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With 59 percent of customers hanging up after calling in and waiting for a minute or less, according to Linga, restaurants are missing out on a lot of business. The average restaurant operating a sit-down dining experience can miss 15-30 percent of incoming calls on average, with that number possibly being even higher during busy hours.
The seasonal surge in foot traffic can drive significant business, but without proper preparation and training, teams can quickly become overwhelmed. For restaurants to thrive during busy season, it’s crucial to focus on the below three critical areas.
Quick-service restaurants maintain a steady customer satisfaction score of 79 (on a 100 point scale), while full-service restaurants — despite slipping 2 percent to 82 — remain one of the highest-rated industries in the Index, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI®) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2025.
As the world quickly came to a screeching halt in the early months of 2020, restaurants quickly accelerated an already existing shift towards digitalization to adapt to customers' new safety and priorities. Throughout 2021 and beyond, that answer will largely depend on how restaurants adjust their loyaltyprograms.
Here are five ways to enhance your restaurant’s takeout and delivery operations to improve customerexperience and open the door to more profit. Mobile apps improve order customization and customer autonomy over the ordering process while also increasing overall brand awareness and local restaurant perception.
For restaurant operators, these challenges underscore the importance of thoughtful decisions that boost efficiency and drive customer retention. Data-backed loyaltyprograms, in particular, present a key opportunity for marketers to foster deeper customer connections in 2025.
Too often, what customers found was a clunky experience marked by poor scanning results, slow click-throughs and the need to download third-party apps just to engage with the expected content. McDonald's started incorporating QR codes across their mobile apps and throughout their brand loyaltyprograms. Not at all.
Restaurant brands are seeking out emerging technology to be more efficient and using data analytics to improve the drive-thru experience and this is only the beginning, according to Tim Tang, Director of Enterprise Solutions at Hughes. "The conversation between employees and customers is a rich resource of actionable insights. . "If
It is atop the list for restaurants looking to modernize, differentiate, and elevate experiences. Foot traffic or heat mapping, menu item engagement, or consumer demographics by time of day. Foot traffic or heat mapping, menu item engagement, or consumer demographics by time of day. As of 2024, over half of U.S.
A customer in Miami should bite into the same perfectly seasoned burger that delights diners in Seattle. Reliable experiences build brand loyalty, and systemic processes lead to reliable profit margins. It’s no secret that restaurants with more than one location depend on standardization to thrive.
The real wins come from small, smart shifts; things like improving your online ordering system, highlighting your most profitable dishes, and giving existing customers more reasons to come back. Create Limited-Time Offers That Drive Action Limited-time offers (LTOs) give potential customers a reason to order now, not later.
Restaurants collect a ton of customer data. Every online order, email sign up, and reward program interaction generates valuable insightsbut if that data just sits there, youre missing a major opportunity. Think about it: What if you could automatically send a special offer to a customer who hasnt ordered in a while?
From improving your Google listing to leveraging customer reviews, these tips will show you how to boost your visibility and drive more traffic to your restaurant. If your website isn’t optimized for mobile, you could be losing out on potential customers. This way, you won’t need to code your site from scratch.
Your customer email list is your most valuable marketing asset, giving you an incredible ROI of $42 for every $1 you spend. You own it, it costs very little to maintain, and its a direct link to your customers any time youd like to reach themno complicated algorithms or third-party platforms getting in the way.
Understanding your target market is the foundation of making smart decisions for your menu, pricing, and overall guest experience. Without a well-defined target market, restaurants risk wasting resources on strategies that dont connect and menu offerings that dont selltrying to appeal to everyone, but standing out to no one.
Youre delivering a great dining experience, yet foot traffic remains inconsistent, online engagement is low, and new customers arent coming in as often as youd like. The problem isnt your food or serviceits visibility and customer engagementand were going to help you fix that. Optimize your Google Business Profile.
Restaurant operators are now looking for solutions to retain customers as colder weather and economic conditions threaten their bottom line. Customers now expect more than a simple rewards program or general mailing list. Enhancing the In-Person Experience.
What was once a gradual process turned into a rapid transformation, permanently reshaping how restaurants operate and interact with customers. Customers have now fully embraced the benefits of using restaurant technology, and to keep up with guests evolving expectations, the tech industry is growing at an incredible rate.
Technology innovations offer the potential to bridge the gap between the need to keep their business running and deliver quality products and experiences to their guests. Using a smartphone or digital device, customers can place orders, add to existing orders, and pay their checks right from their table without server interaction.
When business slows down, its easy to blame the season, the weather, or people not going out like they used to, but sometimes all customers need is a good reminder or the right reason to show up again. Encouraging repeat visits from loyal customers? Or bring in a wave of new customers who havent tried your place yet?
Customers expect to browse menus, place orders, and pay for their meals with just a few taps of their phones. For restaurant operators, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge: how to implement an online ordering system that maximizes revenue while maintaining control over their customer relationships.
These metrics give you a clear picture of your delivery performancefrom order volume and customer retention to delivery speed and profitability. This might seem like a small detail, but it plays a big role in the overall delivery experience and significantly impacts customerexperience.
