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Eight components a restaurant app can’t do without

Folks these days are going gaga for smartphones.  A 2012 Pew Research poll revealed that 46 percent of American adults own a smartphone, a 25 percent increase over the previous year.  Smartphones make life easier and more convenient when it comes to communication, navigation, gaming and even shopping.  One type of smartphone use that is poised to see a big uptick is food ordering.

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Missing cogs in your mobile and online ordering machine could make the whole thing go haywire.

Big chain restaurants are realizing the potential of mobile and online ordering and taking advantage by offering slick new apps to their customers.  Smaller and medium sized restaurant groups also have access to mobile and online ordering apps.  With options available ranging from skeletal programming codes to add to an existing site to turnkey solutions to developing an app in-house, a restaurant management team might wonder which bells and whistles are essential and which they can kick to the curb.  Here are eight features no ordering app should ever lack.

  1. Cross-platform integration  The war between Android vs. iPhone is well-documented, including legions of passionate brand evangelists on both sides.  Whichever device they prefer, all of these users have the potential to become avid mobile food orderers.  Plus there are tons of people that might want to order via the mobile web or computer.  Why choose one platform or another?  Your app needs versions for all three media (Android, iPhone and web) and the consistent testing, updating and troubleshooting to go with them.
  2. Secure credit card processing  There is much ado among tech bloggers and journalists about which version of the “mobile wallet” will someday reign supreme.  So far no one system has made enough noise to grab a dominating portion of the market share.  Until someone finds that mobile payment holy grail, why not stick to what digital customers know and are comfortable with:  paying with cards?  Food ordering apps that offer secure credit card information storage and processing allow for the least amount of hassle for customers and merchants alike.
  3. Saved favorites  Regular and return customers often know what they want to order before they see a menu.  Since some the most appealing aspects of mobile and online ordering are convenience and speed, the ability to save favorite menu items for quick ordering is essential.
  4. Customer feedback  People that shop online or through mobile apps are accustomed to open, easy to access customer support and feedback.  Don’t disappoint them.  A good app will let customers share their feelings at the touch of a button, be it to the restaurant, app developer or sharing thoughts via social media.
  5. Charitable giving  Mobile and online ordering customers are just as generous as everyone else, so provide them a chance to give a little when they purchase through the app.
  6. Loyalty programs  Like so many other things, loyalty and rewards programs are migrating from wallets and purses into mobile phones.  Punch and swipe cards are making way for easier to manage counterparts that link to user accounts.  Mobile and online food ordering systems that make these rewards easy to track and redeem are that much more appealing to potential customers.
  7. Push marketing  Consumers these days are becoming experts at avoiding “intrusive” marketing.  On the other hand, many of the same people are more than willing to sign up to receive special offers they know they are interested in.  The best mobile apps allow restaurants to send push notifications, which are messages the app delivers to users based on criteria like location and previous ordering habits.  The old days of inundating the public with signs, billboards and flyers in hopes that a few customers might bite are in the past.  Connecting with the customers that want to hear about your special offers makes each marketing dollar that much more effective.
  8. Powerful merchant tools  Of course great apps offer tricked out experiences for customers, but they can offer useful tools for restaurants to take advantage of also.  One of the best aspects of the mobile and online economy is the prospect of pinpoint accurate customer data.  Restaurant managers should be able to track orders and payment, update menus and hours and prices from a tablet, smartphone or computer.  Another nice feature is access rich data including weekly transaction reports or the ability to monitor data from multiple locations from one portal.

If you are going to implement mobile and online ordering, don’t make the mistake of only going half way.  Be sure your app has all of the shiny new features that offer a top notch experience to customer and restaurant alike.

Image courtesy of Mr Lightman / FreeDigitalPhotos .net

Mobile apps mark a major milestone in human technological progress, so you should probably have one

Some technological advances stand out in the annals of history.   Game-changers like the invention of the wheel or the printing press altered the very course of human history.  But as momentous as they seem now, folks at the time of those inventions might have thought, “Meh, I’m not getting one of those ‘wheel’ things, it seems like it’s only marginally better than my ‘drag sticks.’”

“I’ve got to have one,” said people in 1450.

In hindsight is safe to say the invention of the wheel sped things up around the old prehistoric job site.  And in the way that the printing press democratized knowledge and literacy, mobile devices and near-universal connectivity are emancipating people’s free time.  Mobile apps may not be able to move mountains, but they can move people through a line, which is a happy circumstance for restaurant and customer alike.

