Mobile ordering uptake has surged. It has gone from a ‘nice to have’ to an absolute necessity. In terms of social distancing guidelines, it reduces the contact and interactions between staff and customers, and with the very real threat of further local lockdowns, mobile Order & Pay solutions can also help businesses quickly, cheaply and efficiently adapt to Pickup if needed.
It can seem daunting to embrace new technologies and operational procedures, but implementing mobile Order & Pay is in reality, very simple to do with minimal disruption on how businesses already run.
Here are four considerations when thinking about implementing mobile Order & Pay
1: Choose your tech provider carefully
Several solutions have sprung up on the market in response to Covid offering a huge array of ways to integrate with existing technology. It’s important when choosing your tech to think about how customers will access the experience. Traditionally, the answer has been an app. But app downloads can be one of the biggest blockers to overall success. Two main reasons for this are customers not wanting to hold hundreds of applications on their devices, but also when they are there, in the moment, wanting to order food and drink they do not want to wait for a download. Enabling your customers to Order & Pay without any need for an app will open up the solution by removing any layer of frustration to the process.
After you consider the experience, think about how new technology will work operationally. Is it easy for staff to manage? Will you be able to access data simply?
Take a holistic approach to choose the right solution, ensuring it improves rather than disrupts the current operational structure.
Think critically about the really important stuff: how you’ll take payments – and who you will trust to handle your customer data? In this day and age, it’s vital customer data and payments are secure so ensure any partners you work with are fully ISO compliant. When choosing a provider take into account whether they have tried and tested tech; the range of clients they work with; and the expertise and the support they can provide.
At a time when every penny really counts, going with the quickest, cheapest option might be tempting but the mistake of onboarding the wrong partner will cost you more in the long run, so do your research! Don’t just look at the headline subscription price, you need to consider the transaction fees as you don’t want to be losing profits by driving customers to mobile.
2: Use Experts to create the perfect user experience
Getting a mobile experience right is about so much more than just translating a physical menu into a digital space. The solution needs to be truly mobile-first, so you need to prioritise first-class user experiences and interfaces as the focal point for all of your customers.