Does your Restaurant App Suck Your Customers Think So

There is no doubt that year over year customer count declines within the restaurant sector are caused by many things including the ilk of slow service, cold food not cold, hot food not hot, delivery orders going out the front door as a customer’s waits, waits, and waits at a table for their food.  Ok, we could go on and on.

Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, stated, “technology for online or inline ordering that is not as ‘good’ as McDonald’s is simply not good enough.”

Technomic recently found that “if you are experiencing declines in your customer satisfaction scores, you are not alone. Shifts in digital ordering behaviors and new customer acquisition may be to blame. But the general mood of the market is not helping matters. When you combine digital ordering behaviors with a general decline in national mood, we see satisfaction levels dipping and most often during online ordering occasions. The good news is that there are signs that a good in-person interaction can overcome that negative mood.   

Something is going on in the delivery market that is driving satisfaction levels down from 55% of consumers rating their experience as excellent in Q2 2020 during delivery orders to 49% today. One thing we know about consumers is that they tend not to be “wowed” by their first restaurant visit. More often their satisfaction with a restaurant goes up with experience. They come to know the brand first and then their satisfaction levels increase, as does their loyalty.

he best way to build this type of ongoing, reciprocal trust between a customer and a restaurant is in a face-to-face transaction. In fact, we tend to see higher levels of satisfaction on orders that originate with an employee than other order modes.  On average there is a 2 ppt advantage to an in-person order. It is very hard to build trust with a customer online.

At the start of the pandemic, I held hope this would finally be the event that brought communities together, allowed people to disagree with each other respectfully and helped build trust among diverse people. That hope lasted approximately one hour. That was the moment I opened an article about the delayed NBA season and found a festering pool of anger in the comments section. Displays of common decency were eventually drowned-out by this pool and other similar pools. But there were many common displays of decency and many efforts to make do.  

One area where those common displays of decency thrived was the support shown to restaurants. Our business was all hands on the Zoom deck. Trade groups formed, legislation was passed and when the doors were reopened customers were grateful, save for those occasional folks who wandered out of their anger pool to harass our staff. On average, the goodwill for this industry overshadowed the negativity. The result was unprecedented levels of satisfaction. In total, the proportion of consumers who had rated their last visit to the top restaurant chains in the industry as excellent was as high as it’s been in quite a few years. Restaurants were being given credit for trying. Some were excelling, even.

Since that time, however, we’ve seen a collective erosion of goodwill that is largely driven by this growing pessimism among online orders. Customer satisfaction levels have dropped from a peak in the third quarter of 2020 to this year’s third quarter. The drop-off was particularly large for Quick Service Restaurants.

At its most recent peak, 51.5% of visitors to the fast-food chain space rated their visit as “excellent”. That number was about as close as QSR has been too fast-casual levels of satisfaction in the history of our tracker. Satisfaction levels have dropped 4 percentage points to 47.4%. Fast-Casual restaurants did not see the immediate pandemic boost in satisfaction ratings but have also seen their scores drop as well.

Interestingly, we are seeing a different trend among casual dining restaurants where in-person orders have been recovering and satisfaction levels increased over last year. Midscale satisfaction is also up compared to 2019 levels but has started to come back to earth.

The question is, what is missing from our online ordering experiences that is not translating into satisfaction? This is a question we are setting out to answer in a new off-premise channel study we are launching. My hypothesis is that the missing element is the trust-building power of a smiling face and a warm greeting. If I’m right, then the question become how best to replicate that online. At the very least, we know that is not happening presently in our market.  It needs to be.” In short, the team at Foodservice Solutions® agrees with Technomic.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869 

Lunchbox Enables Independent Restaurants and Small Food Retailers a Success Platform

If you did not attend this year’s National Restaurant Show in Chicago last May you may have missed the information that Lunchbox is launching a commission-free online ordering system for ‘mom-and-pops’ as it looks to expand its reach beyond chains. 

That’s right, Lunchbox Essential includes many of the same features as the startup’s chain-oriented product, including online ordering, marketing and loyalty tools. It does not offer a mobile app option, nor does it integrate directly into a restaurant’s POS system according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, “Lunchbox is equalizing the playing filed. Opening a lave on the information super highway for everyone.”  

Now consider that restaurants with three or fewer locations can set up a Lunchbox online ordering page themselves in as little as 30 minutes, according to the company. They will pay Lunchbox nothing, though they may be on the hook for delivery fees if they use a third-party delivery provider. A “negligible” convenience fee will be passed on to customers, the company said.

