THE VALUE OF OPTIMISTIC EMPATHY
May 15, 2021
Abraham Lincoln famously stated “the dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.” No more apt words could describe the current state of both our country and our industry. Like so many, our hearts pour out to the countless who have been affected by this situation. And, as lovers of food, our hearts also pour out to the innumerable foodservice manufacturers and operators profoundly struggling as we all attempt to grasp the ever-changing, so-called “new normal.”
What will never change is our industry’s collective resiliency, our inventiveness and our ingenuity in putting our passion for food and people to work in truly unexpected ways. With history as our guide, we look to it for tactics, opportunities and learnings that can help steer our decisions. In this post, we have analyzed counsel from both industry-centric and industry-agnostic data providers with regard to the current COVID-19 crisis as well as key learnings from the 2008 financial crisis to validate our perspectives. Namely, that a practical, pragmatic and positive approach to supporting foodservice operators can help them increase both orders and demand. By employing optimistic empathy — that is, reassuring your operator customers that there are still sales opportunities to capture while being highly understanding of their dire economic situation — you can provide an informed snapshot of what operational success looks like now and moving forward.
Real Support Matters Now More Than Ever
To do so will require a shift from straight-ahead selling to a role of first providing meaningful support. It will also require nimble and urgent action prior to economic and societal recovery. This may include launching targeted campaigns to win back customers; developing customer experiences focused on increased health and safety; helping customers adjust pricing and promotions; reallocating spending to proven growth sources; re-skilling your sales force to support remote selling; and creating flexible payment terms.1
“The best companies are enhancing and expanding their digital channels. They’re successfully using advanced analytics to combine new sources of data with their own insights to make better and faster decisions and strengthen their links to customers.”2
Practical tactics for driving operational sales include focused digital campaigns promoting operational toolkits for increasing delivery orders, curbside pickup orders and drive-thru traffic as well as meal-kit promotion tactics. Additional support can come in the form of helping operators promote the enhanced safety and sanitation of both their operations and their staff, especially as stay-at-home orders relax in many states. In fact, 45% of consumers want to return to dining out in restaurants to feel normal again.3 Additionally, percent-off, BOGO and other offers targeted to return customers can be promoted via social campaigns with minimal effort or spend — and with 80% of consumers reporting they continue to deal with the restaurant brands they know and love,4 targeting return patrons is a must. Multiple other tactics exist to provide inspiration and guidance to your customers as they navigate these tumultuous waters. Examples include immunity-boosting and functional foods on one end of the spectrum and sweet indulgences on the other — the key is being present and remaining confident while being certain to employ both tact and sensitivity in your messaging.
“Companies need to use the power of their brand’s purpose to better understand what customers will value, post-COVID-19, and develop new use-cases and tailored experiences based on those insights and values.”5
Learning From The Lessons Of Our Past
From a historical perspective, remaining present is not only practical — it’s proven. For example, Malik PIMS® built a database in 2008 tracking the economic performance indicators of more than 1,000 businesses over a period of multiple years. It showed that the most successful policy was to increase, not decrease, marketing efforts during a downturn. The heightened share of voice led to increases in consumer preference, and in sales and profitability post-downturn. This gain in profitability after the downturn (if maintaining marketing spend) far outweighed any short-term gain in profit that might be achieved during the recession through cutting marketing spend. This phenomenon is compounded by the reduced marketing activity by rivals — which enables a company to increase share of voice simply by maintaining its marketing spending. What’s more, a recession provides a window of opportunity for inexpensive gains in market share for those brands with increased marketing investment.6 London Business School’s research on this clearly shows that the strongest, most successful firms can use the opportunity of an economic slowdown to attack their weaker rivals.7
“The natural reaction of many businesses experiencing a downturn is to cut costs in areas like advertising and promotion. Our findings prove that they should do exactly the opposite if they are to ride out the recession and thrive thereafter.”8
Change Is Not Inevitable, It Is Imminent
Finally, as digital and contactless interactions have become synonymous with “safe,” COVID-19 has forced technology adoption and even preference. American shoppers have adopted e-commerce — particularly in grocery — at an unprecedented rate,9 and online food ordering has been described “as one of the only winners” in the COVID-19 outbreak.10 In fact, digital ordering has risen 300% in last five years.11 This begs the question of how you can position your products for optimization in this new delivery-centric reality. And, more importantly, how can you compel your operator customers to utilize your products in tandem with a focused effort for promotion? Simply by shifting the positioning of your offerings while providing proven tactics for menu integration and menu concept inspiration, you can increase sales while deepening your customer relationships.
“Curbside has become the new drive-through. For all types of restaurants, from quick service to fine dining, curbside pickup has allowed us to order and pay through apps or websites, make a quick stop and bring our dinner home. It’s convenient, no-touch, safe and hot.”12
These digital and contactless interactions are also applicable to your sales force. As such, rethinking your selling tactics is not relegated just to how your products work in today’s COVID-19-sensitive operations, but also to how your sellers connect with your operator customers. Not only does remote selling provide opportunities for efficiency, it’s also effective. In fact, 60% of businesses surveyed by McKinsey in early April reported that their new remote sales models were proving to be just as or more effective than traditional channels.13 Coaching, activity logs and analytics are keys to success, as is an entirely new approach to training. But the task is not insurmountable, it’s simply another adaptation that winning manufacturers will have to make in order to remain both present and relevant. And, again, communicating optimistically while also highly empathetically keeps your connections meaningful and sincere.
We Are Here To Help
COVID-19 is the single most significant global event in modern history. Foodservice manufacturers and operators are among the most financially affected businesses on the planet. However, as Nielsen reports: where there are patterns, there can be decisions. And just as people attempt to mitigate risk in their daily lives, manufacturers have opportunities to pivot their marketing strategies and mitigate risk to their bottom line. Our extensive work with leading manufacturers across the brandscape has afforded us a depth of understanding and expertise which we would love to share with you in hopes of providing meaningful support. We would welcome any opportunity to help you — to learn more, please contact us here.
