The importance of being able to adjust your business in real time – and how to tell your customers about it

Since January, we’ve been in a constant state of flux, with COVID-19 throwing all normalcy out the window. Just when we think we’ve got to grips with the latest set of restrictions and changes to business operations, a new curve ball’s thrown and we must adjust again.

The restrictions announced in Hong Kong this week are arguably the most stringent we’ve had and have dealt another blow to the already heavily impacted hospitality industry. With restaurants unable to run dine-in services from 6pm to 5am, my first thought was “which of my favourite establishments will be the first to close?”. But although I’m sure it’s been a struggle, I’ve been really impressed by how quickly eateries have taken on board the restrictions, adjusted and managed to communicate their updates to their loyal customers – something all industries can learn from!

A press conference was held at 8pm on Monday night announcing the new restrictions. Restaurants and F&B groups had less than 48 hours to get to grips with the revised capacities during breakfast and lunch service, and the fact they can only offer takeaway/delivery in the evening.

By Tuesday lunchtime, I received my first communication – from Pirata Group. Understanding their best bet for keeping customers coming to their restaurants was through their lunch service, they kept their promotion simple and unified across their four largest restaurants – “All Day Lunch, Drinks on Us!”. As we always stress, clarity should be the number one aim in comms and Pirata’s message is about as clear as it gets. But where this promotion really excels is in knowing their target market, namely the dedicated weekend brunch-lovers of this fair city. Pirata plants the tempting little thought that any day can be a long lunch day and throws in an offer. While I doubt the weekday crowd will be as rowdy as the weekend-goers, just the suggestion of this alternative is likely to see people booking.

Within an hour of pondering whether I can get to a Pirata restaurant for lunch in the next two weeks, Black Sheep Group were popping into my inbox with the very clever subject line “We’re still here, doing our thing”. The tone of Black Sheep’s email is so on brand – honest, clear and warm. Right in the first paragraph, they quash my grave concern that my favouite restaurants might be in danger of closing down:

What. A. Year. We have had to make a lot of very difficult decisions, choosing to keep the restaurants open while knowing the risks for our teams is something we have struggled with every day, but with the new government-mandated regulations, the decision has been taken out of our hands. While our opening hours have been restricted, our passion for hospitality has not.

Their tone is so personable and so heart-felt that I immediately want to read on to see what they’re doing to keep business going and how I can support them.

And just as I’m trying to figure out which three friends to lunch with, along comes JIA Group with another approach. Rather than trying to fill their restaurants (to 50% capacity) at lunchtime, they opted to focus on filling the evening dining void by bringing your favourites to the comfort of your own home, with the added bonus of 10% off. While the offer itself is a tried and tested way to get short-term business, what I really liked about their communication was the headline “JIA Everywhere”. In a time of restrictions and considering every move carefully, it sounds like freedom. JIA will come to you, wherever you are. And they made it that little more personal with the tagline “Delivering from our kitchen to your home.” Who isn’t that going to appeal to!!?

None of these promotions or communications are ground-breaking. But these businesses took less than 24 hours to figure out the logistics, get their staff up to speed and send customer comms that were clear, on brand and tailored for their target market. So next time you’re thinking about your upcoming Mid-Autumn Festival, Christmas or CNY promotion, consider the fact you might not need months to prepare. All you need is a compelling reason for a customer to want to engage and a good copywriter, and the first draft will be ready in no time.

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Do you have an upcoming promotion you’d like communications support for? Get in touch today and find out how The Giles Agency could be the right partner for you: enquires.hk@gilesagency.com