Adopting omnichannel can help you serve up a better customer experience, argues Sharon Manikon, managing director of Customer Solutions at Barclaycard.
Omnichannel – the concept of having a single view of your customer regardless of whether they choose to interact with your brand in-store or online – has long been familiar in retail. As consumers become increasingly accustomed, however, to browsing, buying and returning as they choose, expectations for an improved customer experience are now commonplace, and extending into the restaurant industry. Hungry for the same fast and personalised experience they receive from top retailers, customers are challenging restaurants to offer the best of both the physical and digital worlds at every meal – for example, by enabling them to place an order for dine-in before even setting foot in an eatery.
Through our 50 years of working with businesses across multiple sectors, we know that creating a better customer experience is critical to driving sales and ensuring consumers return time and again. By creating an omnichannel environment, restaurants have the opportunity to do just that – so here are our top three reasons why omnichannel is now crucial to delivering the service your diners expect.
- Speed is of the essence
No longer just considered a treat, Barclaycard research shows that three in ten people (30%) now choose to eat out or order takeaway at least once a week. As a result, consumer expectations when visiting a restaurant have changed, and for many, it’s now more about quick service (according to 37 per cent) than it is about menu choice (33%) or value (21%).
An effective omnichannel strategy can respond to this need for speed by allowing customers to order and pay via a means that meets their expectations. For instance, offering customers the option of pre-ordering a meal for takeaway or dine-in before arriving at a restaurant, or having the technology in place so they can pay the bill on a mobile device at the table, can go a long way towards delivering a quick and convenient service.
- Omnichannel takes you to where your customers are
Omnichannel is about more than offering your diners multiple ways to pay. It provides several methods to interact with your business, whether that’s online and via apps or at a bricks and mortar location – with the ability to recognise your customer as they cross platforms.
Making sure your business has a presence across multiple channels will play a role in boosting your customer numbers, particularly as diners increasingly rely on their mobile devices. This is especially true given almost three in ten people (28 per cent) aged 18-34 would be more likely to choose a restaurant if they had the option to order and pay for their food via an app.
Even if your business is not considering an app, there are many other simple ways to deliver an omnichannel experience. This includes, for example, ensuring customers can notify you of special requirements when booking online to dine in. By having a presence across several channels, and ensuring they complement each other – such as your host receiving this information beforehand and acknowledging those requests when they seat diners at a table – you will be equipped to deliver the convenient and efficient service diners now expect.
- You will learn more about your customers
Having an omnichannel system gives you a full, 360-degree view of how diners interact with your business. This rich stream of data from both the digital and physical worlds can then allow you to target customers more accurately through tailored offers and rewards. As a result, you can provide a more personalised service based on real insights and increase revenues. For instance, restaurateurs looking to boost custom on quiet evenings can use online data to identify their takeaway bestseller, then offer that dish at a discount at their physical restaurant to entice customers to dine in.
This data stream also helps businesses respond to the growing preference for a personalised dining experience. Emailing promotions such as free drinks when dining in for birthdays and special occasions will be a powerful tool to drive customer satisfaction, particularly given a third of people (33%) are more likely to choose a restaurant if they receive deals based on their data.
It’s clear that an omnichannel experience is important to today’s time-pressed diners; it responds to their need for choice, efficiency and personalisation by allowing them to engage at a time that suits them, through whichever channel they choose. Though joining up the digital and physical channels may seem like a challenge, restaurants that embrace this new model of service can reap many benefits – including increased football, higher revenue and rave reviews from serving up an outstanding customer experience.