Apps > Mobile Web

To reach customers on every level, a restaurant needs to offer an app to its customers.  In order to overcome the constant storm of innumerable applications available smartphone users, a good app needs to have one quality:  usefulness.  In the app game, this quality is synonymous with value.

Mobile restaurant apps are as practical as they come.   And double down on the benefits, because apps can simultaneously offer value to the restaurant and its customers.

Most every smartphone has a web browser and quality connectivity is becoming more and more ubiquitous every day.   Since smartphones offer easy access to the mobile web the first order of business for an app is to outshine whatever experience the mobile web offers.  Indeed research incicates that the rich experience is driving ever-increasing app use while mobile web use remains flat.

For something a user does often (like, say, ordering food) the speedy, fluid experience of a mobile app blows the mobile web out of the water.  An app can integrate with device hardware like GPS, social media apps and even the camera.  For complex interactions such as placing a take out order, native apps will far outperform the UX on the mobile web.

Utility = Value

The old “billboard” marketing mentality is extinct in the mobile space.

Few users are likely to waste phone memory on an app that doesn’t consistently provide either some utility or “fun” value to them.  And useful apps have more staying power than games, as studies show that users tend to remove such frivolous apps soon after they install them.

The ideal mobile food ordering app offers plenty of both.

The ability to save favorites, receive coupon codes, build points toward promotional discounts and connect to feedback and support is extra valuable to the best kind of restaurant customer:  the regular.  Established regulars will fall in love all over again and such features can entice occasional visitors to convert into steady fixtures.

Data + Flair + Social Media = Powerful Marketing

An app this useful is hard to resist, but what about the fun factor?  One plus is the opportunity to spice up marketing efforts with more creative campaigns.  By accumulating promo points, app users can unlock discounts and other benefits.  Of course the restaurant can design the point rewards to suit its needs.  Mobile devices are always connected.  An ordering app can offer data tracking of a user’s precise location, time and ordering tendencies.  A restaurant can use this data to create precisely targeted marketing efforts.

Games are fun, but it doesn’t really make sense to incorporate a game about, say, unhappy winged creatures into a mobile ordering app.  Interest in games tends to be short-lived, and the best apps have staying power.  There are plenty of ways to spice up an already handy experience.

“Eureka! I’ve invented… what does this do again?”

Social media connectivity lets users share their experiences with online friends, while providing a bit of visibility to the restaurant’s brand.

Some people just like to set goals:  flair allows for just that.  Pieces of flair are digital buttons, badges, ribbons or other insignia that allows users to admire their virtual achievements and show them off to friends.  Customers can earn flair for anything from placing late night orders to visiting several locations within a specified time frame.  The customer gets a warm fuzzy feeling of affirmation and a bit of status among online peers.  Restaurants can design flair to instruct customers on how to better use the app by rewarding them for saving a favorite, or they can cross promote a new location by offering flair for visiting within the first week.One-time promotions can take advantage of unique circumstances to bond with customers.  Our Valentine’s Day promotion encourages customers to include the word “love” in the notes of their order to unlock the promotion.  It is a fun way to acknowledge the day and a way to send a positive vibe to the people working behind the counter preparing food.  Everybody wins!The Future is Now

The technological leaps and bounds of any era might seem unextraordinary at the time, kind of the way that a speeding train feels like it is standing still from the inside.  But ground breaking innovation is always knocking at the door.  The last decade alone has witnessed the dawn of widely available GPS technology, rapid advances in genetic science, alternative energy and of course the proliferation of the smartphone.

Smartphone apps are a unique combination of a utilitarian device and an interactive medium; naturally smartphone users are going include mobile food ordering in their virtual toolkit.

Is the daily deal dead or just growing up?

Daily deal providers like Groupon and LivingSocial have been all over the news lately, for all the wrong reasons. Some analy

sts have forecast the death of the online daily deal. On the contrary, this news is more likely a symptom of the evolution of group buying as a business model. For example, coupling a daily deal program with services like online ordering and loyalty programs actually creates a more valuable one-two punch. Daily deals can help introduce new customers to the business, while the convenience of online ordering and the benefits of a loyalty program keep those customers coming back.

