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.
Today, brands are under tremendous pressure to make critical decisions about how to support a mobile ordering environment. To avoid missteps like the ones some brands made with emerging point of sale (POS) technologies years ago, it’s important to focus on the long-term view. Give careful consideration of partners that can not only help get you online today, but 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 bi-directional dynamic where consumers are reaching out to brands to get what they want or need on their own schedule.
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:
- Make it easy for customers to find you. Ensure your platform integrates easily with your marketing strategy.
- Make it easy for customers to use. Your app must be intuitive and the underlying technology stable.
- Make it a seamless rewards experience. Promotions and rewards should be an easy in-app experience.
- Make it a seamless omnichannel experience. Help customers move effortlessly between app, online and in-store environments.
- Make it a convenient delivery experience. Gain additional reach through popular delivery platforms your customers already use.
Many aspects of our restaurant and retail experiences will not be “going back.” 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.
Our CEO, Catherine Tabor, talks more about this in her latest Forbes article. To read the full text, click here.
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