Extending your brand standards to doorstep delivery
Brand Standards are important and powerful tools in ensuring that your restaurant, pub, bar or hotel stands above the crowd. They guide the general direction of your service (and product, of course) offerings, setting the tone, ambience and vibe. However, with the ‘New Normal’ in the Covid19 world of social distancing, mask wearing and zero contact, communicating these brand standards to customers has taken a shot in the foot. Add to the fact that your restaurants will face reduced foot traffic and sit-down diner capacity; food and beverage delivery is a logical extension, isn’t it?
In my previous articles, I spoke of how delivery can make or break your brand because it is ultimately, the only major touchpoint between the customer and your establishment, - regardless of it being handled by your own staff or a third-party. In a follow-up article, I offered some practical steps on how to rein in delivery and reduce the relative ambiguity that it inserts between yourself and your customer.
Now, let’s delve deeper. How do you extend a part of your brand standards to cover the delivery aspect, and thus unconsciously remind the customer that they are still in the safe hands of their favourite hotel or restaurant? Of course, this is most effective if the entire delivery chain is handled by your own staff, but, even if you engage a third party, it would be prudent to start a dialogue with them on this topic.
So, let’s look at some avenues on how delivery can be made into an extension and embodiment of your brand standards.
- Set a standard dress code for your riders that embody your brand standards on staff attire. Of course, it must be practical to be worn whilst riding a motorbike, so don’t think of full suits or tuxedos even if you are a fine-dining restaurant. An easy way to accomplish this connection with your brand standards is to have the riders wear the similar colour scheme as your wait staff uniforms.
- Don’t underestimate the power of branding and reminder advertising opportunities available to you with delivery. Whilst the most obvious branding point is the carrier box, have you considered that the rider’s helmet is also a branding point? The helmet is claimed to offer a second protective barrier in addition to a face mask, and when a rider is doing quick deliveries in succession, he or she may not take it off. Thus, do consider helmet branding!
- It goes without saying that bottom line; the uniform must be as clean as possible. Yes, when riding among diesel fumes and soot this may not always be practicable, but allow your riders to keep a change of clothes at the restaurant if they have been doing a lot of deliveries and their clothes look particularly grimy.
- Encourage your delivery riders to use deodorant. Riding out there in a tropical country like ours, particularly in the middle of the day is sweaty work and nobody likes having their food handed to them from a sweaty individual with accompanying odour. It will be more comfortable for them as well.
- In inclement weather, a raincoat is a priority. Nobody wants to receive a delivery from a soaking wet delivery guy or gal. The raincoat is another branding opportunity as well.
- Is there a particular way you greet diners when they used to visit your restaurant? Why not extend this greeting to the delivery aspect as well, having the delivery person speak it as the door is opened by the customer? A popular fish restaurant has a practice of the host shouting “Guest In” as he or she leads diners to their table, followed by the entire staff shouting out “Welcome”. This kind of greeting jingle can easily be extended to cover the delivery experience, and should be also in sync with your telephone answering and order taking standards.
- Do you remember that some restaurant wait staff alert you about certain aspects of the food before you heartily tuck in. For example, they will inform you to be cautious of the burning hot sizzling platter, or remind you that the ‘extra spicy’ chicken you ordered is indeed, extra spicy? This can extend to the delivery experience as well. The rider can warn the customer as he or she hands over the food if something is hot or spicy.
- This can also be extended to special orders that take into account allergens. For example, if a person is allergic to pineapple, the rider can then announce “here’s your sweet and sour fish, made without pineapple as per your request”.
- Finally, these standards should be documented, ideally as a separate SOP sub-category that covers the area of delivery experience. They should be translated among all three languages and distributed among the staff – the easiest way to do this in a contactless, paperless way is to provide them with a PDF version, which can be view on their smartphone.
Covid19 is predicted to be a long-drawn battle. Yes, the general sentiment is that once a vaccine is found the world will go back to the Old normal – almost. However, the same thing was said for SARS which todate, remains sans a vaccine. So, the much-talked-about New Normal will be THE Normal for quite some time.
Restaurants are said to be among the hardest hit businesses and many won’t make it. But those who work hard on maintaining the customer experience through delivery will stand a good chance of staying alive.
Ashraaq Wahab
Ashraaq is an automotive journalist, marketer and writer who enjoys penning his thoughts, insights and ideas on a variety of topics
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