In an incredibly competitive industry like the restaurant industry, restaurant owners cannot afford to make even the smallest of mistakes which could lead to a loss of profit. If the team's schedule is manipulated in such a way that they are scheduled when customer reservations aren't at their peak, profit will be eroded. The results will be the same if stock is overordered or inventory is not managed. With a complete POS system, a restaurant online ordering system, and data analytics, you can resolve these issues and, more importantly, get a great deal of information about your customers and their spending habits.
Data Analytics
Each time that employees process an order and take payment, they are collecting data about the individual. In the social media sphere, Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter have business tools that can help you measure customer engagement.
You can measure the efficiency of the POS by using reports. Restaurant Point of Sale systems collect data that can assist you in knowing what your staff is doing, how consumers spend their money, profitability of dishes and much more, allowing you to identify areas of the business that are performing well and where you may need to make adjustments. You can even collect and generate data from turning the table, so you can make informed and better business decisions regarding your table turning time. You can accomplish all of this using the right restaurant POS system that is doing all this research in the background.
Find out how this information can benefit your company.
Maximize staff resources and revenue
Any business's biggest operational expense is wages and managing employee turnover. By understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each member of the staff, you can make good decisions regarding staff rotas and where to focus your training efforts. You can compare your restaurant analytics with social media tools to see which restaurant managers are mentioned in reviews online for good service and who’s serving customers in the optimum time.
Effective digital marketing
How are you doing with your restaurant's new customers and existing ones? A point of sale system is the best way to capture these key performance indicators precisely, enabling you to keep them at your fingertips. After obtaining this information, you can evaluate your marketing efforts but in a focused manner. With a loyalty POS, you can hear if you're seeing a return on your marketing campaigns, special offers, and loyalty programs.
You are then able to determine if you have wasted time or if your marketing efforts have grown your business by tracking your marketing campaigns. Change the promotional strategy to one that creates a profit, such as a fixed weekly Happy Hour or specials to coincide with Valentine's Day. Sending customers a voucher with a special offer on their birthday or a glass of wine for free is something they'll remember, and this will encourage them to come back.
Enhance service and table turnover
There are so many options for dining, drinking, and socializing so make it as easy as possible for customers to make their reservations, place their orders, and pay. It is particularly beneficial to people on a tight schedule or who have a short lunch break to check availability of tables with reservations POS systems. Faster table turnarounds and online ordering mean less stress for staff, which means more customers are served and sales are boosted without making the dining experience feel rushed. Adding a favorite dessert to an online takeout order will let you gather data about returning customers. You could also add extras like fries or salads to boost the price of the total order, such as a choice of sauces or dips.
Using data analytics, you can figure out which areas bring in more money, or which times of day there is downtime, helping you schedule your staffing accordingly and saving money on wages. The data will point out exactly where any losses are occurring so you can review staffing levels if you currently employ the same number of kitchen staff and servers throughout the week.
An effective menu plan and inventory management are essential.
By performing stocktakes and maintaining accurate inventory control, you'll waste less food in the kitchen or spoil less food by overordering items you can't sell. Staff are responsible for how each item is ordered, cooked, delivered, or served using your POS system. In addition to the inventory list, you can create a food waste sheet to identify which ingredients you need to decrease buying in. When you create this, you will see what supplies have been delivered and ingredients you are holding on site. It is easier to track where the loss of profit occurs when you have a food waste sheet that includes the time and date, the item, the reason, and the staff name. Likewise, the staff become very careful with how they plate or store or cook a particular item, as you require them to update the food wastage record.
Using data, you can determine which menu items sell well and keep customers returning. There is a common misconception that the most profitable item is the one that is the best-selling. However, your data analytics might reveal a different picture. If your highest turnover item is ordered by customers who aren't returning, then you need to investigate why this is the case. You may need to rethink how how you promote this menu to increase sales if another option is attracting customers with a higher than average percentage.
There is no reason not to maximize the benefits of your POS system and the data that it gathers on your behalf. If you don't review the information you have at your fingertips, then you are letting potential profit slip through your fingers. Making use of that knowledge will make your business stronger and help you reap the rewards.
