Restaurant tech that delights your customers

Tech in the restaurant space is evolving at unprecedented rates. Systems to enhance everything from drive-thru service speed to hiring to inventory management proliferate. The process of automating and ensuring that systems work together can be daunting. But, when it comes to customer-facing tech—tech that enhances the customer’s experience with your brand—many options are fairly forthright and deliver excellent bang for the buck.

User-friendly mobile apps

With 70% of customers willing to use smartphone apps to place orders at limited-service restaurants and 65% using them during the payment process, mobile apps are the ultimate way to establish convenient access to your business. 

Elements of an effective mobile app include: 

• an easy-to-use site that guides customers through the order process from their nearest location
• a well-organized menu with photos, which helps verify selections and prompts additional purchases
• an easy-to-manipulate customization function and prior order recall (to autofill preferences)
• an AI assistant to help customers with the mobile-app order process
• an easy payment process
• automatic credit applied to loyalty programs 
• easy ability to apply loyalty benefits as earned
• a way to track an order’s progress
• for fullservice, ability to reserve a table, make special dining requests
• location-based tracking to actively push notifications to nearby customers
• a customer feedback mechanism

Chicago-based Lou Malnati’s capitalized on mobile technology with an ordering app and strategic email follow-ups, called “Malnati Mail”, to announce specials and ways for customers to earn points toward pizzas. Those tools not only enhance customer experience, but also keep the brand top-of-mind and encourage repeat business.

Sweetgreen is another example of a brand leveraging technology to deliver a personalized app experience. When customers order via the app, they receive suggestions based on prior orders. According to one Sweetgreen executive, "Our app is designed to make healthy eating easy and personalized for our customers." That approach not only simplifies the ordering process, but also strengthens customer loyalty by tailoring the experience to each customer.

Personalize experiences with AI and data analytics

Understanding customer behaviors and patterns enables operators to directly influence what people see on digital menus and promotion screens inside stores and in drive-thru lanes. Data harvested from sales, loyalty, and analytics systems can produce insights and provide direction that will then shape and trigger the content and even the layout of what’s on the digital signage screens in front of customers. 

Furthermore, the latest digital displays are changeable by time of day, location, and customer demographics. When restaurant operators understand typical customer behaviors with the help of AI analytics, they can tailor recommendations and special offers to them on digital signage. 

Enhance customer experience, streamline ops at self-serve kiosks

Customers are quickly acclimating to self-order kiosks and tablets. In addition to allowing real-time menu management, dynamic visual appeal, and the ability to quickly update pricing and push promotions, the devices are also being used to create immersive and entertaining dining experiences for the customer. 

Elements of effective self-order displays might provide: 

• flexible payment options, such as credit cards, mobile payments, and digital wallets 
• menu items that can be updated in real time, with images, prices, and allergen and nutrition info, if desired
• the potential for multi-language support 
• easy ability to customize orders
• the ability to promote items or deals, such as added toppings, desserts, sides, beverages, and meal combo recommendations to increase check averages. 
• faster service to help customers avoid lines

When customers order on screens, order accuracy improves with precise customization because there’s little chance of miscommunication between server and customer. Displays can be engaging, exposing customers to additional items with dynamic images and messages. They can promote upsells that counter servers might skip mentioning to speed up service. In addition, at multiunit operations, managers can update menus in multiple locations from one place.

Exploring emerging technologies

Looking to the future, emerging technologies, like augmented reality (AR) menus, are set to revolutionize the dining experience. AR menus offer a more immersive and interactive way for customers to explore restaurant options. 

Examples of AR include gamifying loyalty programs, inviting customers to play games to unlock new levels of rewards, providing QR codes that lead customers to storytelling about menu items, provenance of ingredients, recipes, and more.