TECH: 3 Examples of Successful Restaurant Loyalty Apps & Why They Work
Restaurant chains big and small are increasingly using loyalty rewards app to engage with guests. These apps often use a process known as gamification to keep guests interested. Gamification is the idea of turning something – such as brand – into a game using elements such as rewards and competition. Certain apps employ the technique well. We look into three apps that are killing it with their guests and what you can learn from them.
DID YOU KNOWS…
Silicon Valley Beats Capitol Hill
When asked if they had an overall positive or a negative view of a range of U.S. business sectors, the computer industry came out on top, with a net favorability score of 50. At the opposite end of the scale, the Gallup poll revealed that federal government received a dismal -27%. Coming in second in favorability, however, was the restaurant industry at 48%. Good job!
Breakneck Broadband
According to the cable.co.uk broadband speed league 2018, Singapore is on top of the world when it comes to fast internet, with an average download speed of 60.39 Mbps - 14.39 more than second-placed Sweden. The Southeast Asian city-state does of course have a geographical advantage over far larger countries such as Sweden and Norway, though. The United States' ranks significantly lower than the globe's top performers, with an average speed of 25.86, putting it in place 20. Good thing internet providers aren’t throttling service.
11 Horrible Jokes
Our servers have the double-edge sword that is being the main interaction with our guests. Often those interactions are positive but sometimes they’re bad. And other times, our serving staff need to grin & bear it when guests tell the worst jokes ever. Here are 11 of them. How many have your staff heard?
GRUBHUB LEVELS UP.
Why it matters to you: GrubHub’s deal with LevelUp is mutually beneficial, but why?
In July GrubHub announced that it was acquiring the restaurant technology company LevelUp for a reported $390 million dollars. LevelUp is a world-class (and relatively small) loyalty technology startup that focuses on food pickup instead of the ever-popular delivery. GrubHub, which gets 100,000 pickup transactions daily, will use to increase their capabilities while LevelUp will benefit from having significantly more consumers.
Their initiatives should show us what we can work on to do better than the next restaurant. The GrubHub/LevelUp marriage means GrubHub is focusing on streamlining pick-up orders instead of just delivery. We should take note, take a step back and look at how we handle takeout. Is our system sloppy? Are there extra unnecessary steps? How is the packaging we are using? How is our food transporting? There are a million more questions and little details to acknowledge while examining your establishments to-go and delivery programs. Best start now before winter rolls in and customers really don’t want to be outside of their houses.
[Source: Table.Skift]
RESTAUR-ARCADE
Why it matters to you: GameWorks is investing in the food & beverage side of their business so why shouldn’t we invest in gaming?
Everyone knows the successful Dave & Buster’s business model -- reasonable priced food and drinks all in an arcade setting with a system that requires guests to buy a proprietary card in order to play their games. Now, GameWorks is looking to throw their collective hat into the ring by investing more into their food and drink side of their operation. While they already have a decent burger-and-fries type of menu, they hope to expand upon their current offerings so that all of their guests have options and don’t feel neglected. That means a variety of choices are key if they want to signify a real shift towards food and drink.
Operators should take a cue from both GameWorks and Dave & Busters. There’s a close link between gaming and food/beverage. Most bars and restaurants already have TVs and the space for gaming. All that’s needed is a little investment into systems, games and marketing your new offerings to your guests. You could even go low-tech and offer board games for guests to play while they enjoy some drinks at your venue.
And don’t feel the need to reinvent the wheel here. Look at what other small operations like Bit Bar are doing in terms of mixing younger generations love for gaming and wanting to get out of the house for a little social fun with friends. It’s a great way of expanding your entertainment content to guests and making yourself a hot spot to hang at.
[Source: Restaurant-Hospitality]
