IT: the most important ingredientKey considerations for the casual dining industry

Today’s market is tougher than ever.

Casual dining businesses face

fierce competition, tight margins,

economic shocks and rising costs.

the difference between

empty tables and full houses, between scattergun marketing and effective targeting, between firefighting and future-proofing.

IT: BOOK

THE WORLD IS MOVING TO MOBILE Customers’ expectations are changing, and successful businesses are adapting

to meet and exceed them.

The Restaurant

3

!OFFER

IT isn’t something to be thrown in at the last minute as an afterthought.

IT IS THE MAIN INGREDIENT

DISLOCATED DATA. Your systems generate stacks of useful data, but it’s often siloed.

SO, WHERE’S THE CATCH?

In many cases the EPoS system, the reservations database, the accounting system

and the website don’t talk to each other.

RESTAURANT IT SYSTEMS EVOLVE OVER TIME

Bringing that data together can deliver measurable benefits to casual dining operations, right across the business.

ACTION PLAN

1.

IT can enable better resource allocation and maximise table yield. It can measure ROI of individual promotions. And it can deliver a better customer experience.

2.

IT can automate everyday interactions, and provide valuable insights into your customers’ behaviour.

2-4-1

3.

Evidence shows that automated reminders significantly reduce no-show rates.

!

ALERTRestaurant booking at 18:00

IT CAN EVEN REDUCE THE DREADED NO-SHOWS

4.

Of course, if integrating all your disparate systems were easy, you’d have done it years ago.

SAY HELLO TO THE CLOUD: TECHNOLOGY ON TAP.

Cloud-based services are much easier to integrate with your existing systems. Upfront costs are minimal and on-going charges are proportionate and predictable.

BUT NOT ALL CLOUDS ARE EQUALSome offer a one-size-fits-all approach, which may not be the perfect solution.

BUT NOT ALL CLOUDS ARE EQUAL Some have their own B2C operation whose

interests may conflict with yours. Fancy being a cog in someone else’s machine?

BUT NOT ALL CLOUDS ARE EQUAL Some charge per-cover fees that seem reasonable

initially, but can easily escalate to make already tight margins more miserable.

££ £

Look for organisations based locally, with technical support

people who are available during your business hours.

Look for a white-label solution to ensure the brand you’re promoting to your customers is yours, not a third-party platform provider.

NEXT STEPS

Avoid lock-in: could you move your data if you decided the service is no longer the best for your business?

Always ensure you retain control of your costs, your brand, and most importantly of all, your data.

• IT is an essential ingredient for modern pub and restaurant businesses, but fragmented legacy systems can limit performance

• Bringing the data together on a single platform can deliver significant, measurable ROI

• Moving systems into the Cloud could be your most cost-effective solution

• But be careful which platform you choose - make sure the big switch won’t lead to a loss of control

POINTS TO REMEMBER

See how modern restaurant businesses are transforming their

technology infrastructures.

Making the Link: How more integrated IT systems are unifying restaurant businesses

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