So, this new product is geared toward restaurants that don’t have online ordering or that depend on a marketplace like DoorDash for their digital business. 

What’s good for the little guy is also good for Lunchbox, as it allows them to enter the independent restaurant market. Founded in 2019, its initial focus was mid-size chains, and it has recently gone after large brands with the acquisition of online ordering company NovaDine. More than 2,500 restaurant locations currently use Lunchbox.

“We’re really excited to go into SMB because that’s what we always wanted to do,” said founder and CEO Nabeel Alamgir. “I don’t feel like we’ve ever done enough to help the mom-and-pops.”

The move puts Lunchbox in competition with other indie-focused online ordering companies, such as ChowNow and Popmenu.

Considering that Lunchbox will get no direct revenue from the new product, Alamgir said it will support the company’s ongoing battle against delivery marketplaces. And if it helps keep restaurants in business, “we can figure out how to make money later” with upsells or other add-ons, he added.

The system is in the middle of a soft launch, but Alamgir said he expects it to be in 1,000 restaurants in the next two months and “thousands” by the end of the year.

To keep up with the growth, Lunchbox is beefing up its tech support team. Lunchbox Essential customers will have access to the same services as chains do, Alamgir said, and the company is working on adding staff to help get them set up.  “I’m just excited to speak to both groups now,” he said.

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter 

QuickChek Partnership with Online Lottery Service will Drive Frequency

How are you going to drive adoption of your app by consumers?  Once you garner trail on your app how can you keep you brand and app top-of-mind with consumers? According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® new partnerships can help drive app trial, adoption, while increasing frequency of use.”

In an effort to drive customer frequency with their app, QuickChek Corp. and Lotto.com Inc. are partnering to deliver customers a secure and contactless online lottery experience. This will drive new electricity into the QuickChek brand according to Johnson.

So, Lotto.com is a web-based platform that allows consumers to buy lottery tickets on any device without downloading a mobile app or depositing money into an account. As exclusive retail partner, QuickChek will enable the startup to reach consumers across the chain's convenience stores in the Garden State. It’s that simple.  Most of our regular readers will know that once again, Johnson, is highlighting a great example of customer focused interactive, participatory marketing.

QuickChek Vice President of Marketing and Operations Don Leech, "We are no stranger to today's digital world as we have been providing consumers with convenience through mobile ordering, our mobile rewards app, and the ability to order delivery online. Our partnership with Lotto.com will enable us to further meet the needs of consumers who prefer to shop and play online." 

Get this, Lotto.com is a registered courier of the New Jersey Lottery and is the second licensed lottery courier in the United States. The company's dual mission is to modernize how the lottery is played while increasing its benefit to the public by aiding state funding and bolstering the proceeds that benefit many New Jersey state-run programs.

Lotto.com CEO Thomas Metzger, stated, "Our team is here to promote the lottery in a way no one else imagined — a digital-first, user-centric way that requires no app downloads or deposits.”… "At Lotto.com we are on a mission to increase contributions to good causes, tying them to every ticket sold. To help us achieve this, we’ve partnered with QuickChek, a leader in convenience and service. Coupling this offering with our best-in-class lottery distribution platform, we are able to deliver a seamless online experience for players in the most secure way possible." Lotto.com operates an e-commerce platform based on four key pillars:

1.       Convenience: Those ages 18 and older can pick their lucky numbers manually or use the platform's Quick Pick random number generator.

2.       Security: Payment information is managed by industry leading payment partners who comply with all PCI standards and physical lottery tickets are stored in Lotto.com's fire-proof vault that is monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

3.       Safety: To encourage partakers to play responsibly, the platform provides controls to set spending limits and schedule self-exclusion. It also performs age verification and geolocation checks to ensure proper use of the platform.

4.       Peace of Mind: When players purchase a digital ticket, they own it. The platform will notify players if they've won so they don't have to set "check your numbers" reminders.

This is a good thing, by supporting user participation in U.S. state lotteries, Lotto.com helps fund state-run programs across education, parks, emergency responders, veterans' health, and other vital services. Depending on the state, up to 50 percent of all lottery ticket sales support these initiatives, according to the company. Lotto.com plans to expand nationally.

How is your brand building new electricity? According to Johnson, “Brand relevance is in part driven with innovation in new menu related products in combination with new avenues of distribution all of which are the platform for the new electricity.”

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply and includes such things as fresh foods, music, developing brands, unique urban hemp clothing, grocerant positioning, EV Charging Stations fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food that is portable.

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit GrocerantGuru.com for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success. 

