In 2023, the US food and drink service industry made over $1 trillion in sales. While this is a sure sign of how lucrative restaurant ownership can be, it’s also an indicator of the high competition in this thriving marketplace. Fortunately, there are ways that restaurant owners can level the playing field against established businesses, starting with technology. Ready to get ahead in a competitive industry? Take a look at these essential restaurant technology solutions to drive your business success.

Contactless Card Readers

We live in a largely cashless society, with 40% of Americans reporting that they don’t use any cash at all to pay for their weekly purchases. As a restaurant owner, catering to this demographic means offering cashless payment options. If you don’t, you’ll be drastically reducing your target audience and presenting an outdated brand image, both of which hinder business growth in a market with plenty of other options for cashless customers.

The most popular choice for in-person payments is a card reader. These handy machines let you take card payments at the table for a simple, secure way to pay. Some models, like the SumUp card readers, enable contactless payments for the utmost convenience. Your guests can simply tap their card to pay their bill, creating a seamless experience that ensures you cater to everyone.

Online Ordering Platforms

Did you know that customer spending increases by 20% when using an online ordering system? To boost your average order value (AOV), invest in online ordering technologies. This is also a smart way to diversify your revenue. Rather than simply offering in-person dining, you can reach the huge demographic of Americans who enjoy takeaway and delivery food by enabling online ordering, helping you compete with other restaurants doing the same.

At TastyIgniter, our online ordering software is simple and free to use, making it ideal for setting up your delivery system. Define your own delivery and pick-up details, customize the platform to suit your brand image, and make ordering enjoyable for your hungry customers. Take a look at the features of our online ordering platform to learn more.

Point of Sale (POS) Systems

A POS system is an all-in-one device for running the front of house at your restaurant. It can carry out a range of tasks, including:

  • Processing payments in conjunction with your card reader
  • Recording your transactions
  • Taking food and drink orders
  • Keeping an eye on your inventory
  • Tracking customer preferences
  • Collecting data

In terms of your business success, a POS device enhances your customer service by letting your team carry out tasks seamlessly. It creates a more efficient system, speeding up how quickly your guests can place their orders, receive their food, and pay their bills. This also boosts your table turnover, with quicker service allowing you to seat more guests throughout the night without compromising the experience. Use customer preferences and data to personalize your dining experiences, too, for guest-oriented service.

Customer Relationship Management System

It’s been found that an increase of just one star rating on Yelp (moving from 3 stars to 4 stars, for example) resulted in a 5-9% increase in revenue for US restaurants. This solidifies the importance of restaurant technologies geared toward your guests. One such solution is a customer relationship management (CRM) system, which is designed to keep your focus on your individual guests. The CRM tracks a wealth of data and communications generated through interactions with your customers. This makes it simpler to keep track of audience preferences and segment your diners for targeted marketing, making it more likely you’ll see repeat business.

As an example of how this works, let’s say that you have a segment of your audience who booked a table for the previous Christmas period. When the holiday season returns, you can target this segment with personalized messaging that thanks them for dining with you last year and invites them back with a loyalty discount. CRMs also enable the collection of useful customer feedback. From opinions on menu pricing to reviews of your customer service, use this data to continuously improve your experience and earn a great reputation among your target audience.

Waitlist Management Software

When looking into restaurant management systems, a great option for taking control of bookings and drumming up excitement about your restaurant is a waitlist management tool. This clever system lets you manage the customers who are waiting for a table. For example, you might have a busy summer season in which you’re fully booked. The waitlist management software enables you to quickly fill a table if existing guests cancel, ensuring you maintain steady revenue and keep waiting guests happy.

It also improves the waitlist experience for customers. Rather than receiving no help when your restaurant is fully booked, guests have access to your digital waitlist system. They can track availability easily, update preferences, and receive alerts when a table becomes vacant. For your restaurant, this saves time, reduces stress, and fills potential gaps in your revenue caused by last-minute cancellations.

Social Media Scheduling Tools

Essential technologies aren’t limited to those that help you run your restaurant. There’s a whole fleet of marketing tech, too, that you can take advantage of to build a strong brand presence. One piece of software that’s particularly useful for restaurants is social media scheduling. Almost 50% of consumers use social media to find places to eat and drink, making platforms like Instagram and Facebook a priority for competitive restaurants. But, posting regularly is a time-consuming task.

With social media scheduling, managing your profiles becomes simpler. You can schedule an entire week (or more) of posts in a day and they’ll be uploaded automatically at set dates and times, helping you organize your social posts and create an active digital presence. Schedule posts of new menu highlights, behind-the-scenes reels in your kitchen, and pictures of enticingly plated food to engage and entice social media users.

Final Thoughts

With plenty of choices out there, finding success as a restaurant can be hard. We hope these restaurant technology solutions have shown you some of the ways the right software can make it easier to compete and give you the inspiration you need to get started. For more restaurant advice, be sure to keep up with the latest on the TastyIgniter blog.