Email marketing might not be as flashy as social media marketing, but for restaurants, its possibly the most effective way to stay connected with customers. Unlike social media platforms, where the algorithm overlords dictate who will and will not see your posts, emails go straight to your customers inboxeswhich they check daily.
Restaurants seeking to capture more Gen Z and millennial diners should support this fast-paced lifestyle with meaningful loyaltyprograms that save time and encourage return visits. First, Segment Your Audience Your guests want you to know their lifestyle and consumers often feel frustrated when the buying experience feels impersonal.
This ideally reinforces the connection in the customer’s brain between their everyday choices and the resulting impacts on the environment: “You’ve saved so many gallons of water, you’ve saved so many square meters of land and emissions and energy,” as Goldman says. Congratulations. The environmental mission can come later. So he took action.
QSRs Shift Focus from Slow-Paced Dining to Swift, Transactional Experiences Quick Service Restaurants (QSRs) are reimagining their dining spaces to prioritize speed, convenience, and personalization over traditional, slow-paced dining experiences. For the second part, click here.
The research found that businesses worldwide – particularly restaurants – intend to experiment more in 2025, especially with customer retention programs like loyalty, as they face the triple challenge of sustained high inflation, shrinking consumer wallets and the need to raise prices across the board.
The year 2024 promises a journey of adaptation and fierce competition for the restaurant industry as it manages stronger-than-expected economic data and slowing inflation while dealing with the headwinds of short labor supply, more demanding customers and an uncertain political environment. The key lesson both establishments teach?
This doesnt mean cutting corners and sacrificing the customerexperience; its about knowing where your money is going, spotting leaks early, and fine-tuning whats already working. This includes your social media ads, loyaltyprograms , printed flyers, local event sponsorships, discounts, and PR.
In this edition of MRM Research Roundup, we feature pizza predictions, Valentine's Day menu trends and lots about loyalty. A failure to handle complex orders with speed and accuracy can damage the customerexperience for almost half of customers and lead to lost business. Why the buzz?
Leveraging engaging and authentic video content allows restaurants to showcase their menu offerings, build a recognizable brand identity, and create a loyal base of regulars and word-of-mouth referrals. Showcasing New Menu Items and Specials While many aspects of a restaurant shape the experience guests have, the most important is the menu.
By Leo Clarke, Contributor More so now than ever before, restaurant guests are looking for an experience when eating out, rather than just a satisfying meal. A huge part of this experience is the customer service they receive at every contact point within the restaurant – and even after they’ve left.
One way to avoid this is by following an 'always-on'approach to marketing that focuses on attracting new customers, increased repeat business, and overall brand awareness. Then, layer on seasonal promotions and specials that help boost sales during slower seasons." "Consistency is key. ."
Every day, youre juggling staff, food quality, inventory, customer service, purchasing, and moreall while trying to cultivate a dining experience that wows your customers enough to keep them coming back. Customer Service and Experience Great food and drink is only truly enjoyed when its coupled with a great service experience.
Restaurants have been making a comeback while a global pandemic still clutches owners, staff, and customers. Recent industry studies have reported that 63 percent of restaurant consumers prefer to order delivery directly from restaurants, mostly due to the excessive customer fees associated with third party ordering apps.
In today's fast-paced world, quick-service restaurants (QSRs) are constantly looking for ways to attract new customers while keeping their existing ones happy. By displaying menu items, offers, and specials on screens, QSR operators can effectively communicate with their customers and influence their purchasing decisions.
By Tracie Johnson, Contributor A restaurant is a destination, an experience , and a reflection of the cultural moment -- not just a place to eat. Understanding a rapidly changing landscape characterized by rising costs, evolving customer habits, and an increasing demand for originality is critical to success.
A spike in food costs, a drop in sales volume, or one slow season can wipe out months of hard work. That includes the ingredients and packaging for your menu items, but not things like rent and payroll. This gives you a sense of how effective your menu pricing is.
The next youre racing to keep inventory stocked while customers wait for tables. Whether youre a seasoned owner or just starting out, this advice will help you boost efficiency, keep your team motivated, and turn customers into regulars. Free meals after long shifts or a staff pick on the menu build camaraderie.
From the humble QR code, which quickly became a mainstay during the pandemic, to recent reports of “digital-only” restaurants, tech is starting to define service for restaurants and customers alike. Building a loyal fan base is all about creating great experiences and, for this, automation can be a very useful tool.
Whether through supporting local charities or participating in food drives, local restaurants can become go-to places for customers who want to support their community. It helps allocate resources directly to those who are most likely to become loyal, repeat customers.
Operations will continue to be simplified despite digital experiences expansion. In addition, we see the point of sales platform as taking on more of the master data management role of the business, and configuring all the content needed for any digital experience from a single platform.
Third-party delivery apps start out as a convenient way to reach new customers, but they always take a significant chunk of your profits. While these platforms do bring in orders, they also come with the price of high commission fees, loss of customer data, and a weaker connection between you and your guests.
TouchBistro acquired Boston-based TableUp, a provider of loyalty and marketing solutions for the restaurant industry. and will enable TouchBistro to fully integrate customerloyalty and guest marketing into its all-in-one point-of-sale (POS) and restaurant management platform. TouchBistro Acquires TableUp.
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