2022 was the year customers returned to restaurants, and it served as a quick reversal of the previous year’s theme of ordering online from your couch while enjoying Netflix. Now, as we head into 2023, the recurring theme of personalizing the guest experience will continue to emerge, but it looks a little different now that operators have less access to the necessary resources.
With today’s society closely and frighteningly mirroring the Great Inflation of the 1970s with skyrocketing costs left and right, a dark cloud of the recession is coming over everyone’s head. Which means that, for operators, it’s all about delivering special and memorable guest experiences, even with shrinking staff in an economic economy.
However, restaurant operators need not fear as there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel: technology. Rather than fear the complications and complexities often associated with using technology platforms, you can serve as a helping hand and offer more to restaurants that have less.
Do more with less through technology
Historically, restaurant technology has had a transactional purpose, serving primarily the staff and not the guest. But in 2023, it’s all about the personalized customer journey.
Restaurants are expected to embrace increased automation, such as AI machine learning and data science, to help streamline those behind-the-scenes tasks, while limited staff can only focus on prioritizing the diner experience and building a pool. of regular customers.
No, 2023 won’t be the first year we’ve seen the emphasis on personalization move up the ladder of importance; however, it will look a bit different now that it’s on a larger scale.
From a repeat guest to a loyal customer
Picture this: You walk into your local cocktail bar with sweaty hands ready to dine with the person you’ve been dying to invite. As soon as he walks through the door, he is greeted by his name and offered a special menu that matches his taste preferences based on his order history.
Not only will your date think you’re an absolute hotshot, but you’ll inevitably have a sense of community and importance, quickly turning this cocktail spot from a casual dining space to a new all-time favorite.
This imagination can become a reality when restaurants use technology tools powered by artificial intelligence and data science that allow staff useful insight into each and every customer who returns and walks through the door.
After all, the “one size fits all” model is an old concept across industries, so why shouldn’t restaurants feel the same way, too? It is imperative that operators embrace the role of data in personalizing the guest experience to drive repeat customers, which in turn drives recurring revenue.
Looking to the future
Here’s the bottom line for 2023: guests will wait longer while dining, and the bar for what a restaurant has to offer customers will be much higher. Instead of being the end result of tons of other companies and their decisions, guests will have greater access to technology that multiplies what they can do to create their personalized experience, especially while dining.
AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY
Austen Asadorian is Senior Vice President of Sales for SevenRooms.
