A Complete Guide To CRM For Restaurants

A Restaurant CRM system is like a guest database on steroids. It can help you effectively manage the critical guest data that makes personalized service and marketing possible. It’s that personalized and relevant touch that makes guests feel special and brings them back for more.

What Is A CRM System?

A Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system helps manage customer data. It supports sales management, delivers actionable insights, integrates with social media and facilitates team communication. Cloud-based CRM systems offer complete mobility and access to an ecosystem of bespoke apps.

Why Do You Need A CRM For Restaurants?

Increasing competition in the foodservice industry and the constant changes that come with diners’ dining habits, create higher pressure on foodservice companies to deliver exceptional customer service and optimize communication. You need a CRM to record, manage and analyze data about your customers and employees and, in turn, deliver consistent, personalized service while overwhelming noise about new trends and new menus.

The first thing you should know about CRM is that it’s about the consumer experience. This means that your customer should be at the forefront of everything you do using a CRM marketing automation system.

CRM Systems

There are two type of CRM systems: On-Premise and off-Premise. Which one to choose depends on your company’s size, the volume of customers and contacts, the frequency of updates and the budget.

On Premise CRM Systems:

On-premise CRM systems are hosted in in-house servers. During installation, the system becomes operational and available immediately for use. On-premise systems have all the basic CRM functionality. However they may lack some of the advanced features. On-premise CRM are easily adaptable to your requirements as the system is constantly “on-site”. That means that you can tweak it to fit your business needs easily. On-premise systems can integrate the necessary data needed to make your business run smoothly.

Off-Premise CRM Systems:

Cloud-based CRM systems are hosted on external servers. Your data are transfered to the cloud via an internet connection. Off-premise CRM systems require some form of subscription, but they are not expensive. Your data is stored in the cloud, which means you require an internet connection to access your data. So you won’t need to spend mega bucks on your IT. Off- premise systems are convenient, robust and cost-effective.The downside to off-premise CRM systems is that these systems are not adaptable. If you want to add or take out features, it’ll cost you. As is the case with most off-premise systems, your data is not stored on your servers.

CRM Benefits

The right CRM system can help you increase profits, build repeat customer loyalty and ultimately drive sales. CRM databases are useful in the following ways.

Improved Customer Service:

CRM data helps you keep a record of customers’ preferences, which means more personalized services and a better shopping experience for every customer.

Better Data Analysis:

CRM data, when combined with data from other sales channels and marketing programs, allows you to analyze your information and adjust your strategies accordingly. It gives you a complete picture of your customers and your activities.

Better Sales Growth:

As you know more about your customers, you are able to tailor your sales pitches and offers to their specific needs.

More Sales Opportunities:

CRM data enables you to identify niche markets, fringe customers and other high-potential customers that you may not have been in touch with before. It also helps in targeting customers who may be more likely to purchase your products.

Effective And Efficient Team Collaboration:

By using a CRM, you’ll know what every employee is working on, so you can manage your resources more effectively. Also, you can collect data from any location, at any time, which makes the team’s collaboration easier.

Types Of CRM Applications

Complimentary System

Off-the-shelf systems are a collection of basic programs that work very well together. However, the programs are not very powerful individually. These systems are created to help you create your own unique environment.

Industry Specific Application

Industry specific CRM apps are designed for certain industries and functions. It will only do the tasks you want it to do.

Full Cloud

Full cloud CRM solutions, which is the most advanced technology, are designed to work effortlessly across all devices and platforms.

Private Cloud

Private cloud features are similar to full cloud systems. However, private cloud systems require dedicated servers.

How To Choose A CRM Vendor For A Restaurant?

• Always buy from a vendor that specializes in serving your industry. Vendors who cater to specific industries know the unique needs of your industry’s customers better than vendors who do not.
• Look for a vendor that has a long history of supporting your industry. If possible, ask your peers about their experiences with the vendors you have shortlisted.
• Make sure the compatibility of the system with your POS, Website, Accounting Software and other key business systems.
• Choose a CRM vendor that is flexible to work with you to ensure customization and integration.
• Ensure that your vendor offers sufficient training for your existing customer service and sales staff.
• A good CRM system should be able to learn and predict your customers’ needs based on historical interactions.
• Finally, remember that your CRM vendor is a business partner. You should expect them to keep your business needs in mind, even while thinking about growth, expansion, and collaboration.

