Nobody could deny the fact that time is challenging for the Restaurant & food industry. The coronavirus has made the future look bleak for the food & travel industry. It is not quite bright for other industries as well but the food & travel industry has suffered a lot in the last two years. The indefinite lockdown & uncertainty among the travelers & people who love to hang out with their pals and families in restaurants has compelled restaurant owners to cut down on their expenses and lay off their staff. The impact of Coronavirus is such that no restaurant owner is ready to invest in their business. They all are in the waiting mode and most of them have put hold on their online marketing as well. However, they should not put hold of it as they have only this tool to enhance the footfall and their orders. Content Marketing has become the need of the hour, especially for restaurant owners. In fact, content marketing can prove to be the most effective way to keep your brand alive in the minds of customers. For example, suppose if you are running a restaurant in Dubai and as we know there are several indian restaurants in Dubai. So during these tough times, how can you reach out effectively to your customers and keep your brand alive in their memories. It will be only possible through an effective content marketing campaign. 

Here we are going to share with you 3 benefits of Content Marketing for restaurants to keep their brand alive during these tough times.

1) Content Marketing is Affordable than Other Forms of Marketing: When your business is struggling, costs need to be curtailed down. So if you are considering cutting down on your marketing budget, then we will advise you to stop Offline marketing such as billboard placement, radio, pamphlet distribution. As these are costlier forms of marketing, so you can shift towards Inbound marketing and what could be better than content marketing. According to a recent survey an average individual spends 145 minutes on various social media platforms. Content marketing is relatively cheap and you can reach out to your targeted customers through Facebook, Instagram or your blog- All it takes is time, creativity and decent writing skills. Moreover, if you do have a certain budget, then paid advertisements on Facebook and Instagram can help you enhance your reach.

2. It helps your business connect authentically with customers: The right approach of marketing right now would be to show empathy and care for your customers who are struggling every day during this crisis. The brands who are aggressively selling at this time are facing the music as people are not ready for this type of marketing approach. So we will suggest you to show empathy, support and care towards your customers to regain their trust. They need to feel that you are with them during this crisis. Take the time to understand the challenges your customer is facing and try to align it with your business. Engaging them on a regular basis through your blog, newsletter and social media channels will give you an edge over your competitors.

  3) It’s a great way for restaurants to communicate, entertain, uplift: Content marketing is endlessly versatile, providing you an opportunity to frequently communicate with your customers. However, it does not mean that you should start spamming your customers’ inbox, timeline with spam. Although, you can use this as an opportunity to win the trust of your customers. You can share update about your restaurant and community- talking about customer experience, safety precautions that you take while preparing food & delivering, new menus you are testing or any good work that you are doing to support the local communities. 

The Value of Content Marketing for Restaurants: Content marketing is an important weapon for restaurants to survive during these tough times. It can prove efficient for restaurants to connect and grow their business. You can see a great improvement in your sales by following the right content marketing strategy and staying true to your brand values.