July 2016 - inresto

Social Media Marketing for Restaurants

Posted on 27/07/2016 by inresto

Benefits of Social Media for Restaurant Business

A well-executed social media marketing strategy can do wonders for any business, big or small. This inexpensive and highly creative form of digital marketing is widely used across industries to create awareness and increase sales. Research has shown that social media has benefited the F&B industry specifically, with as high as 80% restaurants using social media, way higher than email (63%), print (61%), and radio (37%). The social media platforms most often used are Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Twitter, with Snap-chat not too far away.

Here is how restaurants can benefit from exploring social media as a marketing strategy:

• Communicate directly with the customers – current and potential.
• Gain insights, feedback, and reviews on service, dishes, ambience, and pricing.
• Provide special discounts and offers to get new and visiting customers to try different items on the menu.
• Promote and launch new menu items.
• Create awareness about upcoming outlets and their launch details.
• Use loyal customers and employees as brand ambassadors.
• Hire hardworking employees.
• Manage your reputation online by resolving complaints, pacifying upset customers, and appreciating positive feedback.
• Spread excitement and increase awareness about contests and giveaways.
• Invite food bloggers and leverage their reach and influence on social media to get footfalls.
• Get customers to follow and like your social media profiles across platforms, connect with them, and tag them on photos to create awareness amongst their friend circles.

However, in order to make the most of the benefits listed, the restaurateur must ensure the following:

• Create social media properties and maintain them. Keep your followers updated.
• Have a dedicated person for social media marketing management for your restaurant.
• Content is king! Upload quirky and unique content that will attract audience.
• Get customers to check-in and review online.
• Click visually stimulating pictures of the food and share.
• Have a photo booth tucked in somewhere with props. Encourage customers to try it. Click pictures of them and tag them through your handle.

Social media has proven to be the most cost-effective and exciting restaurant marketing strategy. It is time to find customers where they spend most of their time – on social media.

Restaurant technologies | Restaurant technology trends

Posted on 24/07/201605/07/2021 by inresto

Restaurants all over the world are struggling to cope up with the stiff challenges posed by Covid-19. The sharp decline in footfalls and diners hesitating to visit restaurants has badly affected their profits. As per the report by National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI), the restaurant industry in India operates on wafer thin margins of about 5 percent EBITDA at the chain level.

Thus, it’s become an imperative to leverage the benefits of technology and boost profitability of your restaurant. The first step in this direction would be to implement a modern day, digital restaurant management system. The software platform helps you manage multiple functions such as billing, reservations, inventory management, marketing and a lot more.

How Restaurant management software help you boost profits?

Let’s go deep into the various benefits of implementing a smart restaurant management system.

Integrate with third party delivery platforms

In the post pandemic world, online food delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato have gained immense popularity among food lovers. As per the report by Forbes, by 2023 the market of online food delivery is expected to grow and outstretch up to $154.34 billion at CAGR of 11.51%.

A major benefit of cloud based restaurant management platforms such as inresto POS is that it lets you integrate with multiple sources such as third party aggregators, websites and apps. Now you can enhance your restaurant’s profits significantly by getting listed on third party delivery platforms.

Optimise your kitchen’s turnaround time

By streamlining all the operations from the central kitchen, you can achieve a huge amount of cost savings. Gone are those days when servers users to note down the orders placed by diners in a slip of paper and walk to the kitchen to communicate the order details. With the help of Kitchen Display System (KDS), the waiter takes the order details on a tablet. Subsequently, the chef and other kitchen staff can view the details on the monitor placed in the kitchen. The system saves a lot of time when compared to the legacy manual processes.

Minimise inventory wastage and theft

Wastage of raw materials eats away a sizeable amount of your profits. The platform aids in optimising your kitchen resources and cuts down overall grocery cost and requirement. Another nagging problem faced by restaurateurs is the internal theft by employees. As per the study by National Restaurant Association, internal employee theft is responsible for 75% of inventory shortages and about 4% of restaurant sales. With inresto, you can track and monitor all your supplies from anytime, anywhere. The pilferage and theft alerts help you curb the problem of employee thefts.

Whenever it’s time to place a fresh order of inventory, you will receive timely alerts. The system ensures that you never run out of stock. Once the order is placed, the inventory status gets updated automatically.

Custom loyalty programs to attract diners

It’s always hard to entice new customers. Thus, the best way to boost sales is by focusing on existing customers. The restaurant software let you create a custom loyalty program based on your customer retention goals. Customers earns rewards based on the number of visits or the amount spent. The option of instant reward redemption makes the loyalty program more attractive.

