Words: Paul Hadida, general manager Australia at SevenRooms
Digital transformation has been around since the beginning of the World Wide Web boom in the late 1980s. Since that time, industries have taken advantage of digital technology to revolutionise business operations and deliver better experiences for their customers.
Hospitality, a traditionally tech-averse industry, was late to adopt this form of technological empowerment – until now.
Today, the hospitality industry is evolving at a significant pace, setting new standards of innovation to drive personalisation and memorable guest experiences.
Through technology like SevenRooms, smart venues are collecting and leveraging approved data on their guests, turning that data into experiences that incentivise loyalty and boost revenue.
Innovation and adaptability in hospitality
Few industries were hit harder by the pandemic than hospitality. However, the venues that have embraced technology have been able to adapt and build the foundations to overcome short-term challenges and create long-term strategies.
Through platforms like SevenRooms they interact with their guests across every touchpoint, no matter how, where and when they like to dine.
Diners can now book a reservation or join a waitlist online to eat out, order for at-home delivery, or order directly through their mobile phone instead of with a server. This creates major potential for a unified approach that capitalises on all areas of the guest journey across both on- and off-premise.
Having the right technology in place for each of these functions can enhance a restaurant’s ability to provide an innovative, adaptable and higher standard of service to keep customers coming back.
Venues that have one holistic, integrated platform across the entire customer journey can benefit significantly by collecting data at every interaction to provide tailored experiences to their guests that are second-to-none.
Consumers today want multiple options, from the experience of a lavish sit-down meal to the convenience of an at-home delivery service; the venues that can provide that seamlessly and centrally, win.
The role of data to maximise customer experiences
Through SevenRooms, hospitality operators can access approved customer data and use it to deploy personalised, automated marketing campaigns that wow guests and turn one-time patrons into regulars.
Essential for every business today is the ability to gain deeper insights into every guest – from their spending habits and tipping profile, to their favourite dishes and allergies. Crucially, this spans both on- and off-premise touchpoints, so venues can collate a 360-degree profile of every guest whether they like to dine-in, order delivery or a combination of both.
With these insights, venues can create automated marketing campaigns that reflect a customer’s specific needs and wants. The byproduct of this are experiences that guests value, remember and recommend.
Just like Spotify and Amazon use customer data to provide tailored song and product recommendations, so too can hospitality operators with SevenRooms. Today, customers demand more than just good food; they want venues that genuinely understand them.
Through data-driven marketing automation, venues can seamlessly demonstrate this understanding and ‘wow’ their guests at every interaction from acquisition to engagement to retention.
In the new era of hospitality, data and marketing automation are no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a ‘non-negotiable’. The venues that embrace technology and make data their secret ingredient, will be the ones who thrive.
The future is now
In challenging times when border closures and state lockdowns are becoming seemingly normal, hospitality operators need to continue to think outside the box, leveraging digital transformation and data-insights to build customer loyalty.
Creating hyper-personalised experiences across all touchpoints builds loyalty and keeps guests coming back – resulting in greater profitability in future.