For any business, the key thing to take into consideration is profitability. This is what businesses need to start from when deciding on which aspects to focus on. The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has created many problems for the catering industry. Institutions are forced to close, send employees on unpaid leave, idle time, or reduce staff. Prevention requires measures to improve key indicators such as retention, ethics and social responsibility, and organizational change and development.
One of the most critical things in customer retention is paying attention to their opinions about the business. It is necessary to organize the process of receiving customer feedback and sharing this information with the rest of the organization (Lee et al., 2020). This is where the customer feedback loop provides a system for collecting, analyzing, and distributing customer feedback and surveys. Valuable data received from customers may include product reviews and compliance with pandemic safety measures. Once the data is collected, it is essential to analyze the results by looking at trends in customer behavior and areas to improve the user experience.
One of the forms of organizational changes and development can be the introduction of the “takeaway” format. This does not require additional investment, but it can reduce the flow of customers. To avoid this problem, a social network page can be created (Brewer & Sebby, 2021). Through it, the business can quickly communicate with the audience and quickly report on delivery and pickup rules. Thus, an additional flow of customers is provided, and regular customers will be able to find out information online.
To conclude, it is essential to note that the essential condition for the effectiveness of the restaurant business is the requirement to follow social responsibility and listen to the urgent needs of various categories of the population. Without observing this peculiar balance between economic interests and social priorities, the effectiveness of any business activity in the consumer market becomes unsuccessful. The measures applied in this case can be, as well as takeaway trade, the organization of terraces, or the opening of a restaurant with the observance of the rules of social distance.
References
Brewer, P., & Sebby, A. G. (2021). The effect of online restaurant menus on consumers’ purchase intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 94.
Lee, S., Han, H., Radic, A., & Tariq, B. (2020). Corporate social responsibility (CSR) as a customer satisfaction and retention strategy in the chain restaurant sector. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 45, 348-358.