From the definition of cleanliness to the need for hyper customization to the rise of convenience culture, the COVID-19 pandemic has recalibrated consumers’ expectations around their dining experiences.
But while the pace of change has no doubt resulted in a tumultuous year and a half, many forward-thinking restaurant brands have successfully adapted to meet guests’ high expectations in order to thrive during the pandemic — and hopefully long after it’s gone.
Here’s how restaurants are tackling four key consumer demands that have seen massive change during the pandemic.
Cleanliness: Safety first
If there’s one thing that majorly shifted during the pandemic — besides the price of chicken wings and to-go packaging— it was consumers’ expectations around cleanliness and safety.
“QR codes, safety lids, Lysol spray — it’s so much more than that,” said Aaron Allen, founder and chief strategist of global restaurant consulting firm Aaron Allen & Associates.
Now more than ever, Allen said, brands need to look through the lens of all of these points of contact and make improvements — quickly.
Vancouver, Wash.-based take-and-bake pizza chain Papa Murphy’s is among the brands that have been successful at pivoting on this issue. Shauna Walker, Papa Murphy’s senior vice president of franchise performance and engagement, said it was a result of paying close attention to what customers wanted.
While the pizza chain has always been pick-up only, the pandemic pushed the brand to add quick-pickup stations in stores and to launch online ordering and third-party delivery.
“Today, consumers want to pay, place orders and receive orders in a very different way than we were accustomed to,” said Walker.
Though the chain’s business model of take and bake at home has a built-in sense of quality and safety, it was no longer enough for consumers, so Papa Murphy’s layered on additional, more visible, safety measures, such as in-store sanitation stations and tamper-resistant packaging.
“It’s been a year of change,” said Walker. “We’ve been quick to adapt and elevate everything around that heightened guest experience, cleanliness.”
Similarly, Culver’s, the Sauk City, Wis.-based fast-casual burger chain, quickly evolved to meet customers’ new demands around safety, cleanliness and convenience by launching online ordering, delivery and curbside pickup, and adding a new double drive-thru, as well as options for drive-thru line busting and outside order-taking that uses a contactless credit card payment device.
“[Our customers] know that every time they visit our restaurant, they are going to enjoy that fresh, never frozen beef when they bite into their ButterBurger,” said Dale Ballweg, Culver’s vice president of operations. “And most importantly, they want this delivered to them safely.”
He added, “As long as we consistently deliver Culver’s exceptional service and high-quality food that our guests have come to expect, they will keep returning, pandemic or not.”
“[Our customers] know that every time they visit our restaurant, they are going to enjoy that fresh, never frozen beef when they bite into their ButterBurger,” said Dale Ballweg, Culver’s vice president of operations
Quality: From boring to bold
The monotony of pandemic life left many consumers less satisfied with the everyday, and increasingly craving bold flavors and entertaining experiences.
“We really took advantage of our messaging, as well as hacks,” said Kim McBee, senior vice president of guest experience and brand marketing at Papa Murphy’s.
Among those “hacks” are innovations culled from user-generated content on the chain’s social media channels. For example, the chain had success promoting how to roll dough to make pizza pinwheels, how to grill pizza and how to create star-shaped pizza bites with cookie cutters.
“It’s about allowing you to have fun with your food, play with your food,” said McBee.
According to McBee, these hacks have been some of the pizza chain’s best-performing, most-engaged-with social media spots.
Meanwhile, San Antonio, Tex.-based Whataburger is creating craveability with bold flavors and fresh takes on its standards.
“We meet that demand with limited-time offers introduced quarterly, and including the best of those offerings as All-Time Favorites to our regular menu,” said Rich Scheffler, Whataburger senior vice president and chief marketing officer.
For example, for the fourth quarter the burger chain is bringing back its Green Chile Bacon Burger and introducing new Hatch Green Chile Bacon chicken sandwiches. Whataburger will also appeal to night owls and early birds with the return of its popular Breakfast Burger, and for dessert or a snack, it’s launching a Chocolate Mint Shake for a limited time.
While these approaches are different, foodservice experts say one factor these successful brands have in common as they drive toward higher-quality offerings is their limited menus.
“A simple concept with a limited menu [is the solution],” said Dean Small, founder and CEO of Synergy Restaurant Consultants. “It’s a lot easier to be focused, to train [employees].”
Convenience: A convenient culture
The meteoric rise of convenience culture forced many operators to make dramatic changes to their business models over the last 18 months. Restaurant brands that will survive going forward will need to accept — and continue to adapt — to the fact that consumers have no intention of going back to the old ways.
“When you’ve had it easy, you never want to have it any other way again,” Allen said of consumers’ changing expectations around convenience.
Not only do consumers want to continue having it “easy,” but they also want it faster than ever.
“How people order, and their experience of convenience, is off the charts,” said Papa Murphy’s McBee. “Consumers’ expectations are high [around] convenience — what, when, where and why they want it, quickly, and it better be good.”
She added, “That’s not going to change. It’s only going to get more competitive.”
Additionally, the speed at which operators make improvements is directly related to whether or not their business comes back, said Allen.
“[Brands] that decide to lead will be rewarded,” he said. “The laggards will be out of business.”
Value: Emotional rescue
Whether financially flush or struggling, consumers continue to be more cost-conscious. That’s made the value of their restaurant purchases more critical than ever.
Restaurant loyalty apps have become a key way restaurants offer value while also complementing the convenience culture. But to stand out among the competition, experts said, operators need to offer far more than hot deals and deep discounts.
“Consumers want to feel emotionally connected to the brand,” said Synergy Restaurant Consultants’ Small. “[They] want a little love, some recognition.”
Whataburger is among the brands that amped up its app in an effort to make more customer connections.
“We’ve evolved our app from being a sales channel broadcasting offers to a loyalty program that personalizes interactions,” said Scheffler.
This shift has led to a more than doubling of loyalty subscribers in the past 18 months. Additionally, the chain reports that Whataburger’s app users have higher overall satisfaction, order more frequently, and have higher check averages than customers in any other channel.
“It’s clear that guests value the new app features [and] pickup and delivery options introduced during the pandemic,” said Scheffler. “We’ll continue to evolve our app where customers can order their favorites, customize pickup and delivery options and take time to develop their dream-burger build with all the options on display.
Shortly before the onset of the pandemic, White Castle launched Craver Nation, its first systemwide loyalty program with benefits that are customized to its users.
“During the pandemic, it heightened [consumers’] feelings of connection,” said Jamie Richardson, vice president at White Castle. “[We are all] craving comfort, things that make us feel good.”
The 100-year-old slider chain had anticipated its new app would have some positive impact on business, but it has been pleasantly surprised at the high performance so far.
“It’s done double what we expected around average check,” said Richardson.
But in these trying times, it’s not always about money or meals ordered. “It’s about life in general,” he said. “We think our role is to be there for our communities. It’s been a horrible time, but it’s been fun to be able to connect.”
Meeting consumers’ new expectations isn’t always easy or cheap. But taking care of their needs doesn’t have to be complicated. And there are plenty of things operators can do free of charge as a start.
“The best thing an operator can do — and it doesn’t cost a dime — is to learn their customers’ names … and use them,” said Small. “That goes a long way.”