Restaurant Automation – Taking The Lead In Restaurant Robots With Miso Robotics

Investing in restaurant automation is an opportunity you should not miss. If you’re thinking that your restaurant doesn’t need it because you already have a competent and well-trained team to support your business, you’re missing more than you think.

Looking closely, you may have already started automation without you realizing it. Your POS system, inventory management software, kitchen display system, and even your online ordering system are all part of restaurant automation.

One important part of automation is the introduction of robots. In today’s restaurant scene, robots are already making their appearance. They already have a foothold in every operational procedure in a restaurant, from flipping burgers to mixing cocktails.

And if we’re going to talk about restaurant robots, Miso Robotics can’t be missed. Their Flippy is considered the pioneer of AI-powered robotic kitchen assistants. In addition, major QSR brands are now partnering with them to offer safer and faster food services. 

Are you interested in learning more about automation and robots in restaurants? In this article, learn how to establish a firm foundation for automated restaurants. 

Restaurant Automation – Age of Restaurant Robots 

What is the hardest part of your job? As a restaurant owner, you should be involved with every operational and managerial process in your business. Starting from the hiring process to the accounting of finances, up to your waste management. 

Keeping your staff safe, effective, and committed may not make it top on your list but it’s one of the hardest parts of your job. Mainly because you don’t have entire control of someone’s way of thinking. While you may have trained them according to the performance you expect of them, you can’t give more than that.

What they do after their training and experience will be up to your staff. This is also the dilemma that Miso Robotics founder, Buck Jordan, decided to solve. By helping out their first client, Flippy, a simple robotic arm that flips patties on a burger grill, was born. 

This is a major step for the industry, especially for its tech developers and innovators, as it proved that robots have a place inside the kitchen. Automation is not just about data and information, it could directly assist with food service as well. 

To prove this point, Miso Robotics continuously looked for other tasks that their robots can take part in. By now, their Flippy frier has already fried 175,000+ lbs of food, their Flippy grill already flipped 10,000+ burgers, and their Automatic Beverage Dispenser has been considered a key component to reducing wait times at the drive-thru. 

Given that automation is becoming more affordable, and labor costs are rising, it seems to make sense to utilize robots. Also, just think about how you and your staff will be able to focus on other tasks since you have an “extra hand” to help you out with the basic ones.

Restaurant Automation – Where To Apply?

Aside from cooking alongside your line cooks and chefs, what else could these restaurant robots do for you? Here are the most common areas of your business where you can implement the use of robots. 

Front-of-House

The self-service kiosks are the most prevalent implementation of automation for FOH aside from online reservation and seating software. Major fast-food chains such as McDonald’s already started using these kiosks back in 2015 and successfully launched them internationally.

The main reason why QSRs and fast food chains are trying out this type of restaurant automation is that it helps facilitate the entire order-taking process. The average waiting time for QSRs is 255 seconds, anything more than that could drag the entire shift.

Waiting in the queue for quite some time is not an ideal situation for your customers. You’re branded as a “fast food” restaurant for a reason. Through your self-service kiosk, you can reduce the waiting time significantly.

Another representation of automation would be robot waiters. Although it’s still a new field to explore, there are restaurant operators that are not afraid to take the risk. After all, being a pioneer on something is an effective magnet for customers.

You also have to keep in mind that deploying robots in restaurants is not a replacement for your staff. Make them understand that these are tools to help them focus on more important tasks such as customer service and addressing other concerns of your customers. Don’t forget your online takeaway ordering system, also.

Back-of-House

Your kitchen serves as the haven of your restaurant robots. They’re mainly utilized to ease the burden of doing simple yet repetitive tasks off of your kitchen staff’s shoulders. All the frying, flipping, and even mixing can be effortlessly done by your robots. 

It may seem impossible at first look, but robots are starting to dominate the kitchen. To give you an idea on what are the possible kitchen tasks these robots can do, below is a list of the top robots in restaurants currently in use.

• Sally – Salad-making robot from Chowbotics
• Cecilia.ai – An interactive and automated robot bartender
• Mini Baker – An automated loaf and bread maker by Wilkinson Baking Company
• Flippy – A variation of AI-powered robot built to operate in fast food kitchens
• Smile Robotics – A plate-collecting robot from the Japanese Company, ACUR-C
• Makr Shakr– A robotic bar system that enables customers to work alongside the program to mix their cocktails. 
• Doughbot – The robot responsible for accelerating the pizza-making process by pressing pizza dough five times faster compared to traditional machines.  

Food Delivery

Thinking about restaurant automation and food delivery, there are several opportunities to improve the delivery systems of restaurants using restaurant robots. Drone delivery is one of the many things you can try out for your next food delivery service. 

However, drones can only handle such weight. If a customer orders a full meal course set for delivery, it may seem impossible to deliver it using drone technology. But, drones are not the only way to apply automation in your delivery. 

