Reducing queues is cool. However it is only the tip of an iceberg when thinking about the ways a digital kiosk can support the ordering process in a restaurant.
The world is changing, sometimes in a surprising way. The youngest generation – the Zs, are up to 23% more likely to visit shopping malls than Millennials. Also, they are20% more likely to visit a fast-food restaurantthan other age groups.
The youngest age group consists of digital natives who value digital methods of doing business. Their greatest concern is having a choice. Choice of ingredients, choice in the way of ordering and to eating the meal (you can find more about their customs in our blogpost on the five top restaurant trends 2020).
A digital kiosk is one of the most flexible tools to deliver the choices they demand. But that’s not all.
How to augment business with an ordering kiosk
Society is shifting toward a digitized way of ordering food. It is nothing to be afraid of – new ways of doing business emerge in every age, even disrupting the everlasting business of serving food.
To make things more clear, we’ve summarised how a kiosk supports the ordering process, apart from the most obvious one – making the process quicker.
1. Loyalty programs
According to TechCrunch predictions , customer retention will be a key focus of marketers in 2020. That comes as no surprise. As Altfield states, the probability of selling something to an already existing customer is between 60% and 70%. Selling anything to the new one is between 5% and 20%.
Loyalty programs tackle the problem by delivering an additional incentive to build further relations with the brand and stay… well… loyal. Modern programs are far from the sturdy point-gathering popular at the end of the last century. Today the program is digital and mobile – and the one delivered for Starbucks is a great example.
Digital kiosks can be seamlessly incorporated into a system that leverages the power of a loyalty program. The device can be augmented with a barcode scanner to read the card or a code displayed on a smartphone screen. There can be an additional window opened with offers exclusively for loyalty program users. These are only a few examples and one can utilise multiple other ways to leverage the flexibility of a digital kiosk (read more about that in our “what is a kiosk” blogpost).
2. Up-selling and cross-selling
The modern digital kiosk like Ordering Stack is only the frontend of a cloud-based solution that processes terabytes of customer-related data with ease. Also, it can be augmented with multiple modern tools and solutions, including recommendation engines and real-time tools.
Both cross-selling and up-selling can be adjusted to better fit the existing order. The customer who orders only gluten-free food can be offered more products of this type. Also, one who orders more salads and plant-based food may be more interested in ordering a bigger salad than fries. Everything depends on the real-time analysis of the customers’ orders.
Delivering fitting recommendations is the pinnacle of digital customer service. According to HubSpot , modern customers are up to 95% more interested in buying from companies that excel in the customer experience.
3. Flash deals
The digital ordering kiosk takes what’s best from the e-commerce world. One of the most interesting concepts is the flash-deal. The concept is clear – the customer gets an interesting offer, but with a limited time, and when we say “limited” we mean it!
Wish, a flash-deal platform for fashion offers tremendous bargains (up to 90%) lasting for no longer than half a minute. The platform currently has over 90 million active monthly users and more than 200 million items listed.
This philosophy can be easily incorporated into the digital kiosk as a more aggressive form of upselling – something that is impossible with the a live assistant. The self service kiosk provides a challenge. A cashier asking a customer to make a quick decision would be rude.
4. Real-time offer management
A digital signage kiosk has real-time data about stock and the kitchen situation. Thus, the machine can easily withdraw missing items from the menu. Therefore, the disappointment caused by the need to wait a long time for a meal or the need to replace a favourite salad with something else is avoided.
5. Digital promotions delivered in a new way
The internet and social media deliver new ways to promote a business. Also, with the help of new technologies, even a local business like a restaurant can launch a digital promotion campaign. The key challenge is to connect online and offline actions.
An ordering kiosk is literally a piece of the digital world standing boldly inside the restaurant. It can be connected with social media to display a live stream. A set of digital displays can deliver a comprehensive experience. Video can be displayed on multiple screens.
Also, the kiosk can interact with the user’s mobile device. Tagging oneself in the restaurant, giving a favorable opinion in Google or sharing a post on a Facebook can be noted by the device and rewarded with a certain promotion.
What’s even more important, the kiosk collects and analyzes all this data for further analysis and usage to provide better targeted and planned marketing actions
6. Omnichannel applied
Last but not least, the ordering kiosk is a truly omnichannel device with digital kiosk software that makes the difference.The comprehensive environment delivered by the OrderingStack system makes it possible to connect the kiosk and mobile devices even further. One can start ordering with the mobile device and complete it using the kiosk when closing a payment. Also, one can also place an order remotely and only pick up it at the restaurant.
Reducing waiting times is the key benefit of the ordering kiosk. According to the research published in the Journal of Consumer Behavior , waiting times have the greatest impact on customer satisfaction. The customer is happier to place order quickly and get food after a long wait than to wait longer to order and get the meal in no time. Even if the overall time is the same.
Summary
Placing orders in a restaurant remained unchanged for centuries. One had to talk with the staff member, ask about the meal details and pay. All the user experience was up to the cashier’s good behavior and the waiting time.
The digital kiosk is an automated and smart way to place orders. The company gains a competitive tool to deliver customer excellence, while the customer needs little no time to wait before placing the order. Last but not least, the staff supported by the kiosk can focus on preparing meals.
Everybody wins.
