Chatbots for Restaurants – How To Retain Your Customers In Growing Competition

The restaurant industry is no stranger to challenges. With issues like inventory management, rising food costs, increasing competition, effective menu pricing, etc., restaurant business happens to be one of the most high-risk industries.

In such a competitive market, great customer experience not only ensures that you stand strong in spite of competition but also ensures that you attract and retain customers in the long run and your restaurant business scales great heights.

Everything, from running marketing campaigns to providing online and offline services to collecting feedback, should be focused on attaining the very goal of impeccable service. However, be it ordering food, making a reservation or even getting recommendations, it is impossible for service staff to meet everyone’s standards consistently which can result in a negative brand image for the restaurant.

Conversational agents, better known as ‘chatbots’, are being inculcated by restaurants and other businesses to help provide impeccable customer service and stand strong in the face of rising competition. Chatbots can be programmed to carry out a myriad of tasks ranging from answering FAQs, making a reservation, ordering food or processing payment.

Let us have a look at the use cases in the restaurant industry where chatbots are proving to be beneficial:

Orders and Reservations

Managing orders and reservations all at once, especially when you have partnered with countless food delivery apps, becomes very time consuming, error-prone, and stressful.

Chatbots can be easily connected to the database/software of your restaurant so that all the reservations and available time-slots can be updated automatically without any manual intervention. You can also deploy your restaurant chatbot on different channels like website, app, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, so that your customers can order from your restaurant without leaving the platform they are at. This, in turn, boosts your brand engagement and also provides your customers with a unified experience.

FAQs and Menu Offerings

Chatbots can take care of your customers’ FAQs while your staff can focus on preparing and serving food. Questions related to opening and closing times, reward points or whether the restaurant is open on a public holiday, et all can be answered by the bot. Your staff can save ample time and devote more time to serving the customers better.

Often it so happens that if you have a bigger menu, some good dishes end up being ignored by the customers. Chatbots can really prove to be beneficial in such a scenario where they can present your menu in a visually attractive and conversational way, while also learning about customer preferences to offer better recommendations.

Promotional Offers and Deals

Chatbots can broadcast special offers and deals on your website and social media channels. A chatbot can also send promotional alerts to those on your list so that your customers and prospects are updated on the new deals offered by you.

Based on user history and preferences, artificial intelligence-based chatbots can show your customers the offers and discounts that they are more likely to select. This proves to be an effective way to cross-sell and bring them back for repeat business through new deals and offers sent via SMS or Facebook Messenger reminders.

Personalized Recommendations

Bots can also serve as an intelligence-gathering tool which assists a restaurant in understanding their customers. With customer contact details, past orders, the preferred method of payment, etc. — the chatbot in a restaurant can not only personalize a customer’s experience but also reward loyal customers in order to increase repeat business — all through a well-designed chatbot conversation​.

Famous fast-food chains like Domino’s, Taco Bell, and Burger King have already implemented chatbots to streamline their operations and provide seamless customer service. These chatbots greet customers and provide menu options. The customer confirms their order, provides details like pickup location and makes the payment – all through the chatbot, facilitating end-to-end customer support.

Reviews and Feedback

The importance of online reviews in the internet era cannot be neglected. According to a study, 90% of consumers read online reviews before visiting a business. And 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.

But the process of getting your customers to drop a review for you is difficult, time-consuming, and somewhat intrusive. Chatbots can come in really handy in situations where human intervention can be deemed negative. Chatbots can automatically send reminders to your customers urging them to write reviews and submit ratings for your services. Chatbots are, hence, a non-intrusive and a better way of collecting feedback from customers.

Businesses across verticals are recognizing the tangible benefits that a chatbot entails. Restaurants that take the leap in incorporating chatbots will be sure to see a growing customer base and more cost-effectiveness which will ultimately be conducive to overall growth and revenue generation.

WotNot restaurant chatbot allows you to focus on what matters. By addressing your customers’ pain points using a round-the-clock chatbot, you can increase your engagement rate and retention rate.