Four steps to get up and running with mobile Order & Pay

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.

A brilliant mobile experience will remove all frustration and friction from the ordering process, from the first access point to completing payment. Doing this well will need real mobile expertise. Never buy into a second-rate, “quick fix” experience or try to build something from scratch if you don’t have the in-house experience to build a genuinely brilliant solution.

Bad design will restrict you from realising all the benefits a great solution should deliver.

Making customers wait to download an app, sign up for various levels of registration or – worst of all, re-start failed orders - will create frustration. With a first-class experience, you’ll avoid those pain points and quickly get customers coming back and spending more.

Crucially, don’t forget your teams are the users too!  They need something simple and effective which will not be adding to their workloads. Think about the back-end software as much as the customer journey, for example, how will your team update and edit your menus? How will they manage updates such as out of stock?  If the full software solution isn’t brilliant, you’ll lose traction internally and it will ultimately fail.  If help is needed, make sure you’ve partnered with a provider who can offer further assistance with Customer Success Teams in place to provide overall support, guidance and tips on best practices.

3: Promote the experience

If you’re implementing this technology for the first time in your venue, there’s a good chance your customers won’t be familiar with the process. It’s important they feel comfortable using it, so have your staff explain what they need to do.

Think about really clear and simple messaging in your venues where it’s visible for customers to see. For example, when they first walk in and wait to be seated and table talkers when they are sat down. Perhaps you could advise people of the change in advance with clear details and instructions, maybe even a video of the new way to order and pay through a newsletter or your social media channels.

4: Use staff effectively

Your staff can also be the biggest advocates of mobile Order & Pay. It might seem simple, but they need to know how to use the system like the back of their hand. Bring your operations team into the process from the very start to avoid bumps in the road or painful learning curves. When the solution is in place, take the time to thoroughly train staff and resolve any queries. Allow everyone who will interact with the solution to trial it. You’ll find that their feedback and engagement will improve the overall success when it’s time to launch.