How To Speed Up Your Restaurant’s Digital Transformation

Nowadays, most of our tasks are assisted by technology. Be it making a coffee, looking for directions, or searching for a new restaurant.

And, if all your clients are embracing the digital age, you can’t be far behind. Customers not only appreciate but actually expect that businesses will have implemented technological solutions that make their lives easier.

We’ll show you how to quicken your restaurant’s digital transformation to please more clients.

The Benefits of Digital Transformation in the Restaurant Industry

Embracing your restaurant’s digital transformation is as beneficial for your customers as it is for you. Check out the benefits you will enjoy if you follow our tips:

• Boost operational efficiency: you don’t have time to waste on things that could be done better with the use of technology, such as online order management or inventory management. Less errors, faster processes, happier employees, and more sales.
• Create a remarkable experience for your clients: clients will appreciate a seamless ordering process and come back if the food is also to their liking. With restaurant digitization, you provide the comfort and convenience customers seek.
• Easier management of your revenue: with the right technology, you can have access to real-time data about sales and customers. You can notice any problems and find ways to improve your sales.

Read more: How using innovative restaurant technology can streamline your operations

7 Tips to Expedite Your Restaurant’s Digital Transformation

Marrying restaurants and technology may scare you at first because of the cost and effort involved. But that’s not always true. You just have to find the right solutions for you that are cost-effective and easy to use. Here are our recommendations:

1. Leverage technology for an enhanced ordering experience

40% of consumers prefer to order directly through the restaurant’s app or website. Therefore, it is important to not only have but actually own your restaurant’s digital transformation.

Taking online orders by phone is not only outdated, but it also leads to a variety of easily preventable errors. Therefore, you need to ensure clients can place orders in a convenient way that will entice them to return.

Here is what you will need for your restaurant’s digital transformation:

• An online ordering system: don’t spend your money on third-party delivery apps where your restaurant can get easily lost. Use the free online ordering system from GloriaFood that streamlines your ordering process and lets you control the image you present to your clients;

• A sales and SEO-optimized website: allows clients to order directly from your website, in just a few clicks. If you don’t have a website or are unhappy with the one you have, use our restaurant website builder to generate one that will rank you high in Google searches;

• A branded mobile app: people are used to utilizing native apps to order their food, so why not give them this option? You can generate a branded mobile app personalized with your branding items from our online ordering system’s admin;

• The option to order through social media: you can increase your online sales by allowing clients to order directly from social media. When clients see a mouth-watering photo of a menu item on Facebook, they are just one click away from accessing your online menu. Get the smart links we provide in our admin to make your clients’ lives easier.

2. Use an intuitive digital menu

Have you ever checked a restaurant’s website looking for the menu only to be faced with a PDF menu you had to download? Or just an image that wouldn’t load properly on your phone? It was probably a frustrating experience.

Don’t make potential customers go through the same experience because they might look elsewhere for food. You need a digital menu that:

• Is perfectly integrated with the online ordering system: to make it easy for people to order when browsing the menu, with no extra steps necessary;
• Adapts to every type of device: allows people to order your food, no matter if they are using a smartphone or a desktop;
• Is intuitive: so clients can easily add items to the cart and be guided to the send order button;
• Has many illustrative pictures: online menus should be full of hunger-inducing images that tempt people to order.

Read more: Restaurant Menu Planning: How to Optimize Your Menu to Sell More

Good news. Our online ordering system has an integrated menu builder that you can use to create an attractive digital menu in no time. Check out these video instructions:

Your menu shouldn’t be available just for online customers, you can easily use it for dine-in clients with a QR code. Just print the code on flyers and place them on every table. You can even allow clients to order by scanning the QR code so you save your employees time. We’ll show you how:

3. Allow clients to pay online

Do you often have cash lying around? Most probably not and neither do your clients. Since the pandemic, most people rely solely on online payment.

Therefore, if you want to make ordering food more convenient for your clients, you must allow them to choose their preferred payment method, including online.

If you use GloriaFood, you can just go to admin and enable the online payment feature which will allow customers to pay with credit cards, debit cards, PayPal, Google Pay, and Apple Pay.

Read more: The Benefits of Online Payment for Restaurants & How to Enable It

4. Embrace targeted marketing

Some marketing tactics can feel impersonal and don’t achieve their purpose because people don’t resonate with the message. For example, if you send the same e-mail to all of your customers, no customization is involved.

If you want your marketing campaigns to convert, you need to start segmenting your clients and sending them personalized messages. Here are two examples of targeted marketing that will accelerate your restaurant’s digital transformation:

Read more: Restaurant Customer Segmentation: Why It’s Important & How to Do It

Targeted e-mail campaigns

The Autopilot module from GloriaFood is an email marketing tool that automatically segments customers according to their purchasing history to achieve three different goals:

• Encourage second orders
• Re-engage clients
• Prevent cart abandonment

It also addresses clients by name to establish a personal connection that will persuade them to open the email. Find out more from this informative video:

Loyalty programs

Show people you care about them and wish for them to come back by implementing a loyalty program. You can do so easily by using the Advanced Promotions module from GloriaFood. You can offer people a reward according to a criterion of your choosing:

• The amount of times they have previously ordered from you
• The total order amount
• Their last order

Check out this video for more information on how to reward loyal customers:

Read more: How to Increase Customer Loyalty in a Restaurant

5. Make data-driven decisions

How do you know if your restaurant is succeeding if you don’t monitor its progress? You shouldn’t wait until the end of the month to see the inventory and accounting reports, you should always keep an eye on your data.

Keeping track of your restaurant’s digital transformation can be simple if you use the Reports module from GloriaFood. You can access valuable data such as:

• Number of orders and reservations
• Google ranking
• The value of sales with many specifics
• What are your best-selling items
• Which areas do you receive the most orders from

On top of this, you also receive easy-to-implement tips on how to improve your business by:

• Improving website visits
• Convincing more people to order
• Increasing the number of returning customers

Read more: How to Successfully Use Restaurant Analytics to Increase Revenue

6. Save money and time with smart appliances

Some steps of your restaurant’s digital transformation will involve an initial investment that will save you money over time. Here are a few examples:

• Smart appliances: these devices can be remotely controlled and also store data that will help you problem-solve and make better choices. Consider smart ovens for precision cooking, smart refrigerators to prevent spoilage, and robot chefs that can assist with cooking tasks;
• Energy-efficient appliances: choose devices that optimize energy efficiency, so you can get more use for a smaller amount of money;
• LED lighting: consumes less energy, leading to reduced overhead costs;
• Inventory management system: to have a better view of all your ingredients and prevent food waste.

7. Better your team with technology

Employees are the supporting beam of your restaurant; you need them to be at their best for your restaurant to succeed. Here are a few tools you can rely on to make your team both happier and more productive:

• Scheduling tool: take advantage of AI to fairly schedule your workers and improve employee satisfaction. Moreover, you will also improve productivity and streamline communication with your team;
• Digital workforce management solution: the restaurant manager is just one person who will have a hard time keeping track of every single employee. With this tool, you can monitor employee performance, track attendance, and generate reports for payroll;
• Online training modules: training is the secret for employees who are ready to face any situation. If you find it hard or don’t have the time to do it yourself, rely on online training. It will allow your employees to learn at their own pace and reduce your training costs.

Final Words

The food industry is renowned for its competitiveness. If you want to stand out from the rest and succeed long-term, you must begin your restaurant’s digital transformation now.

Create an account with GloriaFood and we’ll take the first steps together.

​