STORY: Puratos: How to adapt your bakery's services
Under the current circumstances, consumers’ needs and behaviours are changing rapidly.
This especially applies to food demand. The situation requires a different approach to the usual way of doing business. In this article, you will find a handful of aspects you can take into consideration to continue business while facing covid-19.
Optimize in-store management
Ensure customers visiting your shop keep a 2-metre distance from each other at all times. In most cases, this will mean that no more than one or two people are indoors together at any one time. Waiting customers can queue outside, remaining 2 metres away from each other.
To remove the need to handle cash, customers can be asked to pay for their purchases via contactless.
If you’re changing your opening hours at all, ensure your customers are aware of this. Display notices in store and communicate any changes via social media.
Analyse your product range
Take a thorough look at your product range, taking into account how your customers’ buying behaviours, be they retail or consumer, have changed since the beginning of the outbreak. Focus on where the demand is, rather than your smaller lines. Bread and products with a longer shelf life are likely to be amongst the items receiving increased interest.
Communicate. Openly and honestly.
Be open and transparent
These are extremely uncertain and - for some even anxious - times. You can help your customers by being open and honest in your communication. More than ever, it is essential to put yourself in your customers’ shoes and try to understand what type of information they are seeking. You can think of:
• Hygiene and safety measures
• Availability of products
• Adapted product range
• Additional services
Keep in touch
While social distancing is diminishing contact, find other ways to connect to your customers. To keep them informed, make sure your company website and Facebook page are updated regularly.
To open up to your customers’ questions and ideas, you may offer communication by using WhatsApp for Business or Facebook live. If you choose to do so, please be aware that messages should be handled adequately.
Of course, you and your staff members know your customers the best. Team up and start thinking out of the box to generate creative ideas to adapt your services even more and please share with us to update this list. #sharingiscaring
More about how Puratos is facing covid-19
These are unprecedented times and at Puratos we are aware of the impact that the COVID-19 situation will be having on your business.
We would like to reassure you that, in full compliance with government guidelines, Puratos has taken all the internal measures necessary to continue to ensure the production and supply of our products to our customers and to safeguard the health and safety of our employees and business partners.