Run targeted campaigns

Identifying your target customers is an integral part of any marketing program. Based on the target segment, the communication channel can be SMS, E-mail or push notifications. In a single click, you can send promotional messages to your audience. One more advantage is that you can automate your campaigns and schedule them as per your preferences. Each time you run a campaign, monitor the impact of the program and the Return on Investment (ROI). In case the campaign is not working out, you can make changes to the program accordingly.

Restaurateurs are trying out all sorts of methods to increase profits. With conventional marketing techniques, you can no longer attract in-diners. As a result, in the post pandemic era, most of the restaurants have gone digital. An efficient restaurant management system can help enormously in boosting sales and cutting down wastage at your restaurant.

How Integrations Help to Ease the Billing Operations at a Restaurant

Posted on 20/07/201615/02/2021 by inresto

An integral part of any restaurant operations is the billing function. It is as crucial as any other functions such as guest relations, kitchen operations, and customer management. As a restaurateur, you cannot afford to keep the customers waiting in long queues at the billing counter. Neither can you afford to make a major mistake in the billing calculation that can hamper the credibility and reputation of your restaurant.

If any of these issues are making your life miserable, then it’s high time to invest in a restaurant Point of Sales (POS) system. It not only performs the billing function, but also integrates several other important functions such as supply chain management, customer data management, inventory management and a whole lot of other functions.

Features of a digital restaurant POS system

A modern day, cloud based restaurant management POS system offers many benefits that make it inevitable for restaurants.

Accepts multiple modes of payments

With the outbreak of Covid-19, customers opt for contactless payment methods as they are concerned about the contraction. As per the studies, the food and beverages sector was one of the top sectors for digital payments sitting at 26%.

The digital POS systems accepts multiple methods of payments such as cash, debit or credit card and digital payment platforms such as Google Pay or Paytm. The billing and real time payment statuses are tracked and recorded from a single dashboard that makes it quite easy to operate.

Streamlines billing process

One of the major drawbacks of the traditional billing machines is that you cannot integrate orders from multiple platforms. Due to the challenges posed by the pandemic, customers prefer to order food online using ordering apps such as Swiggy and Zomato. As per the survey conducted by Deloitte, since the outbreak of Covid-19 delivery and takeout orders increased by 14%. With India’s reputed digital POS systems such as inresto POS, it seamlessly processes orders from multiple sources such as third party aggregators, websites, apps and many more. One more advantage is that it processes the order fulfilment with absolutely no delays.

Integrates inventory management

The real-time tracking of inventory is made possible anytime from anywhere using the POS systems. The alerts on minimum threshold quantities specific to various outlets and locations help you plan and replenish the order fulfilment accordingly.

It is quite helpful for restaurateurs operating several branches spread across regions. Based on the orders, the inventory status is updated automatically and you will receive timely notifications. Theft and pilferage is brought down to the minimum, and the detailed reports provide valuable insights on stock variance and pilferage.

Integration of loyalty and marketing campaigns

Based on your customer retention goals, you can define a custom loyalty program on the POS system. The criteria for awarding loyalty points can be the number of customer visits or the amount spent at the restaurant. The impact of the loyalty program can be easily tracked which helps improve customer repeat rates and Return on Investment (ROI).

For boosting sales at your restaurant, you can launch targeted marketing campaigns as well. Based on the smart insights provided by the POS system, you can identify the target audience and their spending patterns. Marketing campaigns can be run through several communication channels such as SMS, E-mail or push notifications. There is also the option of automating your campaigns and scheduling them according to pre-defined time intervals.

Secure and ease of operations

The digital POS systems such as inresto are stored on cloud servers and your data is far more secured when compared to that of local servers. The system can be operated 24/7 from any platform such as mobile phone, tablets, PC, Android or iOS.

Parting Words

Restaurants can no longer survive on the legacy billing platforms that act as a barrier to the smooth functioning of the billing operations. In an era, when customers are becoming more demanding than ever, it is the need of the hour to implement a digital POS system that integrates multiple functions and facilitates quick, hassle free operations. The state-of-the-art system also helps you gain an edge over the competitors in the industry.

How To Maintain Quality Food at a Restaurant?

Posted on 17/07/201601/02/2021 by inresto

Food quality and hygiene are the prime perimeters of a restaurant business. Your diners revisit you for your service, the ambiance but most importantly the food you serve them.