Robots are being developed to directly deliver food items to a customer’s home address. It’s equipped with GPS and cameras to safely navigate its way from the restaurant to the customer. It’s still in development though, so it may take time before its official launch. 

Restaurant Robots and Automation – Benefits

By now, you should already know the potential automation and robots bring to your restaurant business. To help you understand more about the automated processes, see below what are the main benefits robots in restaurants can bring. 

Streamlines the kitchen processes

Food handling and preparation is composed of different simple yet time-consuming and tedious tasks. Imagine how many working hours you can use if you’re going to set free your staff members with these tasks. 

As mentioned above, most of the restaurant robots were developed to help with routine kitchen tasks such as frying, mixing ingredients, and even plate collecting. These robots are highly programmed meaning the likelihood of mistakes and errors is highly reduced. 

With proper programs and software, they can duplicate any dish there is without the worry of culinary skills and experience. Also, robots work at a faster pace. Productivity and efficiency will easily improve with their assistance. 

Leading you to increase your revenue and customer engagement. It also allows your staff members to focus on customer service since they have free time to spare. 

Minimizes operational costs

If you’re going to automate your mundane kitchen tasks, you’ll be able to reduce your operating costs since a single robot can carry out those tasks with great precision. 

Also, there’s no need for you to hire staff for shifting since a single robot can perform the task with ease. It helps you deal with increasing labor costs associated with the hiring crisis in the restaurant industry. 

Furthermore, minimal mistakes mean minimal food waste. As you already know, food waste is one of the major costs that affect restaurant operations. Dealing with it helps you protect your bottom line. 

Improves customer service

What would happen if your staff doesn’t have to wait until a customer decides on what to order? Or if your staff doesn’t have to monitor the frying station for your chips? They’ll have lots of time on their hands.

Training them to use this time to devote to enhancing the quality of the service that they are delivering to customers. They now have time to monitor, observe, and focus intently if there are concerns that your customers need assistance for. 

Through this observation, they will develop initiative since they’re now familiar with the environment. They’ll be able to tell whether a customer needs something before they even call your staff. That’s the efficiency and service growth automation can bring. 

Restaurant Robots and Automations – Issues

Aside from that they are cold beings, robots in restaurants raise some issues in the industry such as the following:

Consumers are not fascinated by robots handling their food

People are not impressed that a programmed machine is a part of the preparation process of their meals. They think that robots lack sound judgment thus their fatal mistakes are possible. 

For instance, what if there’s a loose bolt that got mixed up in the soup or the salad? Since these robots are not programmed to detect those, there’s a huge possibility that it would be served or worse eaten by a customer. 

Also, customers still find it more comfortable interacting with a human, someone who can understand them with comprehension. Pressing a set of buttons does not interest customers because they need a confirmation that they’re being understood, thus, human interaction.

Robots fail to demonstrate emotional intelligence and personality

Although there are some developments where a robot can interact with a customer, it’s still not as smooth as what your staff can offer. Customers still prefer staff members since they know how to turn a bad experience into a good one. 

They can make adjustments accordingly and with ease, primarily because they are trained for it. Seeing robots may improve a customer’s experience in your restaurant, but it’s the service that makes them stay. 

Employees fear being replaced by robots

Knowing their worth and what they’re capable of doing, employees are threatened with the presence of robots in restaurants. Without proper endorsement, it could bring chaos instead of harmony in your operations. 

You need to communicate with your team first. Let them know that robots are just tools to be used for your restaurant automation process. It’s there to give them a helping hand, and not to take their jobs away from them. 

Is your restaurant prepared for robots?

Considering all the technological advancements being presented, it’s only logical to think that robots are the next step towards innovation. While it’s still taking its sweet time for now to become a norm, you should educate yourself as early as now.

“Prevention is always better than cure,” goes the popular saying. In the case of this trend becoming the new normal for restaurant operations, it is always best to prepare and take the first step forward.  

source https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/restaurant-automation-using-restaurant-robots/

5 Tips for Getting More Good Online Reviews for Your Restaurant

As you’re reading this, you probably already know all the statistics about online reviews. Nearly 87% of consumers say that they read online reviews before making a purchase or going to a business. 

Restaurants are also one of the top industries where consumers are most likely to read reviews. The others on the list are hotels, medical businesses, clothing stores, and automotive businesses.

Since you’re a smart business owner, you’ve probably decided to claim your listings, optimize your profiles on review sites, and leverage negative reviews to your advantage. No doubt you have an online food ordering system, too. That’s good, but is it sufficient?

The process of creating your business profile and claiming online reviews is only one part of the picture. People are more likely to view your business as old and unpopular if you sit back and do nothing to generate new and positive reviews.

Having this in mind, we have put together a list of ways to boost your business’s visibility and attract customers through more positive online reviews.

