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6 QSR business-boosting online options

Your website can be your QSR's best friend as the days of restrictions from the pandemic roll on. Here are 6 ways some of our company's restaurant clients are finding success.

Reach your "stuck-at-home" customers with these 6 online options (Photo: iStock).

April 7, 2020 by Peter Ruchti

QSRs nationally are now running on sheer adrenaline, with many very much in survival mode. But some are faring better than other. Below are six ways some of the restaurant brands I work with are finding most effective for "fanning the flames of business" in a COVID-19 world. 

Facebook ads providing success 

Facebook ads are proving to be a powerful means to reach new people and remind your existing customers that you're still out there. Remember, Facebook Ads are commonly priced based on a straightforward bidding system. Now, with the competition on this social media channel lower overall, Facebook ads should be less expensive than usual.

Likewise, in a crisis like this where customers are on these types of online networks more than usual, Facebook ads are proving to be among the best ways to reach local customers and maintain those sales that you're depending on. For added benefits, consider running an offer aimed specifically at new customers or using the Facebook Pixel to re-target customers from five to seven days after a customer visits your website. This will help increase order frequency even further.

Helping people help others

Heroes on the front lines of this pandemic include healthcare workers, EMTs and workers at QSRs, groceries and other essential goods outlets, who are helping to keep us all well-fed and reasonably content as we stay at home to prevent the virus's spread. Naturally, QSR patrons want to support these local heroes and QSR brands can make that happen through meal donations and deliveries, particularly to those who can't leave their stations in hospitals and firehouses. 

Along the same lines, you can also use your business to help raise donations for many of those same heroes. You could add two or three different levels of options, where customers can purchase meals on your website, which you can then send directly to a specific organization. It truly is a "win-win" situation in every sense of the word.

For example, you might offer customers the chance to donate $10 or $20 to provide meals for a group of firefighters. Not only does this allow you to continue to provide work for your staff, but you get to keep your business going while doing your part to help empower your community, too.

Let me be clear: The goal of this tactic is not to make money. You purchase food at a lower cost and create it in an efficient and clean environment. Use your unique position to provide meals for those who need our support and use the donations to pay for your food, labor and overhead costs. 

Whatever method you choose to help out in this pandemic, be sure to take a photos of your efforts and post them on social media to acknowledge both the heroes and the ways your patrons are helping to keep them sustained and feeling appreciated during the pandemic. 

Family package power

Families who are stuck indoors need easy and delicious ways to eat, which is where you come in. Your QSR can create a meal package designed specifically with families in mind, acting almost like a mini catering package. Include not only sides and appetizers but also desserts and more. Just remember that roughly 45% of all households have kids, so be sure that at least a few of your packages are kid-friendly, too. Also be sure put this on your online ordering system with photos and options for curbside pickup or no-contact delivery.

The unending benefits of gift cards

If you need a fast cash injection into your business, gift cards can be part of the solution. You get money today and people get guaranteed service in the future.  

You can set up a simple form or cart item on your website and mail the customer the gift card after the purchase. If you want to provide more incentives to purchase consider offering a discount. For example, your brand might offer a $100 gift card for $75 or offer customers a $25 bonus for every $100 spent. 

Don't forget about hiring 

Finally, don't overlook the fact that the unemployment rate in this country is skyrocketing, so there are a lot of people who are searching for immediate work. This opens up an entire new pool of possible customers if you have jobs to offer at your QSR now. 

Facebook allows you to post job positions at no cost, and at AdeptPlus, we've already seen terrific results with many applications using this method for our clients. We've been able to easily collect dozens of applications on a job post without having to boost the post.

In the final analysis, getting to the "other" side of this pandemic for QSRs means sustaining sales now so you can stabilize your business as soon as possible. Then, you'll have established a rock-solid foundation from which to build on, moving forward.

About Peter Ruchti

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Peter Ruchti is the founder of AdeptPlus, a full-service digital agency helping restaurants market their business to attract and retain happy customers. As a former restaurant-industry business owner and Certified Google Partner, he works with other entrepreneurs and Directors of Marketing to strategically market their business using the Internet.

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