Quality needs to be addressed through your operation. Everything from sourcing to supply chain to people and equipment affect quality. And at a fundamental level, your interaction with your customer, through both staff and technology, affect quality. With the right planning, technology and training, you can get this component right.
Price , on the other hand, can be handled in different ways. One approach is to create a loyalty program that encourages your customers to come back, diminishing price pressure. The challenge is that in hospitality, loyalty seems to have lost its meaning. Webster defines it as “being faithful to an…institution”, but I think the loyalty that we are seeking is one of belonging. Perhaps the best at mastering this concept are the Australian AFL clubs. Being a member of an AFL club is to truly be loyal. The clubs work hard to encourage and reward loyalty in many different ways, from discounts to rewards, right through to simple birthday cards. Seizing on this, perhaps we need to implement belonging programs!
We can encourage a feeling of belonging in many ways. Offering free product, such as every tenth coffee free. Giving a birthday reward, such as a free main meal (a great idea - who eats birthday dinner alone?). Or simply addressing the customer by their name (sourced from your loyalty program of course).
To make this work, you need a loyalty solution that’s integrated into your POS solution. Make sure it will support your marketing initiatives, whether they include couponing, gift cards, digital wallets, key information collection, or mail-outs. And make sure that the integration makes it easy for staff to understand and action the offers that you are providing. You want to be able to accurately report on customer redemptions, and you don’t want to frustrate customers with the process.
Creating this sense of belonging lets you address price in two different ways. One, you can offer discounts and other enticements to your repeat customers. Two, increasing the customer’s sense of Belonging will reduce price pressure customers associate with your products.
Convenience is your third challenge. In the crazy, busy world we live in, customers are demanding ways to pre-order their food and drink, and to have it ready when they arrive. And doing this over the phone is no longer acceptable to the millennial generation - you need to provide a website (responsive, so it displays on a smartphone), or better yet a smartphone App.
The keys to a successful online ordering solution lie in the technology employed, and the operational efficiency involved in the implementation. Fully integrating the solution into POS means the system knows if the store is open or closed, if it's having internet communication issues, and what the specific menu (and pricing) is for the location. Operationally, online orders should skip the POS, and be delivered straight into the kitchen. Online orders should be identified on printers and screens, as well as being reported separately to management. And you can’t forget loyalty - customers using the App need to be able to be treated as a loyal customer, whether it’s receiving points and offers, or redeeming coupons and gift cards.
Consumers love an easy to use online ordering solution that identifies them and rewards loyalty. In fact, we've seen customers using online ordering report sales increases of over 13 per cent in food, and over 17 per cent in drinks. This is a big tick in the box for the convenience factor.
Ensuring your technology approach helps you to address quality, price, and convenience can definitely make a difference to your business. The right approach can help you to differentiate from the competition, and mean the difference between success and failure.
