needs to adapt to, either by setting up a delivery service or partnering with an existing service provider.
The latter is the simpler option of the two, but not always the most sustainable one in the long run. With deliveries becoming a key part of your business, outsourcing delivery entirely is not how you build an independent and robust business.
Better Payment Options
Going mobile means catering to customers’ mobile payment needs. Contactless payment is the best option, and you can let your customers use a card reader when they order. A card machine no longer relies on a landline to work, so you will have no trouble allowing customers to pay on the go.
UTP, a leading name in payment processing, has a capable mobile card reader with some key advantages. The company offers fast processing and fast settlement, party thanks to its partnership with Barclaycard.
Tighter Supply Chain
Last but not least, there is the challenge of ensuring a steady and safe supply of raw ingredients. You have to be more involved in ensuring a solid supply chain in order to protect the interests of your business. Fortunately, the rest of the industry – including the suppliers – is also doing the same thing.
With these tips in mind, adapting to the changing market becomes an easier task to complete. There will be a lot of changes to deal with, but you will have no trouble keeping your business growing by adapting to the new market.