It is no surprise how chatbot software is dominating almost every industry in the economy. With its many benefits to consumers and brands, chatbot software has easily gained a reputation in the online world. Digital savvy businesses are continuously taking a step forward to provide the consumers with a level-up experience and convert more sales. Today, even the restaurant industry is leaping to this new era of technology.
Why chatbot software playing a key role in the restaurant industry? Being traditionally behind the curve of the online world, this industry has been slow in incorporating the latest technology trends in their online marketing strategy. Some are lucky enough to have the seats fully booked through word of mouth and savory tasting food however, some are failed to do so. This is where chatbots step in, to fill this loophole and help these restaurants in paving their way to success.
How Chatbot Software is Paving the Way to Your Restaurant’s Success
How can chatbot software help? Can they be used to book the table? Take customer orders? Create menu suggestions? You won’t believe this but, yes. The answer is yes. It may be too good to be true but chatbot software is playing a vital role to help your business conquer its way up. But before you set up your chatbot software with your website and social media accounts, you need to plan out first how exactly will you be using chatbots. Identify the goals, mission, and problems and create a strategic plan.
More so, to give you a clear idea, here is how chatbot software can help you grow your business:
Cater reservation services
Managing and serving customers is a very time-consuming task. Let alone if it is peak season and customer orders keep coming in and out of your online platform. Human errors can happen anytime. Thus, it means that the wrong order might happen from time to time and will result in two not so good things — customer complaints and losses on your business.
Through the help of chatbot software deployed on your website, social media accounts, phone, and other possible platforms, you can eliminate and prevent these human errors from damaging your brand image and elevate your customer’s experience. Chatbot software can help you interact with customers quickly and guarantees that the order is 100% correct.
Enhance table service
Many of us have experienced asking or ordering something from a waiter/ waitress and the unknowingly forgot about it. These inevitable human lapses usually happen and it is a common problem in your restaurants. But with chatbots, it can be ensured that your customer’s order is served promptly. It will leave a good experience for your customers and will surely give a good rate to your brand.
Use to promote special deals and offers
Chatbots are so wise that it can gather customer’s email addresses and can send push notifications. This means that chatbots are not only streamlining your customer service but also your marketing strategies. Chatbot software can remember all regular customers (which the human counterpart cannot) and send them messages to encourage these regular customers to come back. They can send offers and special promotions via different online platforms like Facebook Messenger, email, text message, etc.
Can create a personalized food recommendations
The ability to remember your customer’s favorite foods out of your menu makes them feel special and valued. Chatbots can create a personalized food recommendation by understanding what your customers want is an ultimate marketing tool. It can be a better and faster solution than instructing your employees to know them inside and out of your menu to be able to make such recommendations. Chatbot software brilliantly collects past purchase transactions and gather this data to know the likes of the customers. More so, it uses these data to recommend the right drink or sides that would perfectly match their orders.
Streamline delivery and takeaway process
Delivery or take away procedures in most restaurants have complicated processes that customers are tired of. Fortunately, chatbots can simplify the order process even for delivery and takeout orders. Chatbots are a multitasker. They can handle orders while chitchatting with your customers making it less hassle and more convenient for your customers.
Gathers and follow up customer feedback
Getting good reviews is crucial in making your business grow. It is like a word of mouth that can be seen online. For modern consumers, reviews are very important. Sites like trip advisor and yelp have a wide variety of restaurants and places to visits. Along with this restaurant’s page are reviews from previous customers. If your restaurant’s page has good reviews, it will most likely invite more customers.
However, the hard thing is following up with a single customer to leave a review of your restaurant is time extensive tasks. One of the finest things that chatbot can offer is its ability to send automated reminders from customers who have checked-in in your diner. More so, they can ask permission for the user’s email to use it for email marketing purposes.
Saves both employee and customer’s time
One of the biggest fear in the emergence of the chatbot is that it may cause unemployment to people since it can replace them in their jobs. But this was just a popular myth circling. On the contrary, it helps employees to save their time for more complicated tasks. Instead of suffering from overloaded work, an employee can enjoy doing their work without the simple tasks that take time. Chatbots can do basic tasks such as answering simple queries, scheduling and plotting the reservation of customers, collating information about the customers, and the like.
On the other hand, customers are fonder of chatbot software because it is easy to talk with and makes transactions simple.
Increase customer retention
Customers feel valued when their needs are catered rapidly. Also, modern customers are more likely to support your diner when you have great customer service and food to dine. Chatbot software engages with your target consumers, guide them in their searches, and share your menu and pricing information and offers friendly conversation. All of these things build affinity with potential customers and helps in converting sales.
Maximizing Chatbots: Bring New Service to the Table
Finding the Nearest Store
Your customers are too busy with their daily life routine that looking for the nearest resto near them needs to be less nitty-gritty. With the usage of chatbot software, a single click could easily lead their way to the nearest diner. It can even send a map to guide customers. It is less hassle for customers who have a scheduled round the clock. And if a person will be meeting someone in your restaurant, they can easily send the direction to them.
Reordering your all-time favorite menu
Ordinarily, you need to be in a coffee shop every day and encounter the same crew for them to be familiarized with you and your order. It takes time for a human to remember your favorite menu. But with a chatbot, single order or two would be enough to save the data. The next time you will order, all you have to do is to say that you want to order your all-time favorite and boom! Your order is now preparing.
Buying and sending out surprises
Is there a special occasion you do not want to miss but you are too busy at work? Send your loved ones gifts and surprises during a special celebration in just a click. Through chatbot operated order transactions, you can offer this kind of promo to customers. It will surely hit the ball every time because it is very convenient.
Build Your Restaurant Chatbot with Herobot!
From a business point of view, it is no brainer that chatbot software is indeed a winning masterpiece for your brand. It can help you with your marketing, customer service, and sales conversion in many ways. It is also becoming popular with consumers. The research found that 69% of consumers prefer to use chatbots and that brands with chatbots increase brand reliability for them.
In this fastly changing world, market trends have been continuously curving from one platform to another. As business owners, you need to help your brand in keeping up with the curve. Your brand needs to have a voice in the digital space otherwise, it will create losses on your end. In the same manner, integrating chatbots with your present social media accounts and website will help a lot in increasing your sales and customer retention.
In today’s business world where competition is tough, it is best to stay on the trend to avoid being left behind. Chatbots are one of the powerful tools to help your business grow. There are many types and ways to program chatbots, with Herobot, we can help you design the best chatbot according to your needs. Whether it be a multitasking chatbot that can take orders or multipurpose chatbots that is flexible for both sales, marketing, and customer service, we can make it for you. Visit our website today to know more!