Following are the tips to maintain good quality food at restaurants (explained in the article):

Maintaining Food Sourcing and Quality Standards
Restaurant Management Software for Quality Control
Food Packaging Standards
Staff Training

Maintaining the quality and consistency in your servings is of great importance for keeping up with the customers’ expectations and gaining loyalty.

It is, therefore, essential for standalone restaurants as well as chains. After all, a Chicken Maharaja must taste the same wherever you order it.

Maintaining Sourcing and Food Quality Standards

Recipe development and ingredient sourcing are two of the most important steps in ensuring quality & consistency. Usually, restaurants have a fixed supplier who delivers ingredients and semi-cooked or frozen food at respective outlets (if they do not have a central kitchen) depending on their needs. This ensures maintaining good quality food across the outlets.

Restaurant Management Software for Food Quality Control

Digitizing this process by installing a restaurant management software that looks after the backend tasks can come in very handy. The software can alert the restaurant manager about the status of the delivery, which items must be used on priority to avoid wastage, when stock is at a dangerously low level, etc. A software for restaurants can also serve as a handbook to be followed by all chefs to refer to recipes that can be circulated by the central kitchen.

Therefore, problems like chef attrition or tweaks in the recipe that can potentially be responsible for affecting quality & consistency can be dealt with easily. Also, the daily menu or the daily specials and correspondingly any changes in the same can be replicated at every outlet with the help of such a restaurant management software.

Food Packaging Standards

Another crucial factor in ensuring consistency is the kind of utensils being used. Every bowl of salad, every pack of fries, or the number of complimentary crisps and sauces served must be standard across all outlets. When one orders a burger or a sandwich at a chain, one can be sure that the patty is weighed to exact predefined specifications.

Staff Training

Apart from this, the restaurant staff must be trained under one roof so their service reflects the restaurant’s core values. Nothing can be left to chance when it comes to standardizing offerings and services at restaurants.

How to increase Restaurant Sales in 2021

Posted on 15/07/201608/02/2021 by inresto

Globally, the food and beverages industry is still reeling under the losses caused due to Covid-19. The customers have become more conscious about hygiene and safety measures and they prefer to stay away from restaurant visits. Let’s go through some novel techniques that help you increase sales at your restaurant in 2021.

3 techniques to increase restaurant sales in 2021

Go for a menu redesign
Upsell effectively
Embrace technology

There are two aspects to increasing footfalls at restaurants .The first one is to attract new customers towards your restaurant. The second aspect would be to attract and prompt the first-time customers for repeated visits. In these pandemic times when competition is heating up, the below 3 techniques will no doubt attract more visitors to your restaurant.

Go for a menu redesign

Since many years, restaurateurs were under the wrong notion that customers first read the items that appear on the top right-hand corner of the menu. Hence the high-profit items used to be printed in this area. However, a new eye-tracker study challenges this conventional wisdom and finds that customers read a menu sequentially like a book. The items can be arranged in a logical and sequential order, starting with the appetizers on the top of the menu. This makes it easy for customers while searching for dishes. The other important elements are to replace photos of dishes with illustrations and use boxes for high-profit items and groups of items so that it grabs customer attention. Remove the currency sign on the menu as studies have revealed that customers tend to spend more when it is not appearing.

Upsell effectively

One of the tried and tested techniques of increasing sales at your restaurant is by upselling the dishes. The servers can suggest those items to the customers that have high profit margins. The staff is knowledgeable about the various dishes on the menu and the specials that are offered at your restaurant. If a customer is ordering a meal, offer them a variety of extras that could accompany the meal. For example, along with pasta the server can suggest a shrimp in the pasta or garlic bread on the side. The staff should be well trained to perform the function of upselling in a diplomatic manner without causing annoyance to the diners. One more important point is that a dull looking and uninterested staff can be a big let-down. If the servers are enthusiastic, it will evince interest in the customers and prompt them to order more items as per their suggestions.

Embrace technology

Post the outbreak of the pandemic, digital restaurant management platforms plays an integral role in the management of restaurants. As per the surveys, customers rated the feature to book a table at a restaurant as the number one priority in a mobile app (74%). The second most rated feature was the ability to pre-order food and drinks (62%). All this and more is possible with the help of inresto Point of Sale, the cloud based restaurant management platform. Multiple functions such as billing, accepting orders from different reservation sources, customer data capture and a lot more is possible within a single platform. It enables your restaurant to provide table-side service, upsell and cross-sell items and increase kitchen efficiency. It cuts down the serving time during rush hours, which makes it possible to deliver excellent customer service. A range of detailed reports helps you easily analyse the performance of the staff members and take corrective actions.

