Venues advised to improve customer service ahead of the peak season
The upcoming peak season takes on even greater significance for Australian hospitality venues as cost of living pressures and rate rises put the squeeze on consumer spending. While Australian diners are still willing to eat out and spend, capitalising on the excitement of deals and discounts, competition remains tight and loyalty is still hard to earn and easy to lose. When competition is high, customer experience is often the key differentiator that stands between simply meeting and far exceeding diner expectations before, during and long after peak season.
Consistency across all channels is key
Consistency is crucial, and the foundation for everything that follows. Today’s customer journey is far more sophisticated than simply visiting a restaurant and dining there. Diners are using multiple channels throughout discovery, engagement, and purchase. As such, it’s essential to provide consistent customer service and a unified feel across your venue, website, social channels, emails, and any other touchpoints.
A consistent brand and customer experience ensures your business is recognisable, establishes trust, and communicates with a central personality and message. Ultimately, this enables you to turn casual diners into loyal customers and browsers into new customers, regardless of the channels they frequent.
Maintain regular conversations with your customers
In our world today, connection is everything. The closer the connection and communication, the easier it is to drive loyalty. Whether you’re informing customers of new opening hours and services offered at your venue, or letting them know of upcoming deals on your website, communicate on a regular basis. The best way to ensure a great experience is to proactively inform customers of any changes in the way you operate, and ahead of time.
For example, if you offer a special menu, email customers, and display information prominently on your website. If you’re running a one-day promotion, give them plenty of warning, rather than relying on them to stumble upon your restaurant or website on the right day. Regularly ask for feedback, too, so you can demonstrate their opinion and experience matters to you. Put yourself in their shoes to better understand and appreciate what is and isn’t working for them.
Nothing beats personalised customer experience
Personalisation is vital. Diners are more likely to visit venues that offer a personalised experience or customer service. If you’re working with customers, getting to know them is an effective way to create long-lasting relationships. Tailored experiences win against one-size-fits-all approaches.
Many consumers expect personalised offers based on their habits, preferences, and previous orders. A great way to keep track of this is through an omnichannel loyalty program, which enables you to track your customers’ dining habits, food and drink preferences and offer them relevant rewards. It’s easier to incentivise them to spend if you’re offering them things you know they want, after all. For the right venue, implementing QR at-table ordering solutions also enable staff to spend more time on relationship building, and offering personalised service, rather than simply taking orders in the POS.
There is no single tactic that improves customer experience. Instead, it’s about taking a holistic approach, and having an unwavering commitment to your customers and their experience with your business. Through consistency and connection, personalisation, and convenience, your business will be better placed to thrive whether it’s the height of peak season or a slow Wednesday in winter.
*This is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial or tax advice. You should consult with and rely on your own legal, financial or tax advisors.
Andrew Fraser, Managing Director, APAC at Lightspeed, 6th September 2023
