How An App Can Improve Your Restaurant Business?
Technology has changed the face and the pace of business in countless ways. If you look around, everyone is using their mobile phone to book trips, attend meetings, online shopping, financial transactions, social media, and many other purposes.
However, by far, restaurants are the most searched industry by consumers through mobile applications. It has been noticed that 95% of users perform restaurant searches over their phone devices, and almost 90% of users convert it into sales in a single day. Keeping the fact in mind, most restaurant owners have started to target and interact with their customers through mobile apps.
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Access to mobile internet and its impact on the restaurant industry
Internet has gone mobile and one of the industries to benefit the most from it is the restaurant industry. People are looking for fast food joints through mobile search while they are commuting and are even looking for deals and discounts on mobile.
The millennials are used to (almost addicted to) their mobile devices. They do a lot over their smartphones and tablets, including ordering food and even paying through them.
Food industry, particularly restaurants are leveraging this behavior by creating a restaurant app and then offering them rewards for app loyalty.
With this scenario, creating a mobile app for your restaurant will surely be beneficial in number of ways such as boosting sales, improving brand awareness and building loyalty. A mobile app will build a connection with your customers that goes beyond food and atmosphere; it builds loyalty with your customers. So, it is crucial for every restaurant owner to build a beautiful and highly functional app for their restaurant business.
What are customers looking for in a restaurant app?
It is no surprise that customers are looking for convenience and they have found it in mobile apps. There are thousands of features that you may think about adding to your app, but not all of them would make your customers happy. Let’s take a look at what your customers want in your restaurant app and their dining experience.
- Streamlined ordering/dining
- Engaging user experience
- A reason to return
The average customer wants to cut the noise by using your restaurant app. this means they want an interface that is simple menu browsers, clear display of pertinent information including operational hours, make reservations, order food (if your restaurant offers delivery) and any such other feature. This means the pressure on your service staff is reduced and you have a virtual maître d’.
Even if you have gotten someone to download your app, there is no guarantee they are going to use it or even keep it! The only way to make sure that you retain your customers is by engaging them in different ways like integrating social media, adding real-time directions or a food delivery tracker, an image gallery with the menu and anything that you believe will do well to engage your customers.
So, you got someone to download your app and use it once, now what? You would have to give them a reason to come back to your app and use it again. Adding a loyalty card program to your restaurant app gives them a pretty lucrative reason to return.
Now, it goes without saying that app features are the key to achieve your business goals. According to various studies, before attending a restaurant, people browse for location, menu, price, followed by placing an order and making reservations. So, if you are looking at creating an app for your restaurant you must consider the following features:
Top Features You Must Add to Your Restaurant Mobile App
Relevant app features are the key to achieve your business goals. According to recent studies, before going to a restaurant, people explore its location, menu, price, followed by placing an order and making reservations. So, if you are planning to create an app for your restaurant, you must consider the following features:
- Push Notifications
- Booking & Ordering
- Loyalty Program
- Gather feedback
- Step-by-step directions
- Virtual menu
- Contact Section
One of the most important aspects of getting your customers into your restaurant is communication. Push notifications sent through your app can be used to announce big promotions or send discounts to your patrons. Targeted push notifications can help you reach out to the right audience with the right offers.
Let your customers reserve a table through your restaurant app. This takes your personnel away from the phone so that they can take care of the customers who are dining in. Not only that, you can let your customers order food from home or while they are at the restaurant. Make the restaurant operations smoother and more efficient.
Launch a strong loyalty program for your customers, and they would keep coming back to your restaurant. You can also introduce a reward program that will encourage your customers to return to your restaurant for more. Adding the loyalty program feature to your app helps you run an efficient loyalty program of your design and choosing.
No one sends out a paper feedback form to the clients to fill in as they pay up at the end of the meal. Your restaurant app can have the review feature so that your customers can leave feedback or a review about their experience.
Add the GPS feature to your restaurant app with the map feature so that your app users can easily find their way without having to call in or asking passersby for directions. To take it up a notch, you can also add the geolocation feature so that you can use geofencing to reach your target audience.
Offer a beautifully designed menu within your app and let your customers explore the cuisine and the experience through your app. A well-designed menu can not only tell your customers about the food but also the ambiance and the kind of service they can expect.
You have to give your customers an efficient way to get in touch with you and your restaurant. By adding a dedicated contact section, you offer your customers a convenient way to get in touch with you and your customers.
These essential features are the must-have features for every restaurant app. In addition to this, for getting a steady amount of app downloads, you also require to create an efficient app description.
So, if you are looking to enhance the sales of your restaurant business through app, you can now create it in a matter of minutes with the awesome App Builder, Appy Pie.
You need no coding skills – just a great idea, a dash of creativity and less than 10 minutes of time – to develop an app for your restaurant and publish it to different app stores in a multiple languages.
So let those creative juices flow- try out how to create an app at Appy Pie – NOW!!
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