How To Score Positive Online Reviews From Your Customers

Make your restaurant website review-friendly

Have you ever purchased anything from Amazon recently? Their site offers all products a review option, so you can leave a review. A verified purchase is distinguished from an independent review. 

A customer’s ability to read reviews can help him or she make an informed purchase decision on Amazon.

Make sure your website has a review form. Customers who have used your products and services can leave a review using a star rating system or other symbols, and you can also ask them to write a written review. A relatively low-key way to accumulate reviews, it’s easy and inexpensive.

Send a purchase-related email to customers

Sending an automated email after a customer makes a purchase can encourage their reviews. It could contain a link to your website’s review form.

Make sure you do not send the email until the customer has received the product if you choose to use this option. In other words, if you’re sending an email to someone who made an online food delivery service, you’ll have to wait several minutes or hours before sending the email.

Two choices are available to you. The first option is to attach the review form to the email, and the second is to include a link directing the review form to your website. Regardless of the choice you make, ensure that the review is just as straightforward on a mobile device as it would be on a computer.

Another thing you can do is to leverage your current reviews into more online reviews. Send a thank-you email to customers who complete reviews on your site. 

Consider including the following in your email. First, it is also possible to upsell additional products, which they can review afterward. Request the review of other purchases they have made. 

Getting the feeling that you appreciate your customers is important. A simple thank you email can be enough to motivate them to review additional food items or services.

You don’t have to struggle as much to get more positive reviews online, but you should know how to encourage your customers. Ask them. They’re just waiting for your call.

Incentives can be used to encourage online reviews

As a general rule, paying for reviews isn’t a good idea (and asking customers who haven’t tried your products to write reviews is not a good idea either), however, you can find a way to encourage them to do so.

Points are a common benefit offered by many restaurants. Points may be rewarded for purchases made through a points program. After that, you can reward customers with bonus points for reviewing the products they purchase.

Offering additional points for customers who share their reviews on social media is another option. Utilizing this method, you can add value to each review that you get by introducing them to new consumers.

A free download could be offered if a points system isn’t your thing. This can be a simple e-recipe book or even a list of resources that you think your customers will find helpful. 

You could, for instance, provide users with a downloadable infographic that outlines how to mix a mocktail or make pizza from scratch.

Regardless of which option you choose, the goal is to show your appreciation to customers who take the time to leave reviews.

Allow customers to give feedback with ease

Put links to your profile on your website, emails, and social networks such as Twitter and Facebook. Since you are asking followers of your business or those who like your page, you are asking the correct people.

If you don’t have an online store, how can you encourage customers to leave reviews? Even though it might not be as simple as sending them a link, there are a few things you can do to get more reviews:

• Printing your receipts and invoices with a link to your product review page is a good practice.
• Consider printing excerpts from some of your reviews on a menu or displaying them in your restaurant.
• Use your menu or comment cards to ask customers to review your business on Facebook or other review sites.

It may not work for everyone, but these ideas can enable you to increase the percentage of customers who leave reviews of your products and services.

Be responsive to online reviews

The key to responding positively to any review is to read it with a positive attitude. In this way, you demonstrate your genuine interest in your customers and your restaurant.

When responding to negative reviews, responding positively goes a long way towards enhancing the guest’s experience. Whether you respond publicly or privately is up to you, but just be diplomatic in your approach. 

Be sure to monitor online reviews from your website, social media accounts, and other review sites. You should pay attention not only to the way you respond to online reviews but also to the time when you respond. Your guests greatly appreciate timely responses. 

source https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/how-to-get-positive-online-reviews-for-your-restaurant/

Are You Having a Hard Time Growing Your Restaurant Business? Get Things Moving Again with These 5 Tips

Everything is going well for your restaurant business. In your marketing efforts, results are being delivered, and ROI is being earned. All of a sudden, it isn’t. Exactly what went wrong? Is there a way you can begin to move forward again?

A plateau is the most straightforward explanation. As you climb, you now find yourself on a flat surface. Growing your business means finding a way to go in a new direction. Fortunately, if you know why your business is stagnating, there are simple things you can do to fix it.

Read along to know more about how to survive a business plateau. Who knows, the change of path you’re looking for might just be under your nose. 

Grow Your Restaurant Business – Survive a Business Plateau

What is the reason why your business isn’t growing? First, define the direction your business should be heading, and where it should be going from there.

Businesses, especially in the Restaurant Industry, are subject to plateauing in several ways. In general, these are the most prevalent:

• Prospect Generation
• Website Usage
• Engaging the Audience
• Acquiring New Customers
• Online Conversion

Monitoring your marketing results will help you to determine where your effectiveness is lacking. Here’s your chance to change that. If you wish to create tracked links, you might consider using a marketing platform.

It is also possible to track your marketing efforts using tools like Google Analytics and Facebook pixels. Focus on the areas that need improvement as you narrow your results. 

