Dining, and the world as we know it, is forever changed by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

That's why we've elaborated 5 key factors and even added step-by-step guides on how you can sustain your business and succeed with this F&B new normal.

1. Know your customers

This is the foundation of a successful F&B business in the new normal.

After all, it's 5 - 25x more expensive to get a new customer than to keep your existing customers.

So knowing who your customers are and keeping them coming back, is very important.

It goes like this...

Know and understand your customers → sell better / build stronger relationships → grow a good reputation → increase sales and repeat customers / get free word-of-mouth marketing!

If you're on a budget and can't afford a sophisticated CRM system, no worries.

Just start collecting these basic customer data points: 

• Name

• Phone number

• Email address

You can then use these details to send simple SMS or WhatsApp messages to your customers on new promotions or products.

Collect as much information as you can on your customers so you know:

• who your most loyal customers are (reward them to keep them coming back)

• who your new customers are (get them to come back with promos)

• what your customers like to buy

• what your customers don't like to buy

• what price points your customers are comfortable with

• and so on.

All this information will help you make better data-driven decisions for your F&B business. And most importantly, it helps you to focus on the right customer group!

TIP: Try StoreHub Engage! It allows you to send personalised and automated SMSes to keep customers coming back to your restaurant.

2. Digital marketing

Whoa... Digital marketing? That's right! F&B new normal needs to rely on digital marketing too!

This may seem intimidating at first, but it's a very cost-effective way for you to increase sales and brand awareness for your cafe or restaurant.

Here are 3 digital marketing ideas that any F&B business owner can run: 

• Claim your Google My Business profile

• Be active on social media 

• Run a Facebook remarketing ad campaign 

Claim your Google My Business profile

Google My Business is a free and easy tool that lets businesses manage their presence on Google - including Google Search and Google Maps. 

 You can claim, verify, and edit your Google My Business profile like the example above so customers can easily find out more about your business and they can even get directions or book a table directly from there. That's why you should never overlook this platform.

And since it's free, your cafe/restaurant should take advantage of this and get your listing set up on Google properly.

Be active on social media

You might have noticed that social media game have been so competitive lately, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic started. If you don't have a nice feed, you'll have less chance of grabbing your customer's attention.

Having a strong social media presence helps your cafe/restaurant:

• build trust and loyalty

• connect and engage with customers

• increase sales

If you say you're not really a social media person, then get over it.

In this day and age, you need to have at least a Facebook and Instagram profile for your business.

This is because most people will do a search on you first before buying your products.

What do you want them to find or see online?

So it's up to you to actively post on social media to show people that your business is operating well and that your products are worth buying.

• What info do your Facebook and Instagram profiles need? Here are quicks tips & dos and don'ts on setting up your Facebook and Instagram profiles!

• Not sure what to post on social media?

• What else can you do with social media?

Run a Facebook remarketing ad campaign

Did you know about 86% of Malaysian population were active on social media in January 2021?

Unfortunately, there's only a small number of people that you can organically reach via social media.

Typically with Facebook, your posts only reach about 3 - 5% of your total followers.

So you need to pay to show your post to more people.

But is it worth it?

Will you get sales from doing this?

Well, there's one Facebook ad campaign that you can run, which requires minimum effort at maximum impact.

And that's a Facebook remarketing ad campaign!

This campaign shows your ad to people who have interacted with any of your Facebook posts. Thus, you'll be more likely to be able to sell! 

Benefits of running a Facebook remarketing ad campaign include:

• improved conversion rate (meaning more sales)

• higher brand recall (means people remember your cafe/restaurant better)

• cheaper than most advertising avenues

Then you'll be all set to leverage sales during this new normal for your business!

3. Automated ordering

Cash flow and conservation are obviously key right now for any F&B business's survival.

One thing that can cause a cash leak is manual ordering because of:

• human resource requirement

• potential human order error 

And this brings me to my next point...

Automated ordering.

Yes, taking orders via social media or messaging apps like WhatsApp is free and easy.

BUT, managing this on the backend (or in your kitchen) will be a nightmare.

This is why automating your ordering system is important in order for you to save time and money.

StoreHub merchants for example have enabled their own food delivery service via the Beep Delivery service, which allows them to easily get, manage, and keep track of food delivery orders

Other merchants who allow takeaway or dine-in have also enabled QR Order & Pay: a QR order and pay system to provide customers with a contactless and cashless dining experience.

4. Going contactless and cashless

The ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has been the catalyst for a new normal for many industries, not just the F&B industry.

Instead of dine-in, the new normal for F&B now includes:

• pre-order

• takeaway/drive-thru pickup

• food delivery

• online ordering

• contactless ordering

• contactless payment

If you notice, a lot of these things require some sort of automation and technology, something which has not been the norm before for many cafes and restaurants.

To enable F&B merchants to go contactless and cashless, StoreHub offers QR Order & PAy, a QR ordering system that lets your customer:

• scan your QR code

• view the menu, order, and pay via their smartphones

• automatically give you their information (name, phone number, temperature for contact tracing)

This means that you can now:

• reduce human contact (touching menu/cash)

• reduce waiting time

• reduce human error

• improve workflow

Learn more by watching this quick video:

5. Omnichannel management

Using technology to go digital is great for your cafe/restaurant!

But it also means using many different systems to handle different aspects of your business such as sales transactions, customer loyalty management, inventory management, etc.

This is why it's important for your business to use omnichannel management to:

• reduce the hassle of managing multiple separate systems

• improve business operations

• cut down time needed to consolidate all the data that you collect

In short, everything is in one system.

StoreHub's all-in-one POS will help you manage your business more seamlessly and even build a customer database where you can engage with them and drive more sales!

This is THE one system you need for your F&B new normal's success!

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the F&B new normal?

   The F&B new normal refers to how restaurants and cafés operate after COVID-19, with a stronger focus on digital ordering, takeaway and delivery, contactless payments, and reduced physical interaction. Customers now expect faster service, safer dining, and the ability to order and pay using their smartphones.

2. Why is knowing your customers crucial for F&B success today?

   Because retaining existing customers is far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. By collecting basic customer data such as name, phone number, and email, F&B businesses can identify loyal customers, personalise promotions, and encourage repeat visits—leading to higher lifetime value and steady sales.

3. How does digital marketing help cafés and restaurants in the new normal?

   Digital marketing helps F&B businesses stay visible when customers search online before deciding where to eat. Platforms like Google Business Profile, Facebook, and Instagram allow restaurants to build trust, engage customers, and drive sales through organic posts and low-cost remarketing ads.

4. What are the benefits of automated and contactless ordering?

   Automated and contactless ordering reduces manpower needs, minimises order errors, and improves operational efficiency. Features like QR ordering and cashless payments also shorten waiting times, improve hygiene, and provide a smoother dining experience for customers.

5. Why is an all-in-one system important for the F&B new normal?

   Managing dine-in, takeaway, delivery, payments, and customer data across multiple systems is time-consuming and error-prone. An all-in-one solution like StoreHub helps F&B businesses centralise operations, streamline workflows, and use customer insights to drive repeat sales—making it easier to succeed in the future of dining.