Restaurants adopt technology, typically, at a slower rate than most other industries. But there has been a substantial push to close that gap. However, the problem is, by the time the technology has been caught up, there is already something to replace it.
Here are some tips to help on how to get the right technology into your restaurants.
- Be adaptable
If you wait three, six or nine months, the whole technology game will change. That’s why it is crucial to find a vendor and/or developer who evolve with companies as they grow. As a company, being open to change allows you to be nimble and find new opportunities and revenue streams.
- Test, test, test.
Before rolling out a new website or app, test, test and retest it. Nothing is perfect, but minimizing errors and finding bugs before customers get their hands on it will save a lot of money and headaches. You have to make sure your product works before it goes public. Moving fast is imperative, but if you do not properly test, you miss a huge opportunity for adoption. And quite frankly, if an app doesn’t work, people won’t use it.
- Attain advocates
To get buy-in from franchisees for new technology, the First Watch breakfast-and-lunch chain tested it first with a respected member of that community. The operator tried it and became an advocate. At the next regional VP meeting, the franchisee expressed his positive impressions of the tech, saying that he’d pay out of his own pocket if needed. “It got others to sign up right away. They all got on board immediately,” said First Watch President Chris Tomasso.
Above is a good example on how one advocate can change the minds of an entire group/organization. The same goes for executive and managerial leadership: with one strong advocate, technological advances and ideas can go far.
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