5 Digital Transformation Tips for Hospitality
Technology today is transforming business in general, and it has changed the way that restaurants and the hospitality industry work. There are tools to take orders online, deliver, and control costs while making customers happy.
Restaurants need to stay on top of these trends to stay competitive and keep customers satisfied so that they return again and again. Take a look at five digital transformation tips for the hospitality industry.
1. Online Ordering
Research shows that around 40% of restaurants offer online ordering today. As customers grow accustomed to this feature, they will choose restaurants that have it available. Three are many different applications that allow you to make this experience simple and convenient for customers. For example, you can use QR codes for menus or offer contactless text message notifications.
You can use tools to create an app with your menu and allow customers to make reservations. More people use smartphones than ever before, so you want to make sure that your website is optimized for them. They can order, make reservations, and pay online, which makes them happy and saves you time and money when you invest in these tools.
2. Develop an Online Presence
Social media is critical for success today. It is an excellent place to interact with your customers and draw in new business. You need to use a web optimizer such as SO Connect’s tool to make sure that people find your website easily, detect bugs and get alerts in real-time, and easily improve your website ranking.
This tool also analyzes your top-ranking competitors and analyzes your keywords to make sure that you are using the most profitable ones. You need online visibility so that new customers learn about your restaurant and existing customers can recommend it to their friends and family.
The listings tool lets you update and publish your business information to more than 50 platforms at once. Research shows that 76% of local searches result in a visit within 24 hours, so you need to make sure that your business comes up when they search.
3. Create Self-Ordering Kiosks
Studies show that nearly 90% of customers want to use self-ordering services when they go to a restaurant. As the younger generations become a significant portion of the clientele, restaurants need to keep up with their tech-related expectations. With tools that allow customers to choose what they want to order and add in customization preferences, there is less error and they are happy.
This technology can be integrated into a loyalty program where your customers can be rewarded for returning to your restaurant, and it can be linked to an app that they download on their phone. A website optimization tool also helps to make sure that your customers can stay connected.
4. Collect Reviews Online
Reviews are as important as ever today because most people check online reviews before they try a new restaurant. You need to make sure that you are collecting reviews online, and you can use a Reviews tool similar to the one offered by SO Connect. This tool is the fastest way to collect new reviews and manage them online, which will help to boost your rankings.
You can set up an intuitive review request that is sent out by email, text, or QR code, and connect it to your CRM or your POS so that you can reach all of your customers easily. You can see all of your reviews in one place on a dashboard that collects them from all different platforms, which saves you the time of having to check different websites.
By monitoring and responding to these reviews, you will engage with customers and build trust in the online community. More people will try your restaurant when they see that you are engaged.
5. Stay on Top of Your Website Performance
It is crucial to stay on top of your website performance. Customers want to see websites that are intuitive and easy to navigate. They shouldn’t have broken links and it should give them all of the information they are looking for. SO Connect’s website optimizer tool has a performance analysis feature that lets you know about all of the aspects of your performance.
Final Thoughts
There are a number of ways to digitalize restaurants and you need tools to make it simple. Tools such as the Listing, Reviews, and Website Optimizer from SO Connect will help you build a more loyal customer base and increase your profits.