Mobile couponing is only beginning to blossom

Businesses probably can’t rely on one-time coupons to be the driving force of the consumer experience. Coupons work well as part of a larger suite of benefits, and they can be particularly useful in the mobile marketplace.

Data from a number of recent surveys backs this up. Sixty-seven percent of respondents to one survey said they would be willing to share personal information with relevant brands to improve service. Forty percent of smartphone users said they redeem mobile coupons. Fifty percent told another survey they share coupons and other mobile ads at least once a month. Twenty percent obtained their mobile coupons through a retailer application. One researcher expects mobile coupon users to increase 30 percent to over 500 million in 2013. Some expect the mobile coupon redemption rate to exceed $43 billion by 2016. What is obvious is that mobile and smartphone users are keen on coupons.

There are a number of advantages to offering mobile deals. Mobile access allows a business to reach consumers at many points during retail lifecycle, not just when they happen to spot a printed circular or spy a poster on a storefront. It is much more difficult to redeem fraudulent electronic coupons compared to their paper counterparts. Brands can reward users for sharing offers and endorsements across their social networks. With access to highly specific mobile consumer data, a business can make an offer all the more potent by aiming it at a very particular set of customers.

The best news for small to medium sized businesses is that today’s mobile marketplace is more accessible now than ever. Top-quality mobile apps used to be too expensive for all but the biggest corporate monoliths to develop. Today the cost is reasonable for a smaller business to partner with a developer and sell their product in the mobile space. Now a small business can include all the trappings of the latest applications like loyalty programs, flair, user data accumulation and, yes, coupons.

Groupon, LivingSocial and other daily deal providers nailed it when they identified a large customer base of avid mobile and online coupon users. Their mistake was probably expecting daily deals to succeed as a stand-alone business model. As exciting as they are to some consumers, coupons don’t offer much in the way of sustaining customers. Aggregating coupons and other incentives with useful services like food ordering, travel management or store locators is icing on the cake of an already practical application. While the future of Groupon and other daily dealers is murky, there is little doubt that they have laid the groundwork for a lucrative mobile and online coupon market that will endure for some time.

 

Image courtesy of suphakit73/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Q&A with Technomic’s Erik Thoresen

Staying ahead of the curve on communication technology requires close monitoring of the ever-shifting landscape. Firms like Technomic provide invaluable foodservice research that can reveal oncoming trends.

Technomic’s Erik Thoresen conducts proprietary studies for clients and tracks emerging technology in the restaurant and consumer sectors. Splick-it asked Thoresen to elaborate on some recent findings.

Splick-it: Based on what you see at Technomic, is mobile commerce increasing at a faster rate now than in recent years?

Erik Thoresen: Given rising penetration of smartphones, mobile technology represents a more lucrative opportunity to engage with consumers than in the past. However, as it grows, the playing field becomes increasingly crowded and the ability for commerce platforms to cut through the noise is a growing challenge.

S: In broader terms, what do you think your latest data revealed about mobile customers and restaurants?

ET: There is clearly a shift in the way that consumers think about mobile technology and the role it plays when they are dining out and ordering in.

S: What makes dining and ordering food so conducive to mobile technology?

ET: Internet-enabled mobile technology adds a new layer of convenience to ordering food. In this way, it enhances the consumer experience by saving them time. Also, the range of apps that are available to consumers via their mobile device increases their options and gives them more power to find exactly what they are looking for.

S: What can restaurants do to best respond to the data in your study?

ET: Restaurants can apply these insights by looking for areas in which mobile technology can increase patron engagement, drive traffic and provide exposure to new customers.

S: What are the biggest challenges for mobile restaurant ordering?

ET: Mobile is a fast-moving, fast-changing space. The biggest challenge of restaurants is understanding how prioritize their investments of time and money in mobile platforms.

S: Do you think someday mobile devices like smartphones will replace cards and cash as the preferred method of spending? If so can you estimate when?

ET: Innovation around mobile payment platforms is already strong. However, we can expect the introduction of emerging mobile payment technologies to begin boosting adoption over the next decade. However, the timeline for adoption is a big unknown. While younger consumers and early adopters will likely pick up on new payment platforms faster over the next few years, we should expect the majority of consumers to continue to be very cautious new mobile payment platforms in their “early days.”

