Why Your Restaurant Needs an App
January 21, 2019We know, you’re a restaurant owner, not a developer or programmer. Let other people worry about apps, you just want to run your restaurant!
The truth is if you want to have a successful establishment, you have to take advantage of the technology that brings people in. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be hard, and the upside can be enormous!
Here’s why your restaurant needs an app, and how it will benefit your commercial kitchen.
Build Your Brand With Loyalty Programs
One of the easiest and best way to use an app is to create a loyalty program with it. No more having to manually punch cards, figure out how to track points, and more. Instead, do everything electronically through the app!
This also gives you maximum flexibility with your program. You can have points redeemable for a variety of items, giving the customer a lot of choices without straining your commercial kitchen.
A loyalty program helps build your brand and gives customers a reason to come see you again and again.
Allow Ordering Ahead With a Restaurant App
People love speed and convenience, so why not give it to them with a restaurant app? Allowing folks to browse your menu at their convenience and order ahead is a get additional sales. Some folks will never come to your restaurant – or will only come occasionally – but they may order takeout regularly.
Making this an option with an app is an easy way to integrate these orders with the normal work for your commercial kitchen to ensure your kitchen equipment is used efficiently. The ordering systems can be integrated, and the time of pickup can be part of the order.
Encourage additional revenue with little additional overhead by having an app where customers can order ahead!
Advertise Specials and Use Location-Specific Targeting
Having an app allows you to reach out to your customers in two unique ways. First, you can have app notifications that let your users know that you have a special, coupon, or other great deal. You can even use a notification to simply remind customers that their favorite food is ready to be ordered!
You can also use geo-location and targeting and deliver specific pop-up ads to users phones when they are within a specific range of your restaurant. You wouldn’t want to overuse this feature, but a nudge to come visit you when they are already in the area can definitely improve your sales.
Allow Restaurant Reservations
If your restaurant takes reservations, you know that some events and holidays have the phone ringing off the hook. Why not make it much easier for your commercial kitchen and your staff by allowing reservations on the app?
Having a calendar that updates real-time and shows available slots saves time and hassle for everyone. It also cuts down on mistakes and helps avoid overbooking.
An app is a great way for everyone in a party to determine when they can get together and schedule the reservation – saving your staff from endless calls, callbacks, and moving reservations.
Your Commercial Kitchen Needs an App!
From ordering to loyalty to reservations, an app can benefit your commercial kitchen in many ways. Best of all, once you’ve got the foundation, you can add additional features as you decide to roll them out.
Test out deals, try new menu items, or even poll your customers about what they’d like to see. An app has endless possibilities!
As you grow you’ll probably need additional restaurant supplies and equipment. We’re here to help. From cooking equipment to smallwares, we can get you the quotes you need. Contact us today!
Kitchen Equipment: Choosing the Right Cutting Board
Every kitchen, from a food truck to a large restaurant, needs cutting boards. From vegetables to bread to meat and fish, your chefs and cooks have to chop things every day. Have you put a lot of thought into this important piece of kitchen equipment? Like many other...
Catering to Generation Z
As time marches on, we continue to have new generations arising behind the ones we’ve already named. Most recently everyone has been focused on Millennials, whose tech-savvy and focus on experiences over things have shifted the face of every industry. Now, there’s a...
4 Ways to Keep Your Restaurant Employees Engaged
You can have everything you need to run an amazing restaurant – a great menu, incredible chef, the best location, perfect pricing, and top-of-the-line kitchen equipment. But even with all of that, you won’t succeed if your employees are disengaged and unprofessional....
Kitchen Fun : Food and the Oscars
Hollywood’s biggest night was February 24th, 2019, and was it ever a show. There were stars, glitz, glamour, and amazing outfits everywhere. There were also cameras catching every moment, from the red carpet to the after-parties. What happened at the show and after...
4 Keys to Successful Commercial Kitchen Design
If you’re opening a new restaurant or renovating your existing kitchen, you probably already have some ideas about how it should look. However, it’s important to look beyond your own ideas and understand the keys to good design in general. This will help you...
Bring Together Your Back and Front of House
Does your restaurant feel like a simmering battle between the back of house (BOH) and front of house (FOH)? Or do both units get along famously? If your restaurant is like many, you find yourself somewhere in the middle. Rarely do you have an all-out war, but...
Commercial Kitchen Fun: Cooking With Mustard
One of the things that make owning a restaurant so fun is the ability to be creative with your menu. With the help of your chef and cooks, you can come up with some really fun dishes to serve. To get your imagination going, we’re going to share some fun dishes that...
Drive Traffic to Your Restaurant From Instagram
You have a lot of restaurant equipment that you need to make your location run smoothly. You might think about your point-of-sale system, refrigeration units, cooking equipment, and more. But what about Instagram? That’s right, a social media platform can be one of...
Handling Theft in Your Convenience Store
Running a convenience store is challenging to say the least. You need to staff it, but not with too many people. Then again, too few and you have a lot of problems – including theft. There are three groups that can be responsible for product and money loss in your...
Kitchen Equipment Spotlight: How Clean is Your Coffee Pot?
If you were going to rank kitchen equipment based on how much work it does, the humble coffee pot has to be near the top. In almost every restaurant, people order coffee with their meal or dessert. The problem is that because the coffee pot is working so hard, it...
Should You Add a Food Truck to Your Restaurant?
If your restaurant is doing well, you might be thinking about opening a second location. After all, that’s usually the next step when it’s time to expand, right? Before you jump in, though, consider another option. Maybe having a food truck would be a better choice....
Kitchen Equipment Spotlight: How to Maintain a Commercial Freezer
Your commercial freezer can be a lifeline for your restaurant. Safe food storage is vital, and a high-quality freezer is essential kitchen equipment. However, a freezer is only as good as the maintenance that goes into it. Without proper care, your freezer will become...
Take Advantage of Your Customer’s Technology
Some restaurant owners hate seeing customers snapping photos of food – it means that the food isn’t eaten at its best, and sometimes it’s a sign of a table that’s going to be slow to turn over. Then there are other owners and managers who see an opportunity. The truth...
How to Reduce Turnover at Your Restaurant
Having the right employees can make or break your restaurant. You can have the best food and kitchen supplies, but tension in the back of the house can cause delays, poor morale, and even the loss of key staff. You can have a beautiful dining room, but surly wait...
Should Your Commercial Kitchen Consider Catering?
As a business owner, it’s important to always be looking for new ways to grow your business. There are a lot of ways to do this, and one of the most common for many restaurants is catering. Of course, catering changes how your commercial kitchen runs a lot of the...