Parting Words

In the post Covid-19 world, customers have become more choosy while visiting restaurants. They are looking for options where they don’t have to wait in long queues or get the food delivered quickly on placing the order. The modern day, digital cloud based restaurant management offers the ideal solution for all these problems as it offers a seamless and hassle free experience. Hence, it’s high time to choose the right digital POS platform that fits your needs.

Restaurant Industry in Mumbai

Posted on 11/07/201605/07/2021 by inresto

Restaurants in Maharashtra are still reeling under losses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. After a gap of close to seven months, the Maharashtra Government allowed hotels and restaurants to reopen from October 5th 2020. As per the report by Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI), the restaurant business in the state has been dropped to just 30% compared to the pre- pandemic era. The situation is even worse in Mumbai, as the restaurants have been operating at 33% capacity.

Factors that adversely affect restaurant industry in Mumbai

Let’s take a quick look at the various reasons that stand as an impediment for the restaurateurs in Mumbai.

Staff contracting Covid-19 infection

One of the recent challenges faced by restaurants open for delivery is their employees infected by the pandemic. A negative publicity about the contraction affects the restaurant business badly.

Inadequate tourist infrastructure

When compared to the other major cities in the world such as London, Dubai or Bangkok the tourist infrastructure in Mumbai is not that developed or efficient. The dearth of public roads, public transport and toilets act as a deterrent for the restaurants operating in Mumbai.

Restriction imposed on alcohol consumption

The 1:30 AM deadline imposed on alcohol consumption acts as spoilsport for late night parties. It is one of the major hindrances that stops Mumbai from becoming a major nightlife destination. The restaurant business in the city is also badly affected because of this rule.

Women’s safety

Mumbai is considered to be safer for women than many other cities in the country. However, safety at night still remains a concern.

How restaurants in Mumbai can beat competition?

In the present scenario, the below measures will definitely help restaurants in Mumbai to overcome the challenges posed by Covid-19.

Embrace technology

Customers have become more demanding and restaurateurs can no longer depend on legacy billing machines. With the help of digital, restaurant management platforms such as inresto POS you can manage various functions such as billing, inventory control, loyalty programs, marketing and a lot more.

One more major advantage is that customers can book tables at the restaurants in advance. The features of digital menu and contactless payments will definitely lead to more word-of-mouth publicity. The system also helps curb employee theft, eliminate long queues at the billing counter and bring down wastage of inventory. The smart insights and detailed reports help you take strategic decisions on time.

Add an online delivery arm

In the post pandemic era, restaurant customers place increasing importance on safety. As per the survey conducted by BofA Securities analysts, 69% of users were worried about eating out. Thus, adding an online delivery arm to your restaurant can lead to a significant increase in sales. Also, getting the restaurant listed on third party delivery platforms such as Swiggy and Zomato can boost the business tremendously.

Another recent trend that is gaining traction is that of ghost kitchens. It’s a delivery-only restaurant where there is no such concept of dine-in space. Customers place order for food online or through call centres and it gets delivered at their doorstep.

Have stringent safety protocols in place

Customers choose those restaurants that is clean and safe to visit. Restaurant owners should ensure that they strictly follow the Covid-19 hygiene protocols prescribed by the authorities. It includes temperature checks, maintaining social distancing, and daily sanitization. Employees should be well-trained on the importance of safety measures to be implemented.

Be active on social media

Build a business page for your restaurant on both Facebook and Instagram. Post high quality images and videos of your signature dishes on these platforms. Whenever there are offers or seasonal discounts, communicate to the social media followers. Rope in food bloggers and offer them free food at your restaurant. A rave review by a celebrity can change the fortunes of your restaurant overnight.

Restaurants in Mumbai are battling with the new challenges posed by Covid-19. The intense competition and wafer thin margins have added to the trouble. To tide over the crisis, the aforementioned steps will be of immense help to the restaurants. In addition to increasing the footfalls, it also helps cut down unnecessary expenses and increase efficiency.

How Tech Innovations are changing Restaurant Management

Posted on 10/07/2016 by inresto

Restaurants and their customers have undergone drastic changes in the ways they interact with each other. Restaurants have gone all out on digitizing their front and backend processes. Technology has penetrated into all walks of life and has revolutionised the functioning of every single industry, including FnB.