The results are in: restaurant customers are ready to get techy

Quick: Name the most convenient way to order and pay at a restaurant. Did you say a high tech option like a smartphone, touchscreen or tablet? If you did then respondents to a recent survey by viagra cheapes/dynRelease_Detail.php?rUID=188″>Technomic heartily agree. Technomic surveyed a panel of 500 participants and found some telling data on consumer attitudes toward modernizing the restaurant experience.

Survey says: Out of all restaurant types and retail stores, consumers are most receptive to technology-based orders at casual restaurants.

“What a primitive and cumbersome way to order food!”

What this means: As part of the quick, convenient experience, many casual restaurants ask the customer to take on duties a waitress or waiter might do at a traditional, sit-down establishment. If technology can make looking over the menu, placing the order and paying easier, sensible customers will want to take advantage of a streamlined experience.

Survey says: 51 percent of the survey participants consider it important for restaurants to integrate technology into their ordering capabilities

What it means: At least half of your potential customers are keenly aware of the technology gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” of mobile ordering. Don’t be on the wrong side of the gap.

Survey says: Consumers aged 18-45 are far more likely than those over 45 to say they might connect to their favorite restaurants via a mobile app.

What this means: According to a 2010 survey, 18-50 year olds average $227 per month spent dining out, compared to just $205 by those aged 50 and older. Thirty-five to 50 year olds lead the pack spending $264 dining out per month. Consumers that age are most likely to connect to a restaurant via mobile. They are also the age group that spends more money per year dining out.

Survey says: Interest in restaurant mobile apps is highest among 25-34 year olds.

What this means: The same survey said that 25-35 year olds spend about $.81 dining out for every dollar at the grocery store, compared to $.69 for those older than 35. It makes sense to open your virtual doors to the customers whom dine out most often.

Survey says: Only three percent of consumers said they plan to decrease the amount they use technology to order food at restaurants.

What this means: Mobile ordering is here to stay. Some diners are already doing it, and the ones that aren’t are almost all thinking about doing it.

 

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

App Update: Splick–it 2.4 Now Available for Android

Hot on the heels of our buy viagra no prescriptionref=”http://www.splickit.com/unveiling-splick-it-3-0-loyalty-just-got-an-upgrade/”>Splick–it iOS 3.0 update, we’re proud to announce the release of our updated Android app.  We’ve got a soft spot for the open sourced OS, and we strive to offer consistent experiences across mobile and web devices.  Here’s the lowdown on our latest release:

  • Slick Rick- We’ve upgraded the UI of the app for an enhanced look and feel
  • Share the Joy- Our Android app now supports social integration on Facebook and Twitter.  Share your activity with your friends!
  • How are Doing?-  We love feedback.  We crave it.  And now, you can tell us just how you feel right from the comfort of your phone!  Don’t be afraid to give it to us straight, we promise we’ll appreciate it.
So go ahead and download the new app<LINK>.  Take it for a delicious spin and let us know what you think.
Stay tuned for future updates across all of our platforms. We’ll be pushing out additional features in the near future!

Round Numbers and Good Deeds

While we here at Splick–it are constantly striving to be the best damn online food ordering platform around, we are equally as interested in utilizing our technology to support the philanthropic efforts of our communiti

es and clients. It was this desire to give back that resulted in our newest feature to be added to the latest version of the Splick–it app for iOS.

How It Works

Version 3.1.2 introduces a new platform feature that gives users of the Splick–it app the option to round-up their mobile orders to nearest dollar and donate the difference to a pre-determined charity—which, in the case of the Splick–it app, is Community Food Share (CFS).

Once a user has enabled donations for his or her account, each subsequent mobile order will automatically be rounded up to the nearest dollar. Users can easily manage their donation preferences at anytime from the MySplick–it panel.

Start Donating Today!

To enable donations, download the free v3.1.2 update from the App Store, launch the Splick–it app, and open the MySplick–it panel by tapping on the icon located in the upper-left hand corner of the app. In the MySplick–it panel, choose Donations. You will then be directed to a mobile-optimized Safari page where you can learn about the efforts of Community Food Share and select your donation preferences.

It’s simple, easy, and provides a sense of hope every time you order. You get your food without waiting in line, and someone in need gets a meal!

Bonus!
As a bonus, we’re awarding users who round-up a mobile order with 50 additional points!

We’ll be tracking our users’ donations throughout the year and will be providing updates on how much has been contributed! Stay tuned!

For more information on CFS, visit: http://www.communityfoodshare.org/

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