For instance, if your website traffic is high but your social engagement is low, it might make sense to improve that aspect of your business.

Prospect Generation

Do you rely on qualified leads to keep your restaurant business going? In this case, a plateau in lead generation can be a serious issue. To counteract the slowdown, you need to work on your lead generation and improve this process for your restaurant.

Engagement on social media can be achieved with targeted campaigns and personal interaction. You will be able to attract more leads if you are more targeted in your social media marketing.

To get people’s email addresses, devise a simple lead magnet that will appeal to their interests. Consider creating a tutorial, a template, or even an eBook to share with potential leads. Dedicated landing pages are key to making your offer successful.

Don’t limit the call to action to the pages where you promote offers – put them on all pages of your website. Make it appear that a signup form or contact form is the best way to get visitors to contact you.

You need to reach out to prospects who are interested in your business. It is possible to turn them into paying customers as soon as they join your mailing list.

Website Usage

As you review your marketing statistics, you discover that your website traffic has dropped. Are there any things you can do to help things move along again?

Consider doing an audit of your website to identify improvement opportunities. It might be helpful to perform an SEO update and ensure that every page is optimized for a specific keyword.

To reap the most benefit from keywords, make sure that you use them in your titles, headings, and subheadings, as well as in all image tags.

Don’t forget to always double-check your information for accuracy and relevancy. To keep the engagement high, your customers must find something relevant about them on your website or blog. Promoting your blog posts on social media can help you increase your blogging frequency.

Try featuring a blog about DIY mocktails, or organize alive on your social media app to show how you’re handling the re-opening for physical indoor dining. It is your responsibility to create a bridge that will keep consumers connected to your brand.

You can do a lot to draw traffic to your website, but you will have to maintain its visibility by updating it periodically. This applies to your table service app, too.

Engaging the Audience

When you get fewer blog comments, shares on social media, and phone calls, this indicates a lack of audience engagement. But how can you keep the engagement high for your business?

Social media should be used regularly to share content. Sharing your blog posts, curating industry publications, and offering special offers for your followers are just a few ways to be helpful.

Encourage audience participation by making a call to action and utilizing relevant hashtags. You will not be able to get what you want from your followers unless you let them know

Send out a newsletter or series of emails every month when you have an email list. Your engagement and authority will increase if you provide your audience with useful information and tips.

Engaging your followers requires regular posting. Ignoring your social media page won’t get you the clicks, comments, and shares that you desire.

Acquiring New Customers

Your new customer acquisition has slowed, perhaps that’s the reason why your business has been slow. Here are some things you can do to attract customers if that’s the case:

• Begin an incentive program to encourage your existing customers to refer their friends and family.
• Verify that your online listings are the same. It’s common for local business owners to have more listings than they realize. If these listings are not standardized, they become less visible online.
• Don’t forget to include your location on your Facebook profile so customers can find you.
• Create unique hashtags to use on social media to promote local events that you host with other local businesses.

It is possible to reach new customers with all of these approaches, as well as get them into your restaurant.

Online Conversion

There might be a lot of leads and clicks, but unless the traffic you attract converts, your efforts will go to waste. Is there a way to make it work? Try out these practical ideas and apply them to your management.

• Ensure that your landing pages and advertisements include updated words, images, and CTAs.
• Make it easy for customers to write reviews on websites like Facebook, Yelp, or Google. Be responsive to reviews, both positive and negative.
• To make your offers more effective, create separate landing pages for each. 
• Display testimonials from your customers. Customers’ video testimonials can add a lot of credibility to your website.

By following these suggestions, you can overcome any objections that may arise, which will result in higher conversions.

The best marketers sometimes make mistakes. As such, hitting a plateau shouldn’t discourage you. If you want your business to move forward, take some time to evaluate your results and then take action like the ones offered here.

source https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/grow-your-restaurant-business-with-these-tips/

Top 8 Signs Your Restaurant Website Is In Need Of A Makeover

Do you have an outdated restaurant website? Technically, it’s not the start of the year, but indoor hospitality was just recently permitted. Many restaurateurs, such as yourself, set resolutions to improve themselves, or to just be better. Did you know that? Similarly, you should think about whether or not you want to make improvements to your website.

It’s a fact. Redesigning a website can be a hassle for many businessmen. While your existing websites might still be running, you may put off redesigning them as you don’t perceive them as a priority.

There should be no question about it being a matter of importance. It’s difficult to attract new customers if your website is outdated, which can undermine trust with your existing customers.

But how would you know if it’s time for a new design? This article will help you discover what are the indicators of your restaurant website’s cry for help for a redesign.

Signs Your Restaurant Website Needs A Redesign

It is not mobile-friendly

It is expected that by the year 2025, 93.7 percent of the UK’s population are using mobile or smartphones. How would you expect consumers to open their laptops or PCs just to engage with your website? 

