How Successful Restaurants Will Operate in 2022
The restaurant industry is evolving – is your business on trend?
The restaurant industry has evolved over the past few years in a pandemic world that kicked consumers’ use of tech into high gear. The demand for safe, contactless transactions and online ordering drove restaurants toward using mobile solutions that answer those demands and streamline operations.
In 2022, a successful restaurant operation will look quite different than in 2019. To navigate the evolving restaurant landscape as a leader in your market, you will need to support and manage your restaurant operations with an intuitive, end-to-end restaurant technology solution. With the right technology, you can evolve with the industry and improve every aspect of your business, from reservations, orders, customer service, payments, and pickup or delivery.
What Successful Restaurants Will Look Like
The most successful restaurants in 2022 will perfect each detail of personalized customer service, including:
Quick, efficient seatings when guests arrive: Top restaurant software solutions provide insights to staff about the status of each table so that they can quickly be prepared for the next seating.
Relevant ordering suggestions: With a mobile solution that puts information at servers’ fingertips, your team can map out the perfect order for customers down to modifications, wine pairings and use of detailed information from past dining experiences.
Pay-at-the-table convenience: Guests can settle their checks quickly and conveniently in minutes without waiting for servers to walk back and forth to a shared point of sale (POS) terminal.
Relationship-building opportunities: Restaurants will offer guests the opportunity to participate in engaging loyalty rewards programs and to purchase gift cards to use or share.
Quick response to feedback: Market leaders will invite feedback and respond immediately when needed to ensure customer satisfaction.
Successful restaurants also make no apology about the steps they take to maximize revenues and profits, such as:
Capturing every sale by providing servers with insights they can use to cross-sell and upsell based on a return customers’ history and preferences.
Directly receiving online orders to eliminate third-party service fees and controlling the entire guest experience to ensure accuracy and prompt, courteous service.
Synchronizing food prep and other kitchen activities to provide the best possible service to guests in the dining room as well as customers who ordered for takeout or delivery.
Restaurant Technology for Successful Restaurants
Manual, paper-based methods won’t give you the edge you need to compete in 2022. Furthermore, legacy restaurant technology anchored to stationary POS terminals will limit the level of customer service and operational efficiency you can achieve.
On the other hand, mobile, cloud-based technology will facilitate how your staff interacts with guests and streamline operations. Mobile POS technology offers far more than the mere mobile extensions of legacy POS solutions. An end-to-end, mobile-first solution with intuitive interfaces will support ordering and payment at the table.
Additionally, with all necessary features and functionality integrated seamlessly into a total solution, you have one tool that gives you everything to manage your business effectively and streamline operations. Forward-thinking solution providers will provide you with capabilities, including:
Self-ordering and payment: As the labor shortage continues, your restaurant management software should provide you with the option to enable self-service and centrally manage kiosks, mobile devices and other IT from a single screen.
Mobile device management: Top providers have the foresight to not only give you software specifically designed to work on mobile devices they also give you a way to manage those devices. Mobile device management allows you to push out upgrades and patches, monitor device use and status, and manage app settings to maximize battery life.
Security: With security and access control features such as biometric ID verification and login, you can ensure only authorized staff has access to your system and sensitive data.
Analytics and marketing insights: The best restaurant management or POS systems help you make the best use of your data. They’ll provide you with analytics on operations, employee performance and productivity that you can use to manage a more successful business.
Furthermore, your solution can collect customer data from features such as on-site surveys and your loyalty rewards, customer relationship management (CRM) and reservation solutions. Analyzing this data will provide you with insights that can help you increase customer satisfaction and increase the number of repeat customers – and even justify using some of your marketing budget for IT.
How Do You Measure Up?
The “new normal” is just that – restaurants must adapt to consumers’ expectations for omnichannel options and personalized service. Your business must also find ways to increase efficiency and operate more profitably. Fortunately, technology is available that can help you run a successful restaurant in 2022.
Contact Tabit for information on how easy it is to evolve.
