I irrespective of where your brand was placed in the pre-pandemic consumer perception curve, the quest to earn back the loyalty of consumers will start from ground zero.” That’s Neha, Marketing Director, Pizza Hut India, talking about how the global pizza brand is reacting to a global health crisis within India.
“The big question is how we implement business models and communicate in a way that makes our customers feel safe, valued, and heard during this critical time and beyond,” she continues, opining, “The answer lies in understanding and responding to the changed priorities of consumers, ensuring that our communication is sincere and not superficial or tone deaf, and most importantly, proving that you as a brand have adapted to meet the new expectations, and new ideas that will define the meaning of trust for the consumers of tomorrow.” While the COVID-19 pandemic has sent businesses of every ilk scrambling, especially within the F&B industry, global players like Pizza Hut, McDonalds, and Dominos, as well as more localised brands like Barista have found themselves uniquely positioned to face the challenge. “In this pandemic, consumers will be more concerned about their safety and hygiene than ever before and it will become the biggest decision driver for eating out.
At the same time, economic repercussions of the pandemic will result in muted consumer spending for some time. Given this, customers will look out for hygienic, but value for money eating destinations – or what we refer to as ‘branded affordability’,” says Saurabh Kalra, Director-Strategy and Operations, McDonald’s India (West and South). He adds, “We are seeing this trend come to life as our drive-thru stores are already doing great business. In the next couple of months, as the paranoia subsides, offices and colleges start opening up and people start stepping out of home, we expect McDonald’s to become the customers’ go-to brand for dining, takeout as well as delivery.” At the same time, Dominos has introduced ‘Zero Contact Delivery’ across all its 1,325 restaurants in India.
This service will allow customers to receive their order without coming in contact with the delivery staff. This feature has been introduced as an additional precautionary measure to ensure the safety of both customers and the delivery staff. As Neha notes that consumers echoed in a relevant manner by brands they rely on. “We want consumers to protocols being followed by Pizza Hut.” Switching closer to our own shores, Rajat Agarwal, COO of home-grown brand Barista, which operates worldwide, says, “There are still many permutations and combinations that go into deciding whether you want a beverage or snack from outside. The only positive I see is that there will be a lot of impetus for organised players [name-recognition brands] as opposed to unorganised players [random restaurants]. We’ll see this in the next several months, where consumers will be more comfortable eating at known places, rather than risking unknown variables.” There is always, of course, that initial step of getting consumers back in the first place.
“We have equipped all our stores to offer Contactless Dining wherein right from accessing the menu to making payments, the entire process will be digital. Sanitisers have been installed at key touch points and ordering stations, and seating have been re-aligned to maintain social distancing norms. Store teams are sanitising kitchens and dining areas frequently,” says Neha. Kalra predicts that in the coming few months, customers will continue to be wary of stepping out in crowded places. “While they will crave their favourite food, they will be mindful of brands they engage with, and will look for quick, convenient and safe options to get food. So, going forward, driving assurance and convenience for our customers will remain the biggest area of focus for us. We will continue reassuring them of their safety by strengthening our health and hygiene practices,” says Kalra, adding, “We will also double down on our focus on contactless McDelivery and take out, and simultaneously launch contactless dine-in. We believe that our diversified real-estate portfolio distributed across high-streets, malls, standalone and drive-thrus gives us a unique competitive advantage and will prove to be a key lever of strength in the post- COVID new normal.” Are you ready for the new normal?