You’re losing a lot of business if you don’t provide a convenient way to process and finalize orders. Your online restaurant ordering system must be mobile responsive to create better opportunities for engaging customers and boosting your bottom line.

Websites that do not adjust to the size of the device on which they’re being viewed are penalized by Google. The problem is quite simple to solve. The points are more than enough reason not to do it – and an absence of it can be harmful to your business.

It appears outdated

As the world of web design evolves, new trends emerge. The time has come to embrace the present and update your website if it looks like it was built in the early 2000s. It is easy for a website to appear out of date because of a variety of little things.

For instance, what version of Twitter and Facebook logos do you have displayed on your homepage or blog? In the case where your Twitter logo features the old bird with the feathers on its head, your site might appear quaint and ancient.

It delivers a low conversion rate

Having low conversion rates after tweaking your marketing campaigns is a sure sign your site needs an update. There’s a problem with your website that’s making potential customers flee. If your restaurant website is the problem, there is only one solution.

Low conversion rates can be caused by several factors, including your social media presence and marketing campaign. Despite this, there is no denying your website, its appearance, user experience, and more play a huge and important role.

It takes a while to load

Putting off an update because of its difficulty may seem like a good thing in the short run, but it’s a big sign that it’s time to update. Staying aware of future Google updates and technological advancements is the best way to ensure you stay up to date.

Your life will be simplified in the long run if you upgrade to a WordPress site where you can easily change themes and install plugins as necessary. 

It’s a common statistic to say that humans have a shortened attention span than goldfish. In terms of how fast a website loads, it makes sense.

Additionally, Google penalizes sites with an excessively long loading time. Use the Page Speed checker to see how long it takes for your site to load. You should aim for it to load in about two to five seconds. 

But keep in mind that each second beyond two also reduces the interest of consumers. Website abandonment is common if a webpage takes three seconds or more to load.

It carries an outdated branding

The redesign of your website should be done to match your branding changes, regardless of how small they may be.

Has your business changed its brand since your last website update? Therefore, you’re not giving your visitors a true picture of your restaurant when they visit your website – so you have to brand it properly.

It still has autoplay in it

As you redesign your restaurant website, you should eliminate autoplay for a more important reason. Page loading time is probably slowed by it. In the past, you may have been eager to encourage people to watch or listen to your video. However, now is the time to update.

The level of irritation created by autoplay easily outweighs the benefits it could provide. Rather than auto-playing your video, put a captivating thumbnail and a provocative pull quote in the header.

Also, modern consumers want to be in control of a transaction. Providing them the authority of what they can do on your website will surely boost user experience.

It contains inconsistent web design

You may have had a different designer make some tweaks to the design while you waited years for your last redesign. You might have even done a bit of programming yourself. This may result in an overly layered Frankensite that appears to have been thrown together by a committee.

The fonts, colors, menus, and other design elements on your website should be consistent throughout so that you can offer new customers an attractive experience instead of scaring them away. Redesigning can help you achieve a cohesive look that will bring you new customers.

It has a low Google-rank

Websites that load quickly and have great content are prioritized by Google. You are less likely to rank highly in Google if your site hasn’t been updated for a while.

A ranking decline is especially concerning if this is happening despite better visibility online and a higher marketing budget than usual. Google’s responses to your website are not to be ignored. The problem can’t get better if you postpone updating it.

Google holds a lot of power over consumers, so don’t ignore it. Consumers’ buying decisions are influenced by it more than they think. Without a good Google listing, you may find it difficult to get customers’ attention and interest.

source https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/signs-your-restaurant-website-needs-a-redesign/

Top 7 SEO Trends of 2021

Staying on top of your SEO campaign is a challenge that you have to continuously deal with. Especially now that online visibility is the new buzzword. Halfway through the year, there are already established SEO trends that have made a significant impact on businesses.

With SEO constantly changing, it’s more difficult than ever to stay on top of things. To stay visible on Google and maintain your rank, you have to stay up to date with Google’s continuous algorithm updates.

Through this article, you’ll be able to see how SEO trends are making an impact on businesses. You may use this to your advantage and see how it will serve your restaurant.

SEO Trends for Restaurants – 2021

Having a clear understanding of the changes on the way can help businesses plan and avoid major penalties, or a drastic drop in website rankings. Keeping up with Google and knowing exactly what they will be throwing at you is crucial.

SEO on Mobile Devices

Local SEO should not be a new topic for you. As a restaurant owner, integrating this into your operations and marketing is not just an option, it’s already a necessity. You should be driven to maintain a strong online presence by the growing dependence of modern diners on Google.

Seventy-seven percent of consumers usually checked the internet first, before trying out a new restaurant. Missing out on that type of market could be hurtful for your business. The same goes for your ranking on mobile devices. 

