Everyone likes options, which goes a long way toward explaining the rise of omnichannel commerce in recent years. For fast casual restaurants, omnichannel technologies can be instrumental in elevating the brand experience and leaving customers satisfied.
Mobile Devices Engage Customers
Walk into progressive airports around the country and you’ll see many restaurants equipped with tabletop tablets enabling customers to peruse the menu at their leisure and order when ready. This is the kind of experience customers now expect in fast casual restaurants everywhere.
Whether the tablet is table-mounted or carried by your servers, diners appreciate the dynamic, easy-to-use format. When mounted, customers can take their time as they scroll through menu options, viewing large color photos of mouth-watering dishes that could potentially entice them to spend more than originally planned. The tablet format can also allow customers to customize their orders to their exact specifications and ensure that nothing is lost in translation when the order is transmitted.
When servers use tablets in fast casual restaurants, they maintain the interactive, interpersonal experience. Instead of relying on memory to rattle off the day’s specials, servers can use tablets to show instead of tell. What’s more, servers can use tablets to send orders straight to the kitchen without leaving the customer’s side, solidifying the rapport between staff and patron.
Online Ordering
Convenience: we all want it, and there’s a growing body of proof that customers are happy to pay for it. Did you know that delivery and takeout represent a $70 billion market, though only $9 billion of those orders originate online?
To capture the omnichannel demand for convenient access to tasty food from fast casual restaurants, consider implementing an online ordering platform. With this system in place, customers, including your lucrative business customers, can place their orders in advance. Giving customers options that fit their schedules and lifestyles makes it more likely they’ll choose your fast casual restaurant over competitors.
Delivery
If your POS contains a built-in module that handles delivery, consider yourself lucky. While some fast casual restaurants build their own ordering and delivery systems, this approach may be too complex and costly for smaller outlets. Existing nationally known delivery services are a cost-effective option and are easy to integrate into your website so you can begin delivering online orders sooner rather than later.
Pickup
Last but certainly not least, make it easy for customers to pick up their orders from your fast casual restaurant. Once again, it all boils down to giving customers the options that fit their needs. Whether they’re ordering online, through your mobile app or site, or by picking up the phone and dialing, customers sometimes want to be able to retrieve their orders themselves, perhaps as they’re dashing home from the office or on the way to shuttle children to karate practice. Do customers one better by offering services such as curbside pickup, eliminating the need for customers to walk into your establishment to get their purchase.
“Omnichannel” may seem like an industry term, but it’s something your fast casual restaurant should embrace in order to better serve customers — on their terms. From in-store mobile devices to online ordering, delivery, and pickup, you can offer customer-friendly technology and services that capture additional revenue and create satisfied, loyal customers.
