How to Scale your Restaurant Business through Mobile Apps?
Managing your restaurant business used to be a hassle earlier but not anymore. The researchers say that mobile usage has increased worldwide and almost 3 billion people are using smartphones in 2020. Looking at the increasing rate of mobile users it is important for the restaurant business to have their own branded restaurant mobile app and stay reachable to your customers wherever they are.
Businesses in different sectors are developing apps including the restaurant industry. Mobile apps are not less than a blessing for the restaurant business as apps help them in growing their business. If you really want to scale your orders in your restaurant business than having your own mobile apps is the best strategy for your business growth.
Here are some points that show how mobile apps help to scale the restaurant business:
- Customer Convenience: A mobile app creates an all-in-one and convenient experience for your customers every time they walk your doors. Features like search, quick order placement, mobile payment integration, etc. provide users with a good experience.
Mobile payment integration has become the most convenient feature for the customers as most people use their smartphones for paying when they are at a restaurant. They can wave their phone in front of POS for doing their transactions instead of digging-out cash from their wallet.
Also, the facility to order in advance saves the time of customers, helps them avoid long lines and have their food without waiting, pick-up their food items in a few minutes if they have opted for takeaway or curbside delivery.
- Customer Engagement: A mobile app encourages customer engagement by using push notifications. Mobile apps allow another form of engagement between you and your customers. If a customer orders a specific food item with customization regularly then he or she might engage with the app by saving that food item as a favorite with all her choices.
It is not necessary that restaurants are always in the mind of the customers but if they are using push notifications activated through mobile apps then they can remind their customers that they are available for them. Use push notifications to inform customers about new products, special hours, promotions, etc.
- Increased Orders and Bookings: If your restaurant is for casual dining then it will be great including a reservation system in your mobile app to increase the number of bookings you have. People don’t like to make calls to restaurants for reservations nowadays so having an online reservation system will be a good way to increase orders.
One thing that should be kept in mind is that your reservation system should be easy because if your ordering system is easy to use, the number of orders is likely to increase. Make sure that your order button is noticeable so that if the customers are coming on your apps to see the menu and pictures of food they can order easily.
- Access to Marketing Data: Data of your customers is one of the most powerful things and having a mobile app gives you a chance to know your consumers’ demographics, order habits, preferences, all many other things that you need to know to send them relevant marketing messages. Having marketing data will help you gain more orders and more orders mean more business flowing in your restaurant.
- Encourage Reviews: A mobile app serves as a medium to encourage customers to leave reviews about your restaurant. If you want to drive customer’s reviews to a well-developed business listing such as Yelp, then you can program your mobile app so that it asks your customers to leave a review. On clicking ‘yes’ the app will open that profile on which you want your customer to leave the review.
People nowadays believe in reviews as they believe in the recommendations of their family and friends. Good reviews from your customers are going to encourage other people to try your services at least once. Don’t forget to respond to negative reviews also along with the positive ones.
- Loyalty Programs: Loyalty programs are a reason why people download mobile apps. If customers are ordering from your mobile app, giving them loyalty points is a nice way to increase their possibility of returning to your restaurant again and again to build-up points to earn free meals, drinks, or some offers.
Loyalty programs are also convenient for the customers as they don’t need to carry a reward card or punch card with them; they just need to have their smartphone when they visit restaurants or any other institution where everything can scan-able and trackable on their mobile phones.
- Increased Millennial Sales: The largest part of the world population that has tremendous buying power is millennials. Millennials are techno-savvy and use mobile for almost everything from booking a cab to order food to buy groceries. So, if you are having a mobile app then millennials for sure are going to download the app of a restaurant they frequently visit and are likely to place orders through the app which is going to benefit you with an inflow of more orders.
- No Mistakes: Mobile apps help remove the errors for order placement as well as reservations that often happen when a customer places an order or reserves a table by making a phone call. Now customers no longer fear getting misheard by the staff of the restaurant their name, date of reservation, time, etc. While ordering, customers can put their preferences exactly as they want and there is no chance of getting anything wrong.
- Show Yourself: You can show your menus on a mobile app, show real pictures of the prepared food, include pictures of your interiors, your kitchen, dining area, etc. Showing pictures on your app is a brilliant idea to get your customers involved by asking for their user-generated content means the pictures they have taken to your restaurant. This makes them feel valued and they feel more engaged with your restaurant and brand.
- Easy Payments and Branding Opportunities: Mobile apps make transactions quick and secure. Rapid and complete transactions help you get more sales. Secure payments also give your customers a seamless experience for your customers. Also, multiple payment options allow customers to pay according to their convenience.
Just by having a food delivery mobile app installed in the mobile device, your brand is visible to our customers and they are exposed to your brand on a daily basis whether they are using it or not. When they scroll apps in their mobile phones your eye-catching icon is just enough to remind them about you.