One of the most significant trends in mobile SEO. Mobile devices are used more and more by people to search. While you may have higher desktop rankings if you only do SEO for desktops instead of mobile, your mobile rankings may be atrocious. 

Search engine optimization for mobile devices is becoming increasingly important in the future. 

User and Search Focus

The searcher’s intent and behavior are always changing, so it is important every year to refocus on this. “What’s good for the users is good for SEO”, as the famous SEO saying goes.

To provide the most rewarding experience for users, or users, Google has many factors in mind. Consequently, Google wants its users to be satisfied when they land on your website via the search engine results page (SERP). When users are satisfied with the search experience, they will return to Google again for their next search.

It is more important than ever for any website to focus on learning what users are looking for, especially now that Google is emphasizing user experience. When it comes to deciphering user intent manually, tools such as keyword search can allow you to swiftly accomplish this will be ahead of those that do not.

Zero-Click Searches

The term refers to a search engine results page (SERP) that provides a direct answer to the user’s query in such a way that no other clicks are necessary to finish the search. A large percentage of zero-click searches involve local results, so it’s extremely important to build a strong backlink profile and get a Google My Business account set up.

Local search listings should not be underestimated. Local SEO is critical because top search results offer answers via the SERP itself, due to the steady rise in zero-click searching. Searches that satisfy the search intent at the top of the SERP are zero-click searches.

Use of Core Web Vitals for Ranking

For those who aren’t familiar with these, starting at the Google Search Central blog is a good place to start. To simplify, Google is adding page load speed to its ranking formula.

Google incorporated it into its ranking factors in May 2021. For your listing to appear on the first page, you must pay attention to those. A user experience metric will help the bots to decide which page is more relevant if two pages have equally relevant content.

Experienced SEOs will probably tell you that site speed is already a ranking factor. Since users bounce back to Google if your site is slow it is an indirect ranking factor. The practice is known as “pogo-sticking,” and your SEO rankings will suffer as a result.

Voice Searches

Seventy-six percent of all mobile phone users around the world use voice search. This SEO trend generally consists of long-tail queries that are extremely specific. The purpose of voice search is to find specific answers to user queries. 

During this stage of the funnel, these users are considering the offer and are likely to convert much more frequently than other users. It is expected that voice search optimization will also continue to grow and become an SEO trend since more people are turning to it every day. For SEO purposes, this can be an essential step.

Use of AI – Automation

Understanding the algorithms used by search engines to rank web pages takes years. Creating strategies for each of these takes a great deal of time. However, the use of AI and machine learning can completely change the game when it comes to such strategies. It’s affecting the development of food delivery apps, too

Decoding algorithms and creating favorable strategies are put to a much higher level of efficiency and power using this scheme. While it can be exhausting to do quality assurance if you have AI or automation with you, your business will soon reap the benefits from it.

Consider utilizing an AI tool for your content writing, keyword search, or reporting.

Video Marketing Content

It is important to keep in mind that your SEO strategy needs to include videos as YouTube’s influence continues to grow. Keywords should be voiced in these videos, and they should be search engine optimized. Embedding a video that features the same keyword on your landing page is also important.

You should begin by optimizing the titles and descriptions of your videos. Likewise, your description should not overburden users with keywords, but rather provide an in-depth description that is easy to understand.

Keywords can make a difference. YouTube’s autocompleting feature can be useful when optimizing videos for YouTube. When you begin typing a video’s topic, a list of possible topics will appear. The keywords that are suggested can be used to optimize the video for the right kind of audience for optimal performance.

source https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/seo-trends-for-2021/

What Online Marketing Trends Can Make Your Restaurant Stand Out This 2021

Your sales and marketing strategy should leverage digital marketing in a way that creates results by increasing visibility and driving revenue. The following online marketing trends for 2021 will help you get started and create more success for you this year.

In the long run, businesses that can best capitalize on current trends will gain a significant competitive advantage. Especially considering everyone is vying for consumers’ attention online, you must maximize the marketing trends you can employ online. 

Taking advantage of these trends ensures that the second half of the year will be your most profitable season. 

Online Marketing Trends For Restaurants 

Establishing a restaurant website, creating an interactive online menu, and the like are just some of the most popular digital marketing trends. Utilizing these marketing styles has helped different businesses, especially restaurants to make their mark on the market. 

While the above-mentioned are extremely helpful for you, keep in mind that the rest of the competition is doing the same. You may use different approaches, but it might get too crowded for you if you’re going to focus on the same styles as others.

Here are some of the online marketing trends for restaurants that have already proven their effectiveness. These are some unique styles where other restaurateurs may not be utilizing yet.

Create A SMS Marketing Campaign

This type of restaurant marketing has been around for quite some time. But it didn’t get enough patronage. Why? Business owners see that using this tactic could mean that they’re invading the privacy of their customers. 

