Why Unified Commerce Will Change the Restaurant Industry in 2022
Webinar Key Takeaways
01 Does your technology work for your team or vice versa?
Key Takeaways
Meet the Speakers
02 Data – the most powerful tool restaurant operators have
03 Unified Commerce unlocks the door to deep customer knowledge
04 Next stop on the customer loyalty journey: AI and drones
05 A loyalty strategy – the foundation of Unified Commerce
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Sponsored by:
Lori Stout, Vice President of Marketing, Punchh
Featuring:
Does your technology work for your team or vice versa?
Unhappy employees mean unhappy customers. Unfortunately, employee disengagement often stems from tech frustration. Restaurant operators may have a great tech stack, but if it’s hard to use, adoption will be low and employee frustration will be high. Tech frustration can be caused by multiple logins, as well as the need to jump from screen to screen and system to system to catch up with data. Incompatible technology is expensive and it also leads to overwhelmed IT teams. On the flip side, when employees understand how to use technology to access the data needed to serve customers well, it increases their engagement. This, in turn, has a positive impact on the customer experience.
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"To be truly agile, you must be in control of your entire tech stack. It all comes back to the data and the adjacent technologies that make it easier for customers to do business with you and easier for employees to serve your customers."
- Lori Stout, Punchh
Given today’s labor shortages, easy-to-use technology is a key to employee engagement and retention
of companies that report having engaged employees also score very highly on customer satisfaction metrics and survey scores
80
%
Data – the most powerful tool restaurant operators have
For restaurants, Unified Commerce means unifying the systems, applications and touch points they use every day. The result is a single command center that displays all data for the full spectrum of the business. With Unified Commerce, restaurant operators can leverage customer information to maximum advantage. In addition, Unified Commerce delivers an improved user experience for restaurant employees which dramatically reduces the tech frustration that leads to disengagement. When organizations experience issues with their tech stack, they often fall into the “more is better” trap. They keep adding new applications and systems. Adding more layers to the “tech onion” isn’t the answer, however. The key to success with Unified Commerce is technology integration. To create a unified platform, technology must operate as a single entity.
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"Data is the single most powerful tool that any restaurant operator has. If you can’t access and manipulate that information, it becomes powerless. Consumers expect brands to use their data to deliver a better experience. If you can’t access customer data and use it appropriately, that’s a big risk."
Unified Commerce centralizes customer data and builds customer loyalty
Network design and optimization Where to build factories and where to locate DCs.
Integrated business planning Bringing together sales, operations, finance, and marketing.
Demand Planning Trying to predict future demand.
Supply Planning Where to make what, when and how much.
Inventory Positioning the right supply at the right stages of the supply chain.
Production Scheduling Aiming to make the best use of each factory.
Customer Collaboration and Supplier Collaboration Key parts of the supply chain.
Real-time visibility Helping to see all activity throughout the supply chain.
Unified Commerce:
A new approach to IT architecture that centralizes customer data on a single platform and streamlines the user experience for employees.
Unified Commerce unlocks the door to deep customer knowledge
Understanding the KPIs that drive customer satisfaction leads to long-lasting, loyal relationships with guests.
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Consumers expect an Amazon-like level of personalization and that expectation extends to restaurants. Unified Commerce can help. It creates a holistic customer experience by consolidating systems, products and customer interactions. Unified Commerce provides restaurant operators with the data they need to create the right offers, promotions, marketing messaging, menu testing and other activities that support new customer acquisition. This opens the door to understanding current guests on a deeper level than ever before. A loyal customer base generates word of mouth and referral marketing that leads to competitive advantage for restaurateurs.
Next stop on the customer loyalty journey: AI and drones
Looking ahead, Unified Commerce platforms will include cutting-edge technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and even drones.
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AI and ML will be integrated into the Unified Commerce tech stack. In the past, companies viewed AI and ML as technologies that were plugged into the existing technology infrastructure. In a Unified Commerce environment, these technologies are part of the platform, working in the background.
As restaurant operators look ahead to 2022, emerging technologies will play larger roles in Unified Commerce:
AI will change the game for marketers. Artificial intelligence analyzes customer data and makes recommendations about who to communicate with, what channel to communicate through, what messages will resonate with customers and even what time of day to communicate with people. These features are all part of a Unified Commerce platform.
Advanced technologies can deepen customer loyalty. For example, Punchh works with restaurant operators that are using cutting-edge technologies like drones to deliver food to their most loyal customers.
"Once you identify your loyal customers through data analysis, it’s fun to create new rewards and experiences for them which will bring them further along in their loyalty journey."
A loyalty strategy – the foundation of Unified Commerce
Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a Unified Commerce platform – take it one step at a time.
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Clarify your loyalty program and brand goals. Punchh meets with every client and creates an extensive loyalty strategy plan. This takes the guesswork out of the transition to a Unified Commerce platform.
Punchh’s loyalty and customer engagement platform helps restaurant operators achieve their Unified Commerce objectives. It enhances both the in-store and online customer experience, creating data-driven, AI-powered customer experiences that build long-lasting relationships and drive store sales.
Once you identify your loyal customers through data analysis, it’s fun to create new rewards and experiences for them which will bring them further along in their loyalty journey.
Before investing in Unified Commerce technologies, however, Punchh recommends that restaurateurs consider these four steps:
1)
2)
Remember that you don’t have to do it all at once. The journey to a Unified Commerce platform won’t be finished in a day. Take it one step at a time.
4)
Start with your most pressing problem. Identify the problem that is most negatively affecting your employee and customer experience. Begin work there.
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Susan Szymanski
Director of Sales, Nation’s Restaurant News
History of transforming organizations through sales growth, digital priorities, brand enhancement, integrated marketing strategies and team building. Understands how to pool resources, rally teams and leverage technology. Self-motivated and customer-focused, takes on challenges while attentively discerning opportunities. Adept in public speaking and moderating. Versatile and results-driven, implements innovations that change the course of an organization. Assesses issues in a timely manner and delivers mindful, high-impact solutions. A distinct and unusual combination of a creative thinker with an eye towards profitability and sales growth.
Lori Stout
Vice President of Marketing, Punchh
Lori brings nearly 20 years of experience in Customer, Content, and Product/Solutions Marketing to Punchh. She has spent most of her career focused on customer engagement and creating better customer experiences for end-users of loyalty, marketing, and communications technology. A lifelong writer and storyteller, Lori loves the challenge of taking a sophisticated solution and explaining it in a way that helps customers identify immediate solutions to their everyday challenges.
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(moderator)
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Restaurant brands have been pursuing the idea of digital transformation for well over a decade. As a result, they have steadfastly added digital channels, built mobile apps, and explored new integrations to their growing tech stacks. But to create a truly unified experience for your guests, you need to think bigger.
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