Everyone is talking about digitalization - but only a few restaurants have embraced it. Digital tools are rarely used, especially in smaller restaurants. Many restaurants still work with a good old reservation book (by the way, in the blog post "Less effort, more guest - How to" we have described how restaurant managers can achieve remarkable successes digitally with little effort.)
The value of high-quality guest data is underestimated in gastronomy. Linking cash-register data, reservations, customer data, and orders opens up fantastic possibilities for planing, service, up-selling and more. For example, hyper-personal service, optimized order and delivery times, perfectly synchronized preparation and the super-efficient use of staff and resources.
This data is also worth its weight in gold for marketing. To this day, many newsletters in the gastronomy are sent according to the watering can principle. This results in high wastage and low interaction rates. Guests do not only expect good service in restaurants, but also tailor-made offers in advance.
Only guests who provide their data will benefit comprehensively from the new opportunities. Following numerous data scandals, recent reforms of privacy and data protection laws in the EU and Switzerland safeguard the digitalization. The acceptance of online services will rise again, and digitalization of the catering industry will pick up speed rapidly.
Analogue niches will remain, but provide space for only a few restaurants.