It is a mentality that you have to let go of. Of course, there are lines that you shouldn’t cross when it comes to data privacy, but if you’ve been transparent from the start, this shouldn’t be a problem for you. 

You just have to clarify to your customers what you will do with their data. Inform them of the possibility of their data being used for marketing campaigns. And if they still agree with it, then you’re good to go. 

In the year 2018, SMS marketing has been valued at around USD3.5 billion. It’s a huge valuation that shows endless growth potential. 

This is one of the easiest ways to let consumers subscribe to your brand and other marketing offers. There is no need to open up another browser or connect it to their email account or other social media accounts. 

They just have to click a short message and they’re already on your list. Updating them about your different special promotion, event, or a just-because gift card is made simpler. You send this campaign, and it’ll just appear on their phones through their messaging apps.

Boost User-Generated Curated Content

Take advantage of how customers trust their fellow customers. The use of user-generated content, or UGC, is an online marketing trend that’s not given proper attention. You have to realize the impact it delivers to your business, on how it helps your branding. 

Competing for online followers is a daily challenge for you and your team. If you’re looking for a way where you will exert less effort but provide the best results, then you must connect with your customers. 

Encouraging them to share or post online about your restaurant business is a great way to expose your brand to a new audience. It is a cost-effective way to gain your brand new online followers. 

Let your customers take photos of your interior design, your food presentation, and motivate them to share them with the world. Those #foodies will surely get a hand with one of these posts, and your brand will reap the sweet fruit of success. 

If you’re going to repost their content, make sure to ask for permission and give them proper credit. It enhances their engagement with your brand, at the same time, it provides great exposure for your business.

Make Everything Mobile-Friendly

A business that’s not accessible through smartphones or other mobile devices is missing a lot. This online marketing trend was born due to how being digital changed the purchasing process and behavior of consumers. Having a restaurant or takeaway ordering app is essential nowadays.

Everyone’s browsing through their phone more than through a desktop or a laptop. In the UK, two out of five, forty-three percent, are aware that they’re using more screen time than they should. It is a huge indicator of how digital dependency affects the way of life of a consumer. 

Having this in mind, you have to ensure that every service you offer should be mobile optimized. Work on your mobile SEO to ensure that you’re appearing to every mobile search being made. Ensure that your website and its services are mobile-friendly. 

Modern diners search using their smartphones more often because it’s convenient and offers information right at their fingertips (literally and figuratively). Your bottom line will suffer if you don’t build your brand and operations into this kind of setup.

Utilize Video Marketing Smartly

Almost five billion YouTube videos are being watched every single day. Consider the fact that there are over two billion active Facebook users around the world. An analysis of the number of people watching videos reveals about one billion watching an hour of video each week. There is an enormous audience embedded there waiting to be discovered.

Compared to text or still images, video attracts more attention and communicates messages better. Watching videos does not only result in consumers remembering them but purchasing products afterward.

Your restaurant can use video to answer common questions customers have, either through Live events or through prerecorded releases. Consider creating short, informative videos from content already in circulation, and posting the videos directly to your restaurant’s social networks.

Maximize Social Media Marketing

The online marketing trend that’s been popular for years now. Social media marketing has proved that digital marketing can be easy, fun, and most especially, budget-friendly.

An active social media presence is crucial for businesses today. Restaurants particularly depend on their online reputations. As you work on your social media marketing plan, it’s essential to pay attention to your social audience when problems arise.

Creating a profile on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter is your first step towards this type of marketing. These top social media platforms offer target features that are easy to use and allow you to increase your followers and customer engagement. 

Yelp and other social networking platforms are also crucial to strengthen your social media presence. 

If you’re going to focus on this marketing style, it is ideal to know first where your target audience usually hangs out. It is important to know which type of platform they use. Marketing to the wrong platform is a huge mistake and a waste of resources. 

In addition to building your brand’s voice, an effective social media marketing strategy shows your brand’s personality. Using posts, tweets, and pictures to showcase how your brand is perceived will give you a competitive advantage.

source https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/online-marketing-trends-for-restaurants/

How Cloud-Based Systems Are Slowly Revolutionizing The Restaurant Industry

The introduction of cloud-based systems is the response of the industry to meet the constantly evolving preferences of customers. This system allows restaurateurs to be on top of their game, digitally, despite the daily complexities of restaurant operations. 

Being online and digital is only the first step towards the restaurant’s digital transformation. You must be aware that the technology behind it is continuously being developed to make sure that it’s meeting the current needs of the consumers. 

Just take, for instance, the before all-competent POS systems were upgraded into cloud-based POS systems for more efficiency in the operations. It’s simple, as consumers’ demands transform, it should be the same for your restaurant technology.

If you want to stay relevant to the market and the competition you are in, you have to make sure that you’re well-equipped with updated tools and technology to help you out. This is why cloud-based systems or software are perfect for restaurant owners like you. 

