Loyalty Programs

Limited or no access to high value services such as marketing or loyalty programs places small restaurants at a disadvantage to large or franchise restaurants. Eighty percent of consumers want a personalized dining offer based on their historical trends and personal preferences. They are no longer enticed by generic loyalty program offerings such as coupons or discount cards. 

One way for smaller restaurants to give customers the high value loyalty they crave is through intelligent CRM solutions that offer a non-invasive way to track guest spending, preferences, and contact information and personal preferences.All of these individual challenges essentially culminate in the need for greater customer acquisition., The question is how can communications-enabled technology support this?

5G and AI as the Driving Forces of Digital Transformation

Driving these changes in the post-pandemic restaurant landscape, as well as aiding cloud-based restaurant technologies, are 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI). Many of the changes that AI will bring to restaurants won’t be abundantly obvious but can have positive impacts in areas like tighter supply chains, food waste reduction, and more precise farming techniques. Others may be far more tangible for both employees and guests: an AI-driven system can enable a server to converse with a guest and send enhanced preferences to the kitchen with voice-activated AI and an earbud. Another example is a restaurant outpost in a major airport can rely on AI to proactively deliver insights including when the next plane is landing, if it's been delayed, how many passengers are on board, and even how many are vegetarian. With this information a restaurant can quickly source the amounts needed and create a greater opportunity for sales.

A Blueprint for Success

In leveraging a communications-enabled blueprint, the opportunity is there to develop a connected offering with all the capabilities and components needed for a small restaurant to succeed. A single box solution could deliver essentially everything needed to help reduce cost and effort through the bundling of real-time communications, restaurant management, and payment technology, including simple transparent pricing, and frictionless onboarding.

With connectivity installed in a bundled offering a restaurant is freed from the task to acquire connectivity separately and integrate the two. The value for smaller restaurants is the ability to compete more effectively and build a multichannel digital-first experience for guests and staff. More importantly, this is a prime example where the restaurant is not looking at a CSPs connectivity-only service as another P&L cost item, rather the entire bundled service (connectivity plus restaurant services solution) which can help increase revenue for the restaurant.

Service Providers can Enable the Transformation of Industries

Embracing a partnership model allows operators to venture into new industries and elevate from providing connectivity. By integrating industry solutions alongside connectivity offerings, operators can access a new subset of customers and participate in the total value chain. This level of partnership empowers operators to play a significant role in the digital innovation of industries.

5G at scale has the ability to truly drive change. It is more than just progress beyond previous network generations; it is a catalyst for industries to meet their digital aspirations. Service providers have the opportunity to provide the 5G foundation that pushes digital transformation forward. It’s time to take the opportunity to make that happen, with high-level quality and security, to partner with industries and take them to the next level.