February 22, 2021
Technology played a major role in restaurant management before the pandemic. Now, investing in innovative restaurant technology might be crucial to overall success in 2021 and beyond. With so much new tech being marketed to restaurant owners, it’s hard to know the best investment for you. Our restaurant supply and wholesale food store share top tech tips for independent restaurants.
What are the Top Restaurant Technology Trends To Consider?
Preserving profits, increasing the customer base, and reducing unnecessary costs are on all restaurant owners’ minds. How can technology keep you going strong in the year to come? What solutions are best for your establishment? From safety measures to marketing strategies, here’s what you need to know.
Improve Safety
Guest and employee safety is paramount during this pandemic. Diners seek restaurants offering low-risk dining spaces. Equipping your establishment with safety promoting tech can not only reduce the chances of transmission, but it can also help increase your customer base.
- No-contact thermometers for employee temperature checks.
- QR menus are a great way to lessen transmission risk. Online menus reduce touchpoints, save on the cost of printing paper menus, and limit contact time between customers and staff.
Rewards Program
A reliable customer following is essential to driving profits and making it through the pandemic. Implement a loyalty program for guests to help increase repeat business and solidify a dependable customer base. To make the process easy to track and monitor, there are a variety of restaurant-specific tech options.
Enhance the Touchless Experience
A recent study revealed that 38 percent of surveyed customers prefer contactless payment or pay-at-the-table options. 46 percent said they want online or no-contact ordering options for dine-in.
Self-serve kiosks for your restaurant are a smart investment. They give guests the freedom to order and checkout without waiting for a server. This also frees up your staff to focus on sanitation and other important restaurant duties. What’s more? You have options to fully integrate your inventory systems with self-ordering software, so sold-out items are instantly updated. Plus, you can store customer information and seamlessly run reports to help you identify big sellers and less popular items. Other touchless tech ideas are:
- Touchless hand sanitizer dispensers
- Touchless bathroom equipment
- Self-dispensing condiments
Enabling In-House Food Delivery
Restaurant delivery is an ever-expanding business and is expected to continue in 2021. While some restaurants partner with third-party delivery companies, high commissions and other fees are starting to cut into small restaurant profits.
While creating an in-house delivery team might seem costly, some reports suggest that restaurants save 46 to 50 percent with their own delivery service. That could mean more profit and reaching a wider audience. The delivery platform options are almost endless, so do your research and choose the one that integrates most efficiently with your business model and customer base.
Marketing
Cutting through the noise and getting your name out is crucial to surviving the pandemic. However, successful marketing requires time and dedication. For independent restaurants looking to save time and money, an aggressive marketing strategy can be challenging to do on their own. CRM management software can help restaurant owners develop and track marketing campaigns.
Equipment, Supplies, and Wholesale Food for Restaurants
We offer high-quality products at economical prices to help you achieve your bottom line. Save on wholesale food for restaurants at any of our locations across the U.S.
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