Consumers are now expecting a more convenient, accurate, safer, and faster service from businesses. Everything should be delivered at lightning speed without delays and of top quality. With cloud-based tools, you can deliver such a service to your customers. 

Learn more about this restaurant management system type and how it could benefit your current operations. 

Cloud-Based Systems in the Restaurants

You may have heard about this type of tech for smartphones such as Apple Cloud. However, the cloud is a general term meaning that data is being stored to remote storage and is accessible anywhere as long as there is an established internet connection. 

It is also known as a web-based or Software as a Service (SaaS) platform. The cloud system is commonly associated with POS systems as it’s the sole data storage of an entire restaurant. 

However, although given the opportunity to pivot their operations into a better system, restaurant owners are hesitant to try this system out. The majority of restaurateurs claim that it complicates their current system and they don’t have enough resources to sustain this type of tech. 

And this is the mentality that you need not adopt. To help you understand cloud-based systems more, here are some of the frequently asked questions about this matter. 

What is a cloud-based system?

As mentioned above, in essence, it’s just a system that allows you to store limitless data on remote storage (hence the term ‘somewhere in the cloud’). The cloud is known for its accessibility and security, which makes it a perfect option especially if your business is data-driven.

Is it hard to navigate?

The beauty of advanced technology is that the more advanced it is, the easier it is for people to navigate through it. For cloud-based tools and equipment, developers made sure that it’ll be easy to use and understand. While training could be helpful, there’s absolutely no need for it.

Are the cloud-based systems and tools expensive?

This may come as a surprise, but these advanced tools are incredibly affordable. It’s a cost-effective solution that allows restaurant owners, such as yourself, to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations and management. 

The cost may vary depending on your subscription plan and tech provider. But collectively, it still costs less compared to traditional or legacy systems.

Benefits of Cloud-Based Systems in the Restaurant Industry

With cloud-based solutions for restaurant management, you can easily access every data about your business. It can help you monitor and access every data about your inventory management up to your staff management, at any channel in real-time. 

It allows you to create better decisions on how to use the data that you’ve gathered through your POS system. And the more you know about your data, the more targeted experience you can provide to your customers. 

Here are the main benefits you can experience once you try to deploy cloud-based systems in your restaurant.

It can be integrated into other systems easily

With cloud-based systems, all data can be synchronized in a single platform. For instance, you need to create a purchase forecast for a month. You can easily access all the data about your sales to identify purchasing patterns which can help you generate a well-informed report.

It helps you create data-driven business decisions

Having a better understanding of your data means you’ve gained deeper insights about your customers, employees, management, operations, and the like. Being able to access these sets of data anywhere and anytime allows you to act immediately if there are concerns that need to be addressed.

For instance, as an owner, you have to make sure that your inventory is well managed, that your employees are reporting on time, and that your customers are getting their preferred dish. If you have a different platform or system for each, you can’t act right away since you’re still focused on another platform. 

With the cloud system, you can track everything on a single platform. You can also sync all the data however you want to create other formulas to improve your current work system. 

It improves inventory management

Your inventory is the lifeline of the entire restaurant. If you have insufficient stocks for a day, then operations will be put on hold for a day, and that’s already a quick loss for you. This is why it’s important to take inventory management seriously, regardless of how tedious this task can be. 

If you have a system that’s integrated with your kitchen display system and POS, you can track the movement of the ingredients. Should the stocks approach low, you can quickly request a purchase activity for replenishing. Integrate this with your epos system for takeaway restaurants and you are good to go.

And what comes next when you’re managing your inventory levels well? Better waste management. If you have low waste levels it only means that you’re able to maximize every ingredient you have, meaning you’ve also maximized the investment you put out into it. 

It is a secured platform for data

At first, it may sound risky to place all your business data including your customers, employees, and the like in web-based or remote storage. However, your data is safer in the cloud compared to an internal or personal server and drives. 

Cloud system developers have a robust cybersecurity system that is hard to compromise. It is also automated to back-up files if your system crashes, meaning you can recover all your data even if troubleshooting is needed. 

Compared if you’ll completely rely on your drives, should it be hacked, compromised digitally or an accident happens, it may be difficult for you to recover your data.

It’s Time To Put Your Restaurant On Cloud Nine

Whether you’re ready or not, the digital revolution in the industry is already ongoing. Now’s the time to effectively pivot your systems into more efficient and effective ones. Why? Because everyone’s still open to changes and other technological advancements. Just think of the way takeaway ordering systems have changed everything.

Cloud-based systems are already changing the ways of operators, it’s time for you to adapt to its ways for more productive business operations. Aside from data security, it offers a lot of benefits that can change the tides of the competition if utilized properly. 

source https://www.etakeawaymax.co.uk/cloud-based-systems-in-restaurants/