Reacting Without Overreacting – Changing on the Fly the Right Way 

“We want to be out in front of changes so that we can better help our customers.” 

That’s something clients and prospective clients have told us many times. 

It’s a good idea, a good ethos. 

Staying one step ahead of trends, as opposed to chasing them, is proactive. It can help your company to succeed, certainly. 

But, just reacting to trends as they change won’t help. It’s not just in the reaction, but reacting properly. 

I thought about that today during my daily reading for our company that helps with local search for lawyers, rehabs, and just about anyone else. This article showed how one thing, one change, can have remarkable trickle-down effects for many industries (including probably your own). 

“Where the People Are Going” 

That phrase is often used as a metaphor for being in front of the curve, so to speak. 

In the context of “dining related queries by growth,” it’s literal. 

It is literally where the people are going. 

Look at that list: “happy hour,” “dessert,” “seafood,” etc. 

That’s part of what the vaccine has done. 

People feel more comfortable going out. They want to. They want to be around more people. 

That’s true for food, sure, but it’s also true for so much else. 

The article mentions plenty of searches for “cheap flights” and the like. 

If there’s a way to make shifts, even subtle ones (and perhaps especially subtle ones) towards people going out, now might be a good time to do it. 

You may want to look to connections that are seemingly tangential to what it is you do. 

If you run a laundromat, maybe post a video about how folks can keep their clothes clean and odorless when traveling. Should you sell candy, gifts, or the like, a video or promotion about how great it is to show up at the homes of people you haven’t seen since the pandemic with presents in hand can be. 

Those are little changes that can help your business in a lot of ways, no matter what you do.

Don’t Overreact 

Further down in the article, you’ll find that there are “negative trending dining queries.” In the context of the article, that means “there were four types of dining queries that were trending negatively by losing search queries.” 

They were “Chinese,” “Thai,” “Pho,” and “French.” 

If you’re a Chinese restaurant, this seems like it could be a real disaster. 

After all, this is the exact opposite of what you want to happen. 

But, as with so much else in business (as well as life), what initially seems like a “disaster” may actually be an opportunity. 

Odds are, “Chinese” and the like are trending negatively because folks tend to associate those kinds of cuisines with takeout, with delivery. 

As folks are going out to restaurants again, they’re getting less takeout, less delivery. 

That doesn’t mean your Chinese restaurant has to just “take that lying down,” so to speak. 

Make videos, blogs, social media posts, and the like about your dine-in options (or even outdoor dining ones.) This could be a place for coupons, deals, and so forth, until things balance out. Let people know how you’re ready to cater, to provide large meals as folks are going to see family members/large groups again. 

Well before the pandemic, at our company that helps with local search for lawyers, rehabs, and just about anyone else, we’ve helped companies just like yours to better navigate changes as they occur, online and off. For more, you can reach us at (888) 477-9540.