Key Features Of A CRM For A Restaurant

• iPhone/iPad, Android and other device-compatible designs – Make use of ready-made apps that will work on your iPhone or Android device.
• Easy set-up and integration – Set-up should be quick and easy. The CRM should also be able to integrate with your POS, Website,your accounting software and other key systems.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) reporting and analytics – Be able to benchmark your restaurant’s KPIs, survey responses, and other business data with data from other channels.
• Sales force automation (SFA) – Keep track of your sales team’s effort using this feature. It helps you create effective campaigns and offer more personalized products and services to your customers.
• Social CRM– Improve customer service by integrating social media features and integrating real-time feeds from your various social media accounts.
• Lead management and nurturing- Create targeted leads and nurture them using your CRM system.
• On-the-fly template editing – Be able to complete simple data entry on-the-fly using preset templates. Your staff doesn’t have to wait for the IT to make changes in the template.
• Mobile applications – If your restaurant is on the go, a CRM application with mobile applications will definitely help you keep your business up and running.
• Team collaboration – Track your sales and marketing efforts more effectively with this feature. You can also stay in touch with your sales and marketing teams using the messaging features of the system.
• Social sharing – Compare customer feedback and remember customers who post reviews on social media.
• Marketing automation – Create sophisticated marketing offers and sync them with your Website, Email, and social media channels.
• Platform integration – Integrate your CRM with other systems, such as POS, Website, accounting software, etc.
• Personalization – Provide targeted offers to your customers based on past interactions.
• Mass and targeted communication – Send mass mails to a targeted segment of your customers.
• Web based customer support – Have customer support staff round the clock.

Best Practice For Using CRM In Restaurants

• Make it useful for your people. If your team is not familiar with the system, it will not be used.
• Maintain accurate customer histories. This will help you serve more personalized products and services.
• Allow your team to capture every single piece of relevant data when your team interacts with a customer.
• You can also use technology to create systems that can help your business grow.
• Once a customer is in your CRM system, data from every channel that you are using should be seamlessly integrated and tracked.
• If possible, use the latest data in real time so that your business decisions are based on the latest accurate information available.

How To Use A CRM Tool?

• Organize the information that are relevant to your group in various categories.
• Choose a person who will be in charge of your system.
• The sales team members will have access to information about their leads and respond to them immediately.
• You should also train your employees in using the CRM system.
• Gather data about your recent customers. You can refer to these data to see which products are most popular and how the customer liked them. This will give you an advantage in making suggestions to your existing customers.
• You can also use the information to introduce new products based on the preferences of the customers.

How To Create A CRM For Sales Teams?

Follow These Steps To Build Your Own CRM For Sales Teams.

• Have the team use a shared workspace where they can decide on strategies and the features they wish to implement.
• Create a spreadsheet that shows how the team can collaborate with each other on a project.
• Share mailing lists and other relevant information with the team.
• Get feedback from the team on what kind of reports and campaign they want from the CRM.
• Once you have your CRM ready, you can train the team on how to use the system and the tools it offers. This way, they will be instantly familiar with the system.

How To Train Your Team On Using A CRM?

• Make sure that your employees are given enough time to learn how to use a CRM system.
• Give them as many demonstrations as possible during the training.
• Help them integrate the CRM system with other systems.
• Show them how to take advantage of the system and its features.
• Make it a point to remind them about this training.
• Separating your data
• Make sure that you can easily separate and categorize your information based on the data type.
• It is important to define a division between your customer information and your internal information.
• You should also monitor the usage of the system, if you notice that any of your employees are misusing it, you can stop the misuse right away.

Even if you are not a CRM expert, it does not mean that you should not put the information of your business somewhere where it is easy to retrieve and manage. If you are serious about growing your business, it is vital that you invest in a reliable CRM software. Be more efficient and more productive with the help of modern CRM tools.