What if the key to customer satisfaction today lay in digital tools? At a time when consumers are increasingly connected, demanding and in a hurry, the restaurant industry needs to reinvent itself. Digitizing restaurants is no longer a trend or a luxury: it's a strategic lever for improving the customer experience, boosting productivity and building customer loyalty. And you don't have to be a major chain to benefit! Do you run a local bistro, food truck or fast-food restaurant in the center of town? Then this article is for you!
Your customers have changed. So has the way they shop. Smartphones in hand, your customers have become accustomed to doing everything with just a few clicks. Ordering a meal is no exception. They expect you to:
Who likes queuing? No one does. With a kiosk, online ordering or a QR code at the table, your customers are back in control. They can order at their own pace, pay when they like, and you can reduce queues.
In a fast food restaurant, digitalization reduces waiting time by an average of 30%. Result: more orders, more satisfaction.
Technology enables you to get to know your customers better: their habits, their favorite dishes, their visiting hours, and so on.
Thanks to this data, you can :
Your customers feel unique. They come back and consume more.
No more ordering errors or misunderstandings between the dining room and the kitchen. Digital technology makes ordering clear, precise and straightforward. This limits friction and, at the same time, frustration on the customer's side. When an allergic customer chooses a dish, he can be sure that his restrictions are respected, because everything is explained, digitized and traced.
👉 To go further: 5 solutions for digitizing your restaurant
Do you have a website? An app? An up-to-date Google page? That's a good thing, because your customers are asking about your establishment before they even get there.
Thanks to digitalization, you exist at every point of contact:
In short, you're where they are. That's a real competitive advantage.
Digital makes the experience more inclusive:
Everyone feels welcome in your restaurant.
A dynamic display, a well-thought-out kiosk, a fluid site - all these inspire confidence. Your customers feel that you're up to date, that you're listening to their expectations and that you're taking care of their experience. In a sector as competitive as the foodservice industry, that makes all the difference.
👉 To find out more: How can you improve the customer experience at your fast-food restaurant?
Investing in digitalization doesn't just benefit your customers: it's a real performance driver for your business. By streamlining the customer journey, you naturally speed up order-taking, which translates into higher volumes, as well as higher average basketThanks to the intelligent display of suggestions and extras.
At the same time, transmission errors between the dining room and the kitchen are considerably reduced. Digitized ordering means clear, precise, traceable ordering, and therefore greater operational efficiency. You'll reduce waste, dissatisfaction and time wasted on rectifications.
But that's not all. Thanks to the data collected at every stage of the customer journey, you benefit from a finer-grained vision of your business : best-selling products, rush hours, consumption habits, and so on. This data-driven approach enables you to make more informed decisions, adjust your offers and optimize your resources.
Finally, your teams save time on repetitive tasks and can refocus on what really counts: human relations, welcome and quality of service. Digital technology doesn't replace the human element, but gives it back its rightful place.
There's no need to revolutionize everything overnight. Start by identifying the friction points in your customer journey: is order-taking slow? Does payment generate queues? Is the card always up to date?
Then, equip yourself with the right tools, such as :
It's a well-known fact that any transformation, no matter how beneficial, generates resistance. So it's essential to involve your teams from the outset, explaining the benefits of the tools and training them in their use.
Digitization doesn't replace people, it complements them. So your servers won't be replaced by machines, but assisted by them.
👉 To find out more : Surpass your competitors in 2025: digitalization as your secret weapon
You cook with passion, you choose your products with care, you train your teams to offer the best possible service... So why not apply this same requirement to the digital experience offered to your customers? Today, a good meal is no longer enough. What keeps a customer coming back is a smooth, pleasant and memorable experience, from the first click to the last bite. And that's what digitalization is all about.
A satisfied customer comes back. But a satisfied customer becomes your best ambassador. They share their experience, they recommend your establishment, and above all: they come back eagerly. So, don't ask yourself "should we go digital?", ask yourself "where do we start?".
-
Want to improve your restaurant's customer experience? Innovorder can support you in your digital transition, step by step, with simple tools designed for your day-to-day business.
