Can you imagine your restaurant without a mobile app? 85% Americans agree to use restaurant mobile app to place orders for delivery and takeout. 80% of the restaurants in the US have already started offering the convenience of mobile ordering to their customers.
The demand for mobile ordering will keep increasing due to the ease of process and the convenience it offers. What restaurants need to understand is that sustainability in today’s time is directly proportional to the digital experience they offer to their customers.
Today’s tech-driven generation wouldn’t think twice about going to the competitor if their bare necessities are not met. And a mobile ordering app is that bare necessity!
A custom mobile app not only provides a platform to order conveniently but also works as your one-stop solution for increasing customer engagement. A mobile app can provide additional value to your customers which will help you rank above the competition. So what are the other benefits if mobile ordering app that you’ve been missing out on? Let’s find out in this article below:
👉Also Read: How much does it cost to have a mobile ordering app?
7 ways in which mobile apps will help your restaurant to outrank your competition
It is Customer Friendly
Online ordering has enabled many restaurants to manage their peak business hours very effectively. Thanks to online ordering many people manage to prevent the painful experience of wasting time in a long queue. With the option to order their meals from a mobile app, they can easily place an order when they are stuck in traffic or on the way to pick up the kids.
Mobile apps provide the freedom to order from any place at any time without pausing everything and making a call to the restaurant. The food experience has come a long way it has become a much more hassle-free experience for the customers. And if you can vouch for such an experience then the customers will definitely come your way.
Mobile apps bring you much closer to M-Commerce
Research shows that customers are more likely to make a purchase if you provide them with a favorable cashless experience. The lesser you deal in cash more convenient the experience becomes. Mobile apps help you to achieve that very easily. A good restaurant ordering app will have options to accept payment from a variety of gateways. In this way, the customer can choose the most convenient option.
Easier to attract new customers
Mobile apps are great tools for customer engagement. But the real question is: What value can you provide that makes your customer download your restaurant’s app and use it regularly? For that, you need to provide the right mix of content on your app. Too much content and your app will look cluttered. Reward your customers when they order via the app. Mobile apps have a lot of inbuilt options to keep up engagement levels. Keep your customers tuned to your restaurant by using new offers.
Now bring in an app-based loyalty program, and you can provide extra value to your customers. Whenever they make a purchase through the app, you should provide some value back. This value keeps them coming back to you.
💡Pro Tip: To keep your app less cluttered it is a good idea to provide the popular selection of your menu on the app.
Running a highly specific marketing campaign
Have you thought of running a campaign for each individual customer?
You might think this is a time-consuming and laborious task which is next to impossible. But with a mobile app, you can! You can run customized promotions for your customers. With an online ordering system, you will have the crucial advantage of data. This data will provide crucial inputs on the items your customer likes to order together, the time he usually prefers to order, and several other metrics that can help you to constantly improve your business and eventually increase revenue.
If a customer hasn’t visited you in a very long time, you can send a special discount on their favorite item. They are either going to visit the store or most likely place an online order through the app or website and they are definitely going to order other items from the menu.
💡Pro Tip: You can run discounts on combo items and sell a less popular item by pairing it with a popular item. There are several ideas which can be implemented which we will cover in another article.
👉Also Read: Say 'NO' To Discounts For Continued Growth Of Your Restaurants
Lesser mistakes and lesser problems
Even the most experienced server can make a mistake when taking an order. Good thin is that you can now deliver zero-error orders using the available restaurant technologies such as a well rounded online ordering system for restaurants.
By incorporating online ordering into day-to-day operations, your team can leave the monotonous tasks like taking orders, sending orders to the kitchen and communicating special requests to the software and concentrate on better things like promoting the brand-new mobile app.
Streamlining the action of Ordering- Processing- Delivery
With the expanding delivery market and third-party delivery platforms, small restaurants have the option to leverage a sector that was only available to large chains with their delivery fleets. A branded mobile app acts as your virtual storefront which enables customers to place an order, see it while it is being processed, and track its location when it is out for delivery. This special feature of mobile apps boosts customer engagement to greater levels.
Online Presence, Reviews, and Ratings
A mobile app will help your restaurant to rank better on various ranking sites. Customers prefer to place their orders on their mobile devices. A seamless mobile experience will promote a positive interest in your business which can be further promoted by using reviews and ratings from the customers. Reward your customers for providing positive feedback and rectify the problem when you receive negative feedback. Most of these negative feedbacks can be easily resolved by a prompt response.
👉Also Read: Restaurant Guide: How to keep customers happy
Mobile ordering is a complete package, not only it helps in bringing more orders but it also takes care of other things like scheduling events, and reducing errors, and food wastage. A mobile app is a direct channel to reach your local customers through push notifications.
To learn more about Restolabs, or book a free demo to speak with one of our online ordering specialists today!
With the increased smartphone usage and availability of a wide array of mobile apps, it is important for restaurants to capitalize on this technology so they can increase their margins and also be better equipped for the future.
For any queries or suggestions, you can reach us at info@restolabs.com.
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