Digitising the modern restaurant
Social media is vital to marketing the modern R+B! QR codes are great for keeping menus on the phone and off the table!
These are just a couple of the tech-led revelations our industry has had over the last few years.
But did we all realise that the concept of digitising our restaurant goes far beyond the photos we post on Insta or our menu living online, rather than on paper?
Digital is just not that one-dimensional - it can touch little every single part of your business, adding to rather than detracting from the guest experience and creating a seamless service that benefits both business and diner/drinker.
The addition of technology eases the pressure on the team, allowing them to concentrate on the experience itself. It can harness data, helping with both marketing and service - after all, the more we know about the guest, the more we can create a bespoke dining experience with individual desire at the root of it. It can even help us work out the best way to keep our guests coming back.
The main issue with considering the digitisation of our restaurant or bar is where to start and how.
Enter platforms like Fuse.
Behind you every step of the way, this is a versatile e-commerce solution with a veritable buffet of tech tools on one platform to help scale your business to seriously dizzy new heights by streamlining service AND opening up new revenue streams.
So far, so hyperbole.
What do platforms like Fuse actually do to benefit your location?
Here are some examples.
Order & Pay
Digitising your R+B starts with the genius simplicity of order & pay.
The world is far more digitally native than it was a few years ago and certainly much more competent when it comes to ordering via apps / QR codes. Expected in fast-casual restaurants and QSRs, there’s also a place for this kind of tech in mid-market and premium restaurants.
Rather than proposing restaurants run by robots, order & pay tech helps you retain the human element. It’s never going to be able to provide that warm welcome or suggest the perfect wine pairing but it certainly eases the painful part of bill paying.
Quicker, autonomous with all the handy little features that help people bill split and tip easier, it means that the team can focus on what they do best - providing the best possible guest experience.
E-commerce
As discussed in the Power of Brand Association, many restaurants have been making tasty profits by adding a retail section to their business.
Whilst this could be a bricks and mortar on-site shop, an e-commerce store is generally the most viable financially and space-wise.
Perhaps you sell deli ingredients, gift cards, cookbooks, kitchenware or tickets for special events? Hosting an e-commerce store on a platform like Fuse is an easy way to diversify your revenue stream under your own brand, without losing the core of your concept, all in just a few clicks.
Data capture
Here’s where things start getting really interesting.
By integrating order & pay into your Epos (and running through the same platform as your e-commerce shop if you have one), we are suddenly armed with incredibly powerful tools for the capturing of consumer data.
And we’re not just talking birthdays and visit frequency either. Using this digital platform, we can see what customers are ordering, how much they’re spending, when they’re visiting and very possibly, why they’re buying too.
This helps us tailor the guest experience in ways we never dreamed possible.
Imagine:
● Sheila always orders a certain bottle of white wine. We can have that chilled and ready to go ahead of her visit.
● Dan has a gluten intolerance. Instead of having to inform the waiter every time, we have the allergen-friendly menu waiting on his table.
● Mohammed always requests to sit at a certain table. He doesn’t need to ask anymore.
Suddenly, things are less about going out for a drink or meal and ALWAYS about going out for an experience with your desires full catered for. It comes more personal, not less.
Digitising restaurants does not mean that the location becomes less human-centric. Quite the opposite, this way of operating means that we can put our guests in the centre of the experience, elevating their meal or drinks to new heights. By doing so with a
Great for the guest. Great for the reviews. Great for the profits. All on one great platform.
What’s not to like?
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