These days, everything from entertainment to travel to food is available on demand and at the fingertips of consumers. When we want something, we want it now. But while our appetite as consumers for faster and more convenient ways to get what we want only continues to accelerate; the good news is that the investment to turn these conveniences into reality leads to enormous operational benefits for businesses.
Industries like hospitality continue to evolve in dynamic ways to meet the convenience demands of consumers and as such, the benefits are reshaping and advancing the successes brands are experiencing. Let’s explore four benefits restaurant enterprises can reap by implementing a variety of ways for their consumers to engage with convenience.
25 years ago, the only way to order from a restaurant was to visit the venue or order by phone. As such, restaurant enterprises knew little about their guests and even most loyalty programs were basic punch cards that simply lead to return visits from loyal guests, with little understanding of their behaviors and preferences of those visits.
Years later, online and mobile ordering technologies and loyalty programs enable your restaurant to capture vital data points of every guest and their order. Email addresses, delivery addresses and favorite menu items can be tracked, plus the ability to analyze the frequency of visits, channels of engagement and offers redeemed can all be captured and easily accessed through your comprehensive dashboard.
From the data gathered via digital technologies, you can gain powerful insights about your guests that were previously elusive. Guest data is a gold mine leading directly to brand growth and enhanced guest satisfaction.
When leveraged through marketing decision, guest data is a gold mine. The data gives you all the information you need to tailor marketing initiatives and boost sales – it becomes full circle.
By developing a myriad of automated personalized offers gleamed from the data, you can generate more revenue and satisfaction by providing your guests with opportunities to get what they want, when they want it.
For example, guests that order online for pickup are likely to engage again from personalized offers that encourage and reward future digital ordering for pickup.
Marketing offers traditionally have been a sweeping broadcast to large swaths of guests with little understanding of their successes. Now, every guest can receive individual offers that interest them with digital redemption capabilities to better track campaign success.
Our industry has long struggled with labor challenges which were further exacerbated during the pandemic. However, the proliferation of digital ordering technologies like kiosks, web and mobile apps have, in many ways, reduced labor dependencies and reallocated staff to other service needs.
Kiosk ordering has led restaurants to reduce guest facing ordering and payment handling responsibilities from staff. Native website ordering and mobile apps integrated with POS systems have eliminated order re-entry tasks from staff members can inevitably lead to human error and refunds.
Additionally, many restaurants implementing kiosks, web and mobile ordering have experienced significant increases in average check size with the help of suggestive selling capabilities, leading consumers to spend around 20% more because they feel less judged. Similarly, kiosks, web and mobile ordering cut queues, bust wait times and enhance the guest experience.
The dreaded traditional back and forth at the end of a meal – receiving a check, paying the bill and waiting for the server to process and return with either the correct change or credit card slip for final signature – can quite frankly ruin your guest’s experience. This song and dance can be very time-consuming, and the busier restaurants are, the longer it takes, which quickly erodes the otherwise positive experience for your guests.
Accelerating table turn is a benefit increasingly gaining momentum with tableside service restaurants looking to trim down this final process. Achieving accelerated table turn is powered by QR code pay-at-table processing where guests can immediately scan the QR code, pay their checks, tip, and leave, without having to engage with one of your service members. You can trim 9-15 minutes from the end of visits by empowering them to pay when they are ready. The time saved leads directly to turning tables more quickly so you can serve more guests – an absolute win-win.
Focusing on providing convenient ways for your guests to engage with your brand will create meaningful benefits to your enterprise. Technology-forward brands can better learn and understand guest behavior, reduce labor and accelerate table turn and wait times to enhance your overall guest experience. Now is not the time to fall behind – stay ahead of the curve and ensure your technology stack complements your operation, supports your staff and enhances your guest experience.