The restaurant industry is trendy. It rapidly changes with time and seasons, and it’s not only about food anymore. Different aspects like staff, hygiene, quality, value for money, social distancing, and serving customers with what they want seems to be more critical than ever. In 2020, we all saw the sudden shut down of cafes and restaurants across the globe. But things are changing in 2021. We can expect home-based delivery kitchens, Instagram Mable worthy ambiance, aesthetically pleasing designs, home-grown condiments, and delectable street-styled cuisines.  

The restaurant business is not an easy affair. Young and old minds put their heart out to connect with customers and become successful restaurant owners. It requires a lot of passion, determination, perseverance, and challenging efforts to be successful. Despite the changes over the years, there is one thing that remained consistent – customer experience. Customer experience is the end goal that binds the various strings together for the restaurant’s successful functioning. 

While settling on the latest restaurant trends, focus more on customer preferences that will give you a competitive edge over other restaurants and, at the same time, support your business goals. Let’s see a few restaurant industries trends that will boost customer experience in 2021. 

Make it convenient 

Customers are increasingly moving towards convenient and flexible service. The use of the mobile app has made it easy to order and make payments online. Many restaurants have understood the importance of self-ordering kiosks to simplify the dining experiences. Through mobile apps, customers can order fast, reduce wait time, and enjoy the food at home. It also gives many customization options to customers for a great customer experience. 

Whether the customer chooses to order from the store or mobile-app, delivering a focused customer experience should be significant and on priority. To make mobile and self-service effective, restaurateurs need a defined CX strategy and implement them across all channels and locations. Different levels of services will not impact customer experience, but they will negatively affect the brand reputation. Customers should be happy and content with the service they received, irrespective of the avenue they choose to deal with you. 

Give importance to employees. 

Your employees are the face and pillar of your brand. If they are happy, they will make customers happy. If they are dissatisfied, it will reflect in their behavior, which will be passed on to the customer. There is a constant connection between employee experience and customer experience, and restaurant owners should note it. Engaged employees are a blessing to the organization who can better customer experience at all levels. Happy employees feel content with their work and feel invested in their job roles, and deliver a great customer experience. So, restaurants have to create an environment of continuous learning, regular training and feedback to keep it going. 

The trend on employee experience is not just for improving customer experience but also because of its impact on employee turnover. Disengaged employees not only contribute to an awful customer experience but also towards a higher attrition rate. Focusing on listening to employees not only helps in employee engagement but also improves the overall customer experience. To redefine your restaurant’s customer experience, you have to include your employees in all decision-making processes and find ways to delight your customers through your employees. 

Gathering the right data 

Data plays an essential role in the restaurant industry. Smart investors and entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry rely heavily on data for decision-making and future strategies. Changes in the menu, design, brand endorsement, promotions, and personalization are entirely data-driven. The restaurant industry is a data hub that generates many consumer data, but most of them are oblivious about its usage. With the right tools, data can be streamlined and turn into actionable insights to support your restaurant’s future goals. 

Dealing with raw data is not rocket science, but it’s not easy either. Restaurants should use a robust software tool to manage, interpret, analyze, and understand customer behavior. With the help of new tools, you can identify the factors hindering customer experience and develop solutions and action plans to improve processes and make changes accordingly. 

Go social and be visible. 

Social media is a never-ending phenomenon. It’s one of the best ways to connect with customers and engage them. As a restaurant, you can optimize your online profiles with hours of operations, menu, offers, promotions etc. Along with daily updates, you can also entice customers with new events, special discounts, and other offers. Maintaining an updated social media profile helps drive SEO activity and bring your brand on the top search. The more customers find you, the more business you get.  

Online social channels like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become popular to address customer concerns immediately. With a social presence, restaurants can listen to customer complaints instantly and mitigate any future risks. Lastly, restaurants can create a special bond with customers by tagging them on their posts, reposting their position on their profiles, and even thank them for visiting their restaurants. 

Create a memorable customer experience  

If you have many visitors at your restaurant, there are high chances that they prefer you over other restaurants in terms of food, price, service, and a pleasant experience. Customer loyalty is heavily priced and built over time through positive engagement. It would be best to remember that even excellent marketing strategies and pricing could not fill the service gap. Providing customers with the best service is the only way to retain them and bring them back for more. 

