Tag Archives: recovery

THE THIRD WAVE OF THE PANDEMIC is spreading faster than ever in most states, and restaurants and bars are again being shuttered. Those who survived the summer though, have learned to be tough and are largely surviving.

RESTAURANTS

Takeout and delivery were at an all-time high this summer and, as we head into mid-autumn, that trend has skyrocketed: Searches for takeout and delivery have doubled! In particular, bundles with family-friendly fare are wildly out-performing. While customers still expect customization, they’re also appreciating the ability to buy a package deal. When people are stressed, removing choices is an attractive proposition.

QR codes have become ubiquitous sights at many restaurants who are looking to minimize physical contact between guests and servers. Restaurants that aren’t currently also using the QR code to collect emails, feedback, and reviews should add those immediately. The largest opportunity that restaurants are missing out on the rich data available to them using QR codes. Never before have guests been so willing to hand over personal information. Just as online retailers use orders to customize their marketing, restaurants need to learn as well. Simple segmenting can also help: lunch, dinner, family, alcohol, etc. make it easy to craft relevant messages.

Restaurants that have lines built up in waiting areas or where guests have their temperature checked are rethinking the host stand. Not only is it critical for safety reasons to have someone prevent close contact, but it can be a pleasant experience that sets the tone for the meal. Complimentary beverages, plants, music, shade/heaters, blankets, and distanced seating set the stage for a pleasant meal, keep guests and staff safe, and are a wonderful opportunity to upsell alcohol and dessert.

COVID RESOURCES

Updates on COVID are largely ignored on BID’s websites, but roundups that mix businesses with attractions are performing significantly better than last year. You can use analytics to decide what your audience is interested in… or you can just ask them. Make a habit of using social media to engage your audience and ask them what questions they have or what they’re looking for, then reply with a longer post later in the week. People are eager to communicate right now and everyone loves to feel heard.

WARM UP

Temperatures are dropping and people aren’t as eager to go outside. It’s not just a public health hazard: it also affects businesses with outdoor seating. We’re seeing branded blankets everywhere. It’s a costly investment, but organizing an order for your merchants can keep costs manageable. Better lighting public lighting and music can also help people feel warmer.

BLACK FRIDAYS

Retailers are counting on ecommerce, but they’ll still need to get creative with their in-store experience. Many retailers are reaching out to their customers to offer “reservations” for busy shopping days, either complimentary or by including the offer with gift cards. This strategy can work especially well when coordinated with restaurants; BIDS are well-positioned to help coordinate. Because retailers know exactly how many people to expect, they can manage labor costs and even offer extended hours without breaking the bank. Experiences are also easier when shops are reserved. Whether that means inviting people to watch as products are made, taking the time to wrap gifts, sharing stories, making personal shoppers available, upselling gift cards, or even just putting out a plate of cookies, a managed stream of shoppers makes experiences extra special.

THE PANDEMIC ISN’T GOING AWAY any time soon, but there are bright spots among the gloom… and we’re seeing more opportunities than when this began.

RESTAURANTS: NOW OR NEVER

With the experiments taking place in each state, we now know that most restaurants that closed due to COVID-19 will never reopen. We’ve also learned how to help them stay open- and districts can play a major role. A recent Restaurant Week in Norfolk, VA that featured dine-in, takeout, and delivery options was more successful than their traditional restaurant weeks, with more restaurants reporting a better experience and more sales, and traffic and engagement at year-long highs. Most impressively, they did it with a small fraction of the budget of previous Restaurant Weeks. By utilizing social media ads, Norfolk took advantage of the extra time people are spending online; especially families whose kids are attending school from home.

Elsewhere, while delivery services have largely remained steady throughout the summer, curbside pickup is continuing to grow. Not only do curbside guests tend to spend more, they also save the restaurant money by skipping expensive delivery services. More and more, guests are choosing pickup for the experience of seeing other people. The most innovative restaurants are creating an enjoyable experience at the curb, adding planters, shade, drinks, music, and more. Many downtowns have supported parklets to create additional space for dining; restaurants that only offer pickup can benefit from similar programs.

Restaurants that previously didn’t offer pickup are having the greatest success with family-style packages, as well as kids menus and the customization diners expect at a restaurant. On weekends, many mid-range restaurants (that also offer alcohol) are making nearly as much as last year.

ONLINE DIRECTORIES

More cities are experiencing changes to reopening phases that are different from their state. With more people traveling for work and school, districts need to ensure that visitors have up-to-date information. Districts that have consistently maintained directories over the summer are seeing significant increases in traffic; in many cases, more than any time outside of the holidays. Updated directories only work if people know they’re current; use bold graphics with the dates you update the page so people know they can rely on you- they’ll keep coming back.

TOURISM

Global tourism has been devastated by COVID, but local and regional tourism aren’t so dire. If anything, there may be a slightly longer leisure tourism season as we head into fall. Savvy districts are focusing their efforts on visitors within four hour drives who want to get out and go shopping. Districts with historic sights or large outdoor attractions are also successfully bringing in families from the suburbs who need a change of scenery; small “study areas” with wifi are starting to pop up.

HOLIDAY COMMERCE

More than 40% of Americans have shopped at a new store online since the beginning of closures, and they’re placing order 40% earlier. Your retailers should already be online, but they should also be prepared for an earlier holiday sales season. Help your retailers by coordinating a holiday shopping campaign ready to go in October rather than November. Offering free/reduced photography sessions, gift guides, advertising support, and tech support can all benefit your district as a whole. There’s also an increased interest from people interested in popup concepts; with jobs in flux and extra vacancy, people are ready to pursue their dreams.

