Restaurants aim to offer convenient, flawless, and unforgettable experiences to their customers. Thanks to technology, they can streamline their processes for improved customer experience and bottom line. Investing in restaurant technology enables kitchen management, employee scheduling, and customer service, leading to increased efficiency, cost-saving, sustainability, increased profits, and high employee satisfaction.
When choosing restaurant technology, know your goals and bandwidth. Knowing parts of your kitchen and their respective technologies will ease the selection process. The technologies to consider for your restaurant include operations, back-of-house, and front-of-house technology. Below are the latest technological trends in the restaurant industry.
- Online ordering and payment system
An all-in-one ordering and payment solution not only streamlines operations across multiple locations but also increases online revenue and gets you more customers. It eases the ordering process and makes order and customer management more efficient. The system also allows you to monitor your expenses in real-time while keeping track of your profitability.
Online ordering allows you to collect valuable customer data while giving your customers the convenience of mobile ordering. It also helps you stay ahead of the competition, offers you a wider reach, and grows your bottom line. Consider choosing a reliable solution provider such as TrufflePOS for streamlined processes, improved user experience, and profitability.
- The online table reservation system
An online table reservation system allows customers to see available slots and choose their favorite spots. It also enables restaurants to manage waitlists, seating, dining preferences, and customer loyalty. You can also collect essential customer data for contact tracing and marketing insights.
- Ghost kitchens
Also known as micro-cloud or virtual kitchens, ghost kitchens don’t offer dine-in services. They are meant to meet online orders, and so their menus are only available to clients that require delivery. Ghost kitchens have low overhead costs since there are no dine-ins. Its startup costs are low, allowing you to maximize workflows since you only have to concentrate on meeting online orders.
Ghost kitchens give you control over your menu, giving you the flexibility to change your menu and test the performance of various food options before settling for those with a high return on investment and high demand.
- Voice ordering and chatbots
Though still in its infancy, voice ordering operates through applications such as Google Assistant and Alexa, and it allows you to engage with your customers effectively. Social media and website chatbots are also an excellent cost-effective way to engage with customers, send promotional messages, suggest menu options, and process orders.
The restaurant chatbot technology helps to track order status, serves customers 24/7, and enhances personalized marketing. It also provides customer analytics, reduces customer service costs, integrates with social media for wider reach, and boosts brand engagement. Chatbots are cheaper than hiring round-the-clock human service, saving costs, time and increasing productivity.
- Marketing automation and loyalty programs
For your restaurant to get a maximum possible return on loyalty programs and marketing spend, consider solidifying your focus on analytics, data, and the use of customer relationship management software to target and retain customers. The CRM software enables you to run focused campaigns when you aggregate and analyze data from ordering and social media platforms.
Endnote
Restaurant industry technology streamlines operations and improves customer experience, increases productivity, and boosts the business bottom line. Consider incorporating the above tech trends in your restaurant for more growth and profitability.
