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How Mobile Ordering Has Redefined The Customer Journey

Forbes Technology Council

Founder/CEO of Sparkfly. Our offer management platform helps QSRs maximize acquisition & loyalty by connecting customer behavior with sales.

It’s become so easy. When you crave something, you simply grab your smartphone, place an order and wait for it to arrive. In fact, between 2015 and 2018, customers ordering from a quick-service restaurant (QSR) via mobile grew from 11% to 39%

As we entered 2020, mobile ordering was predicted to see significant growth with the potential to cause a noticeable shift in the industry. Like so many things, the current pandemic changed everything nearly overnight, catapulting mobile ordering for QSRs from a steady stream of growth onto an accelerated, industry-defining track. 

As more consumers have quickly grown comfortable with mobile transactions, the customer journey has evolved just as quickly to focus on providing customers what they want, when, how and where. Brands that adapt their marketing, point of sale (POS) and customer loyalty operations accordingly are the ones that will be able to keep pace with increasing on-demand customer expectations.

Pushing Brands To Think Outside The Box

New customer paradigms offer new opportunities but potential pitfalls as well. This was the case years ago for QSRs exploring emerging POS technologies. Unfortunately for some merchants, their attempts to innovate were stymied by technology that limited their email, SMS or loyalty partners. 

Today, brands are under tremendous pressure to make equally critical decisions about supporting a mobile ordering environment. To avoid past missteps, focus on the long-term view. Give careful consideration of partners that can not only help get you online today, but also offer the flexibility to support you either through new pivots or along the path aligned with your vision of the future. 

And of course, that future is digital. Pandemic aside, brands looking to grow their audience are looking at a demographic that spends most of its time online and is active on an ever-expanding array of channels. That kind of engagement is shaping a two-directional dynamic where consumers are reaching out to brands to get what they want or need on their own schedule.

Consumer online needs are driving change offline, as well. QSRs have been building out store infrastructure to address increases in volume and desire for contactless interactions. Following Chipotle’s “Chipotlane” lead, Burger King and Shake Shack are adding drive-through lanes dedicated to delivery or digital orders. (Full disclosure: Chipotle is a Sparkfly customer.) Starbucks is expanding plans for mobile pickup cafes. And Chick-fil-A is delving into the “virtual kitchen” world with locations that only provide catering or delivery service.

Not every brand can make such radical changes, but it’s important to reevaluate your ecosystem to see what you can accommodate. Whatever your adjustments, they need to be part of a plan with the right technology to navigate our new culture of convenience.

Inspiring An End-To-End App Approach

Mobile technology isn’t just convenient for the consumer, however. Apps offer brands an all-in-one approach to draw people in, move them along the path to purchase and provide the kind of service that keeps them coming back. 

The good news for brands that have been slow to embrace mobile is there are already successful examples for you to follow. However, there are some key elements to consider if you’re just entering the mobile space or looking to improve your existing capabilities:

1. Make it easy for customers to find you. The best-designed app is of little use if it receives no traffic. Whatever platform you use must integrate easily with your marketing strategy so you have multiple ways to bring customers into your mobile experience. 

2. Make it easy for customers to use. These days, patience may be in short supply, but mobile options are not. To keep your app top of mind, ensure it’s intuitive and allows users to quickly get what they want. Make sure that the underlying technology is stable.

3. Make it a seamless rewards experience. Frustration is not a driver of a successful customer journey. If you offer promotions and rewards, they should be easy to accumulate, easy to find and easy to apply right within your app. 

4. Make it a seamless omnichannel experience. App, online, in-store — to customers, it’s all the same brand experience and they expect to move effortlessly between these environments. If you have separate ordering systems, they need to integrate so that a digital offer can be scanned in-store just as easily as an in-store purchase contributes to app rewards.

5. Make it a convenient delivery experience. Even if you offer in-house delivery, you can gain additional reach through DoorDash, Uber Eats, Postmates, Grubhub, etc. Many of these platforms offer customer incentives, so catering to customers where they already are, contributes to their sense of comprehensive service and satisfaction. 

Mobile ordering may be changing the look and feel of the customer journey, but for QSRs the goal remains the same: providing the best order-to-eating experience possible. The truth is, many aspects of our restaurant and retail experiences will not be “going back.” As people continue to work from home, the ease of mobile will keep driving anytime-anywhere expectations. 

Brands that recognize and embrace this aspect of our new normal will find themselves on the leading edge as innovations continue in social media and other adjacent online spaces. Moving forward, mobile has the potential to anchor an integrated ecosystem that begins with a more immediate, more intimate conversation with the consumer and, with the right supporting technology, turns that interaction into the first of many loyal transactions.


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