RECORD-SETTING ECONOMIC CONTRACTION in Q3 and growing unemployment numbers have taken the wind out of our summer recovery sails. Still, there are encouraging signs that carefully directing our resources can keep our downtowns growing.

RETURN TO WORK

When most office workers moved to work from home, many of the small businesses that served them shuttered during the day, from coffee shops to restaurants to professional services. Many of the largest Fortune 500 companies are extending their work-from-home policy through 2021, but many state and federal government employees are returning to the office. Mid-size offices are also coming back online at an increasing rate, but with new patterns: many businesses are staggering starting hours, flexible four-day work weeks, and relying on even more contractors than before. It’s been a long time since many of these people have been downtown and a lot has changed. Treat these workers as if they’re brand new to downtown. For example:

• Launch your new brand campaign now. Things have changed- embrace the change and make it fresh. Be sure to integrate a safety campaign.
• Continue your relaxed signage restrictions and increase wayfinding so employees can find businesses to support.
• Provide extra outdoor seating throughout downtown to encourage employees to eat outside. Consider branding or sponsorship opportunities with benches.
• Send an eblast once a week that’s hyper-targeted to downtown employees. Don’t include anything extraneous. Even if the list is small, word travels fast in an office.
• Switch up your swag. Branded paper napkins can be distributed to restaurants for delivery, towelettes can be provided next to parking meters and traffic lights, spray bottles can be kept next to seating areas.

SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION

“Link juice” is the idea that a popular web page passes on some of its prestige to other pages linked to it. It’s one of the great principles of the internet, and Google has just declared it dead. As we all create new content for these new times, focus on making it as easy to use as possible and stop trying to force it to work with your most popular pages.

TOURISM

Travel during the Fourth of July was higher than last year, and that trend is continuing. Traffic to business’ sites is slowly on the rise. The most successful strategy for businesses that serve visitors is to expand the radius of the marketing. For downtowns, create content for visitors like “locals favorite ice cream” or “the best regional dish you can only get here”. We’re seeing exceptional returns for small businesses whose districts are employing this approach.

EARLY BIRDS

People are popping in and out of their homes as infection rates and the economy changes. Downtowns that are investing in geo-located ad campaigns are seeing strong returns. By only targeting people who are willing to come out early, the campaign can pay for itself. As an additional bonus, it’s one more tool to use to track your recovery.

RESTAURANTS

Restaurants that are determined to stay open through rollbacks need to adapt to stay at capacity. Innovative restaurants are combining reservations and restaurant pagers. Guests are given a suggested timeframe, then their phone alerts them of their assigned time and when to leave home. This method reduces crowds of lines out front while filling slower hours. Yelp currently offers the best version of this technology we’ve seen.

STATES ARE REOPENING AND CLOSING, experiencing sharp spikes in cases and dramatic declines… but there are some trends that will affect downtowns nationwide.

TOURISM

Summer is the busy season for many downtowns and, for many small- and mid-size towns, the number of tourists is likely to reach the same numbers as 2019. Especially for coastal towns and those with natural beauty, the tourist season just seems to be starting a month late. People are still planning vacations as much as they did last year, but they’re staying closer to home and staying at rentals. It’s not good news for our hotels, but restaurants and shopping districts can still pick up some visitors if they widen the radius of their marketing.

RESTAURANTS

Restaurants enjoyed a major spike in traffic and revenue in late May, even in states that hadn’t reopened. While revenue is holding steady at around 20-25% lower than last summer, restaurants are cautioned not to over-commit: Customers in their 20s and 30s are very quickly abandoning restaurants. While this may not be hitting everyone’s bottom line just yet, we expect to see dramatic declines in downtowns that rely on this demographic. For cities that rely on the summer season, plan to see revenue falling to the levels you saw just before and after the holidays.

EVENTS

People are looking for things to do and some of them are starting to look for events again. Boomers in particular are keen to get out. Unlike most summers, interest isn’t spiking on the weekends: most people are planning further ahead. As you start to plan events again, give people a little more lead time instead of ramping up three days ahead.

ONLINE DIRECTORIES

Now that everyone is comfortable ordering and shopping online, people are becoming more discerning in their tastes. Large directories of restaurants and retail have been extremely effective up till now, but consumers are rapidly shifting back to searching for specific cuisines and dishes. If your site saw increases in traffic because of your directories, now is the time to add the ability to segment by cuisine and to create pages and blog posts along the lines of “our favorite ice cream/pizza/brunch/etc.”

Likewise, it’s time to dust off your event calendars and posts. Boomers are looking for events again and even families are starting to venture out. Focus on the best activities and events rather than every recurring meetup. For events that are online-only, work with your site developer to implement virtual events markup. This will tell search engines that an event is online-only and will help your events rise to the top of search results.

ONLINE RETAIL

The majority of small businesses have put off moving sales online. That strategy won’t be enough to keep them afloat this summer. In fact, many independent clothing retailers are seeing more sales this summer than last. Dozens of tools and services are now free for retailers, but they can still be overwhelming. The simplest solution is the new Facebook Shops. Business owners can create a free Shop as easily as they can post on Facebook, and the results have been extraordinary thanks to Facebook’s knowledge of their audience. Businesses that want to go a little further are also encouraged to check out the free Google Shopping platform. It’s easy to list products for sale, and Google will help by showing local ads to locals first. This is the first time local retailers have really been able to compete with the big box stores online.