Enmarket’s New Mobile App Empowers Consumers

 

Do things seem to complicated to you in these ever-evolving times?  According to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® who stated, “Consumers are demanding more, migrating to new mobile technology faster and faster, foodservice operators must evolve as fast as consumers or risk losing customers.”

Johnson, continued, “consumers are dynamic not static and your brand must be dynamic as well. … Grocerant niche adoption is unpresented in both size reaching into every sector of retail foodservice today at its core is CONVENIENCE.  In consumer’s minds-eye convenience is embolden with technology. “

Regular readers of this blog are familiar with Enmarket, a foodservice company that operates 129 convenience stores, 14 quick-serve restaurants, and two fast-casual restaurants in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Enmarket knows it hard to keep up with customers but they are doing a very good job.  Let’s look at some NPD data points for of the reasons they are evolving:

1.       From March 2020 to March 2021 restaurant digital orders grew 124 percent compared to prior year.

2.       Digital orders for carry-out, which represented 62 percent of all digital orders, increased by 130 percent, and digital orders for delivery grew by 140 percent in the period compared to year ago and held 38 percent share of total restaurant digital orders.

3.       Digital ordering offered full-service restaurants, which operated under varying degrees of mandated dine-in restrictions throughout the pandemic, much needed support. Prior to the pandemic full-service restaurants represented 10 percent share of digital orders, as of the year ending March 31, the segment held 16 percent share and saw a 237 percent increase in digital orders during the period versus year ago.

4.       Quick service digital orders, which represented the remaining 84 percent share, also realized triple-digit growth of 111 percent.

5.       Restaurant apps and websites are the most used channels for digital ordering, representing 62% of all digital orders. However, digital orders through third-party apps, like DoorDash or UberEats, grew by 207 percent in the period over year ago compared to the 98 percent increase in digital orders through restaurant apps and websites.

That said, Enmarket has released a new mobile app that focuses on reducing customer touchpoints inside stores. The app's mobile payment option allows customers to pay for fuel or in-store merchandise directly and securely, eliminating the need to touch the PIN pad or swipe a card.

So, as an alternate touch-free option, customers can bypass the cash register entirely by using the app's Scan and Go technology, powered by Skip Checkout. The feature allows shoppers to scan products using their smartphones and pay for the purchase directly from the app.

In a Battle for Share of Stomach

Technology Matters

Consider that both mobile pay and Scan and Go are fully integrated with Enmarket's Enjoy Rewards loyalty program, allowing customers to earn points and redeem rewards regardless of the transaction type you can see they are doing things right.

Enmarket President Brett Giesick, stated, “Enmarket is dedicated to innovative technology that drives convenience for our customers," .. "Our new app continues that tradition. Customers can leave their credit cards in their wallet — or at home — and pay directly from our app without worrying about security. It also enhances the benefits of our loyalty program, Enjoy Rewards, so that our customers save money as well as time."

Get this, in addition to offering touch-free payment options, the app includes features such as finding the nearest Enmarket location, viewing current fuel prices, checking an Enjoy Rewards point balance, and monitoring progress on frequency clubs and fuel rewards. App users can also sign up for enPay, Enmarket's proprietary payment card that saves 10 cents per gallon on fuel. Not bad, a valued reward.

Success does leave clues. One clue that time and time again continues to resurface is “the consumer is dynamic not static”.  Regular readers of this blog know that is the common refrain of Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Our Grocerant Guru® can help your company edify your brand with relevance.  Call 253-759-7869 for more information. 

Foodservice Suppliers like The Coca-Cola Co. Can Drive New Electricity into your Business

 

Independent restaurants, convenience stores, grocers and benefit from a close relationship with key suppliers according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. Large chains are not the only ones that can benefit from a partnership with a key supplier.

Johnson, stated “during these times of uncertainty, it is important to ask for help, and take it where ever you can get it. Here is some good news, many of your suppliers may have an answer to a problem you could not afford, solve on your own or for some of you even knew about.”

Success does leave clues and the Coco-Cola company is a key supplier to many that created a platform to help clients succeed today.  If fact it’s their goal to help you as that also helps them.

Take for example “Usability Testing”.  Did you know that “usability testing acts as a complimentary and remote resource that restaurants and c-stores can use to uncover ways to optimize their websites and apps? Have your ever tried to use an app that did not work.  Even one that does not work well will hurt your business.