Keep customer research on always. Look out for restaurant industry blogs, read them, and get ideas on improving customer experience. Do competitor analysis, and know what your customers are doing. Learn from your past mistakes and improve your offerings. Stay updated with the latest industry trend and news to be ahead of the competition.  

Whatever changes happen in the restaurant industry, it all comes down to guest experience. There is the only question that emerges out of everything? “Is your customer happy with the change?”  

Some of the emerging factors that will influence the customer to dine-in with you in 2021?  

• Treat your customers as human. Appreciate them for choosing you. Respect them and be genuine. 
• Give all your customers the option to customize their experience as per their needs and requirements. Listen to their feedback, and respond skillfully. 
• Listen to their needs and demonstrate awareness of the situation and acknowledge them. 
• Delight them with the best. Personalize customer experience, and create moments beyond imagination 
• Know your customers. Anticipate their needs, and remember their preferences. 

Handle guest experience  

Guest experience is unbeatable. e Even a small mistake can become a reason to make the customer unhappy. There are multiple ways where you can handle quest experience and create a positive experience.  

• Gather data of your customers who visited your restaurant. Take their feedback and convert them into insights. Use those insights to better your menu, service, and pricing. 
• Use digital technology to leverage the data. With the help of advanced tools, use the right data at the right time to make the right decision. 
• Train your staff, and let them lead the show. Make your team capable and engage with customers. Let them be efficient and quick. 

Remember few steps to create a positive customer experience in the restaurant industry.  

• Always deliver what you promised. Display only those things that are available in the kitchen. If there is any food item unavailable, either inform customers beforehand or remove them from the menu. 
• Deal with your customers as if you are dealing with your friends. Be approachable and welcome them. 
• Engage with your customers on social media. Respond to their queries, or answer any questions they may have. Don’t get blown away by negative remarks. Take criticism positively.  
• Share with your customers if you are having a bad day. Let me know your problem. Don’t let them assume your staff unfriendlily. 
• If your restaurant has a pet or animal policy, or any other terms and conditions, let your patrons know about them. Explain it to them politely without being rude or offensive. 

Things to invest in to change the restaurant game  

Before you contemplate doing something big, start from the smaller ones and gradually progress further. 

Invest in training  

For your restaurant to grow, an employee must understand the importance of customer service and how well to fit it into the work culture. It won’t happen until you train your employees on the different elements of customer service. You can conduct a customer service certification course, invite an external trainer, or develop internal capabilities to train them yourself.   

Invest in creativity  

Putting any thoughts into practice is creativity. When employees interact with customers, they need to be creative, think-out-of-the-box, and not limit rational thinking. Being creative will help your staff understand customer’s emotions, tackle their needs, and solve problems in a better way. You can either hire an innovative trainer or encourage your employees to read books on creativity. 

Invest in photography  

Make your food menu look appealing and enticing, so it attracts customers. A food visual or a photo carries more attention than text, and people relate to it faster. Hire a photographer who can click great pictures, and then you can display them on your social media profiles. It would help if you always had an updated food menu everywhere. It will cost a few bucks, but that’s nothing in front of your customers. 

Invest in a marketing person  

Handling a restaurant is not a single person’s job. It takes more than one person to make it functioning – bartender, waiter, operation executive, marketing & communication personal etc. Hiring a dedicated marketing person will handle all the marketing part, improve internal and external communications, and take your brand to different heights.  

Invest in influencer marketing  

Everything is word-of-mouth these days. Customers mostly believe influencers are talking about their experiences. There are food critics, food bloggers, and food influencers who can taste your food and give genuine feedback. It will help you improve the quality and taste of your food. Moreover, they will endorse your restaurant to their followers on social channels to visit your restaurant as customers, which will give your business. In 2021, influencer marketing will be one of the highest invested marketing tactics to gain customers’ interest. 

Conclusion:  

Before you decide to create a memorable customer experience, sit down and research the restaurant industry. Research about new trends in 2021, learn them and implement them in your restaurant. Make a steady plan, prioritize resources, and see if it fits in your business objective. 

Author/profile:  Evelyn Thomas

      Writer, Marketer & Customer Experience Enthusiast.

Bio: Evelyn Thomas is a marketer, writer and dog lover living off-grid with her husky named shade, real-world marketing, and sales pro. She loves reading and implementing new methods of improving product usability while giving a new face to the brands she works with. If you’re ready to learn how to market your business effectively, check out her practical steps for improving customer experience.

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