Tech tools have simplified the process of managing and growing a restaurant’s business. Here’s a sneak peek into the everyday routine of a restaurateur, then and now:

At the Start of the Day:

THEN:

– Arrival at 8:30am
– Check reports one by one on office computer
– Refer to previous night’s shift notes to get an idea of how the business was
– In case if any clarification is needed, call key contacts
– Run morning staff huddle

NOW:

– Arrival at 9:30am
– Check reports batch wise on office computer or mobile phone
– Run key performance data for the previous night report on tablet or smart phone to check how the business was
– Virtual morning staff huddle. Save up time if your restaurant does not open before lunch time

Scheduling the rest of the day:

THEN:

– Take out a pen and paper and start taking notes like in school.
– Hunt for bits and pieces of paper on which the daily schedule was scribbled in case a specific shift on a particular day or leaves are required

NOW:

– Log in to Torqus.com and make the schedule for everyone or choose from the pre-set schedule already created that everyone has to follow.
– Notify the shift details to all the respective teams
– Manage time off, keep a tab on shift adjustment, all from a mobile device

Menu Refinement:

THEN:

– Compare nitty gritty like food cost, list of ingredients, sales made, food wasted, etc. by using hand-written notes
– Base purchase and production decision on assumptions and gut feelings about what sells and what doesn’t
– Based on anecdotal assumptions, decide which items to keep and which items to discard

NOW:

– With the help of the Torqus restaurant software, slice and dice all your data, not just that of the previous day, to accurately make decisions about which menu items are lucrative, which ones should be tweaked, which ones should be discontinued, and which ones are bringing customers back
– Get a notification on your smartphone when the food cost on a particular item exceeds its threshold
– Update/Edit menu on the go basis the data & reports

Know your loyal customers and their expectations:

THEN:

– Spend forever to move from table to table and building relationships, after all remembering the birthdays and anniversaries is going to be based on how sharp your memory is
– Send over a dessert to a table, on the house, with the birthday boy/girl after you hear the guests singing the birthday song

NOW:

– Build relationships with your customers face to face, this is the one thing a software cannot do for you.
– Pinpoint your biggest spenders, frequent visitors, loyalists, and advocates using the restaurant management software and give them special treatment accordingly. Based on their ordering history, give them exclusive and customised offers/menus
– Get a daily report with birthdays and anniversaries so you can wish your customers and invite them for a meal
– Get a daily report of top selling menu items, beverage and food pairings, server preferences, etc. and make changes accordingly
– With the help of your integrated restaurant management software, incentivise first-time visitors, loyal customers, and those who have shown up after a while

Restaurant Marketing Strategy:

THEN:

– Once you have the marketing budget figured out, spread it across advertising platforms like radio, newspaper, events (Ex. Restaurant Week), coupons, and referrals.
– Pray that it works!

NOW:

– Make a clear cut advertising plan including SMS and email marketing, loyalty and referral programs, events and special promotions by leveraging on restaurant and/or food ordering apps or website.
– Measure the performance and effectiveness of every platform and optimise accordingly. Check if it gave you a bang for your buck.

Vacations and Leaves:

THEN:

– Yeah, right!

NOW:

– Keep a tab on all the happenings by checking in on your phone from a beach in Goa!

What is the importance of personalised service at restaurants?

Posted on 06/07/2016 by inresto

No matter which industry you work in, acquiring and maintaining customer loyalty is a challenge most businesses face. It is said that automation has simplified processes and added efficiencies to many disciplines, but customer service is a domain that requires a personal touch. However, we cannot ignore the importance of tech in helping deliver impeccable personalised service. A service agent who is knowledgeable about the customer’s profile, history, and preferences, can turn the most disgruntled visitors into brand advocates.

We at Torqus believe that for a customer to feel valued, the restaurant must first make its team feel valued. With the help of smart and real-time data that our restaurant management software provides, the team is empowered with enough information to deliver excellent customer service. The customisable interface,streamlined billing to manage long queues, user friendly systems, theft control and other such features motivate employees.

The software for restaurant helps the team profile customers while revealing their favourite orders, special occasions, and preferred method of payment, thus helping you prioritise customers and give them special treatment accordingly. It also makes feedback possible, therefore challenging the team to always strive for increasing sales and keeping customers happy. Personalised customer service is what actually sets your restaurant apart in a highly competitive industry.

In an era where access to loads of customer data is increasing with availability of superior service technology, the importance of the person in personalisation should not be underestimated. Apart from the above, it is also essential to provide a positive work environment, organise social gatherings outside the workplace and hours, reward those who motivate others, and be flexible and understanding towards the team.