Since, COVID-19 has reshaped consumer behavior, independent restaurants, c-stores, and grocery stores have to keep up with chains and small chains need help as well. To help drive top line sales, bottom line profits while garnering new Gen Z and Millennial customers. Grocerant niche Ready-2-Eat and Heat-N-Eat fresh prepared food has proven to be a sales and profit savior for all sectors of retail foodservice. Ordering via an app is close to being deemed essential for survival according to Johnson. Having an app that works and works well will drive new electricity into your brand.

All foodservice retailers today should be enhancing their digital footprints by creating or updating their websites and mobile apps, as more interactions move from in person to virtual. Thus, “The Coca-Cola Co. has rolled out a variety of solutions and tools to help its restaurant customers digitize — many of which can also be leveraged by convenience retailers as they move into similar spaces.

Coca-Cola Digital Marketplace launched this summer, featuring digital solutions to help operators enhance and expand their off-premise and digital order capabilities. Coca-Cola customers receive exclusive discounts to technologies, including Omnivore’s Menu Management System and OneDine’s Off Premise Solutions.

Omnivore’s Menu Management System is a single-source-of-truth software that allows operators to own their digital menu content and control their brand across any digital platform. Enhancing digital ordering and third-party delivery, MMS enables orders from third-party app providers to be injected directly into the Point of Sale (POS), providing operators complete visibility and control over consumers’ digital experiences and access to valuable performance data.

OneDine’s scan-to-order solution allows guests to simply drive up to a parking space and scan the QR code from the standing sign with their mobile device. This launches a mobile-friendly web page for the outlet where the guest can order food and beverages and pay from their phone, and have the food and drinks delivered right to their car.

Coca-Cola is also offering Usability Testing as a complimentary and remote resource for operators to uncover ways to optimize their websites and apps. A panel of users tests the app or website, and Coca-Cola delivers video and audio recordings of feedback as well as a robust findings report.

Johnson stated “that in my minds-eye the new electricity must be very efficient for the supply chain and includes such things as fresh foods, online ordering, delivery, plant based foods, sampling, toy’s, cereal, developing brands,  grocerant positioning, fresh food messaging, autonomous delivery, cashier-less retail, plates, glasses, cash-less payments, digital hand-held marketing.

All food and beverage retailers to survive the next generation of retail must embrace the artificial intelligence revolution while simultaneously embracing fresh food and beverages that are portable, fresh, with differentiation that is familiar not different.  Does your retail path forward look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Why?

Don’t over reach. Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing ideations look more like yesterday than tomorrow? Interested in learning how Foodservice Solutions® can edify your retail food brand while creating a platform for consumer convenient meal participation, differentiation and individualization?  Email us at: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us or visit us on our social media sites by clicking the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

In a Battle for Share of Stomach

Garner all the Help you Can

Domino's Success Equals Technology & BOGO’s for March Madness

Customer relevance is always top of mind at Domino's Pizza  according to Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®. That’s why it is important in your one of your best months of the year for sales to combine price and speed of service into a marketing program according to Johnson.

Domino’s will not lose market-share this March as it is filled with customer relevance as it kicks off college basketball’s biggest month by offering a buy one menu-priced pizza, get one free deal for carryout customers who order online through March 18.

Jenny Fouracre, Domino’s spokesperson  for Domino’s stated “The first week of tournament games has officially begun, and we wanted to give basketball fans a special deal as they’re gathering around the TV,”  “Fans can take advantage of two carryout pizzas for the price of one when they order on any of Domino’s digital ordering channels.”

As regular readers of this blog know College basketball’s tournament month is a busy time for Domino’s, especially near the end of it. Domino’s sold more than 2 million pizzas during the 2017 semifinals and championship game night combined.

Fouracre continued “Basketball teams aren’t the only ones preparing for a spot in the finals,”. “Domino’s team members and stores across the country are gearing up in their own way to handle the game day rush. It takes training, focus and hustle to make great-tasting pizzas during these busy days.”

Integrated Technology is Important

Domino’s integrated technology will drive speed of service, ordering and the overall customer relevance according to Johnson as carryout customers may take advantage of the BOGO deal by ordering online at http://www.dominos.com, via Amazon Alexa, Slack, Facebook Messenger, voice ordering with Dom or any of Domino’s ordering apps for iPad, iPhone, Android, Windows Phone 8, and Kindle Fire. The free pizza must be of equal or lesser value than the purchased pizza.

Domino’s and Basketball Facts

1.        During the 2017 college basketball tournament, Domino's produced enough dough to match the weight of more than 19 million basketballs.

2. It takes 69 Domino’s pizza boxes stacked from the floor of a basketball court to reach the hoop.
3. It takes more than 4,500 Domino’s pizza boxes to cover a 4,600-square-foot basketball court.

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us