According to the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS), the consumer hospitality sector spending is now less than 70% of its pre-pandemic levels and turnover is one quarter lower than 2019 levels. And, over the last year, both consumers and hospitality businesses have experienced fundamental changes that will last for many years.
As a response to the impact of the pandemic on hospitality, omnichannel has become a must for business owners who want to be on the cutting edge of technological advancements in this sector. Mobile technology and the digital revolution have fundamentally altered consumer behaviour, even in sectors traditionally dominated by brick-and-mortar operations, such as food services. There are numerous ways to create an integrated payment system for your hospitality business, from cashless payments, table reservations, and even mobile apps.
Customer satisfaction is critical to the industry’s success, therefore having an omnichannel payments system in place will undoubtedly help deliver this experience.
What is an Omni-payments experience?
It’s a seamless payment experience across all channels, through all payment methods. By design, an omnichannel experience means availability across all the channels you use to connect to your customers.
Customers’ touchpoints can exist at any moment when they interact with your business – be it your website, email, social media, mobile, front desk, restaurant, service, and so on. Therefore, hundreds of data points are left behind, and these can be skilfully harvested to drive profits. This is why a modern payment system like TRU Connect is essential to link data from other areas of the business directly to the company’s bottom line.
How to create an Omni-payments experience in your hospitality business
Diners’ expectations are not very different from those of retail store customers: they want to be able to order online, they demand flexibility in payment methods, and they expect personal service. Whether your customers order online or in person, the purchase process needs to be seamless.
This is why you need to keep processes simple. By replacing disparate systems with a comprehensive payments system, you can ensure payment consistency and save a lot of time. Pay attention to every step of the customer experience, and implement solutions to fulfil your customer needs. For example, do you run a quick-service business? Then you need to implement quick payment solutions, like mobile wallets, QR codes or biometrics. If your customers order services or products online, you can create dedicated registers for shoppers who only need to pick up their orders. You can also set up an online queueing and payment system to make sure you can cope with demand.
The benefits of creating an Omni-payments experience for your business
If you’re running a business in the hospitality industry, there are several things to keep in mind when forming an Omni-payments strategy.
When you integrate a variety of payment options into one online ticketing system, you provide shoppers with the convenience of not having to recall different payment methods during the purchase process. The checkout environment then becomes a one-page payment process, and your customers get a one-stop shop to complete the payment via a single payment method.
Put the data you collect about your customers to work – customers want hospitality businesses to engage with them and deliver personalised offers and information. In fact, 80% of consumers are more likely to buy from a company that offers personalised experiences, according to Forbes.
Lastly, focus on creating a great mobile experience for your customers: use mobile POS for orders and payments wherever this is convenient for your customers, optimise your website or app for mobile browsing and payments, and enable social media ordering and payments.
In terms of Omni-payments, these are a need for successful hospitality businesses, alongside the opportunity to compete on the quality of the experience rather than on margins, which may increase loyalty.
Finally, the benefit of implementing a unified Omni-payments system is that it allows you to look towards the future confidently. In mobile and digital, the rate of technological advancement frequently exceeds the ability to keep up, which is why it is essential to partner with a payments provider that keeps up with the latest technology. You will be prepared for the newest omnichannel payment advancements when they become popular.
