Kounta POS Making it Big in Hospitality: Strategies for Growi | Page 21

It’s an increasingly mobile world. Of the
different kinds of retail businesses, restaurants
are the most perfectly suited for a population
that’s on the go.
A bookstore has to compete with Amazon for the business
because customers don’t need to leave the comfort of their
home or bubble to make the purchase. But going to a restaurant
is exactly the opposite: your potential customers are either
already on the go, or are looking to get out. So meet them where
they’re at before they’ve figured out where to go.
An increasing number of apps for smartphones and tablets use
locationbased technology to find nearby stores and restaurants.
From review apps like Yelp to mobile ordering platforms like
Boppl, people are never more than a few taps from finding out
you exist. Make sure they can find you. Spend some time doing
research as if you were a potential customer looking for a place
to eat, and see how you stack up against the competition.

Where are listed on Google in relation to your competitors? Do
you have a listing with Google and Apple Maps? Are you
advertising on Waze? What about Yelp? Go through every place
you can think of that people would look to find you and get as
much info there as you can: your website/menu, hours of
operation, the types of payments you’ll accept, parking—all of it.
The less questions people have about you before they even
show up, the more comfortable they’ll feel. That’s human
psychology insight #3 here: people don’t like to appear as if they
don’t know what the deal is, or they simply are nervous about
those kinds of situations. Arm them with as much knowledge as
possible by establishing a thorough presence on these mobile
platforms.
The same goes for online ordering. There are a number of apps
that will integrate directly into your POS that can alert people to
your presence. If a group of people are out at a bar and decide
they’re hungry, I’ll guarantee that at least 3 of them will pull out a
smartphone and start finding the closest place to eat. If they can
look at your menu and order through the app, even better. And if
they can pay for the order with it, as well: bonus.