Technology Solutions for Restaurants and Retailers
In addition to providing a good or service, restaurants and retailers also have to consider how to keep customers informed, connected, engaged and entertained in the digital age.
The mobile device is now an essential part of the customer’s shopping and dining journey – even once a consumer arrives on site. Proximity technologies provide an opportunity to engage with customers via their smartphone. Merchants are adopting in-store mobile devices to enhance the shopping experience and communicate with shoppers. For example, in-store devices now automatically ring up customers, track real-time shopping behaviors and send tailored offers to customers.
From arranging food delivery to improving staff productivity to food safety and marketing assistance, restaurants are finding that mobile applications can help them do more business more effectively. With so many apps at the center of what’s hot in the restaurant business, you can bet that a reliable Internet connection is critical. Here are just a few examples:
- Home-sharing platform Airbnb has recently become a marketing opportunity for restaurants with the launch of Guidebooks, a feature that allows hosts to recommend local restaurants on their public listings page.
- Apps like EatBy help restaurants keep track of how long produce and frozen items will stay fresh and remind them before they go bad.
- Guest feedback app kriddik allows guests to give feedback directly to business owners and managers in private messages rather than in public forums in return for reward points and a chance to win prizes.
- And because restaurant owners will still have to scour the Internet to see what people are saying about them in public forums, there are apps like ReviewTrackers that let you monitor your guest reviews all in one place.
- There are even apps available to help restaurants with productivity initiatives. Trello is an app that lets you create task lists and share them with staff. When complete, staff can drag and drop the item from the “to do” list to the “done” list.
Retailers are also adopting social selling solutions. For example, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest all released “buy” buttons in 2015. As consumers continue to use social networks to discover and talk about products, retailers will need to invest in social media initiatives.
To stay competitive, restaurants and retailers require:
- A reliable, high-speed Internet connection to support daily business operations, online marketing and social selling initiatives
- Email addresses with built-in storage
- Online backup and sharing features
- Security software and the ability to set preferences on how connected devices use the Internet
- A separate Internet connection just to support mobile point-of-sale transactions
- Scalable, high-bandwidth Wi-Fi networks to support the creation of an omnichannel customer experience
- Clear, crisp business voice services to take reservations or stay connected to vendors and suppliers
- TV entertainment packages that turn your place into a local hot spot and keeps guests
Investing in the right technology solutions helps differentiate your business and keep a lid on costs. Consolidated Communications delivers business technology solutions through our advanced, reliable network. Whether you have one location or one hundred, Consolidated Communications can help create the solutions to create an excellent customer experience all around.