We sat down with Revel’s resident pizza expert, Vinh Trinh, a Senior Sales Executive at Revel, who has countless pizzeria clients and conversed with many more on the topic of quick service and table service technology. His adoration for pizza, both in work and in life, has helped empower numerous pizzerias, and he’s here to share his insight into the marriage of technology and pizza.
What are issues, specific to pizzerias, that can arise with outdated technology?
The general understanding is that the pizza industry is busy and diverse; pizzerias have to balance high volume orders with a ton of customer menu modifications. If they are not running on the most up-to-date technology, it can expose serious vulnerabilities in their businesses. I’ve heard the horror stories; the consequences of outdated technology are largely data loss and extensive upkeep costs, all of which have proven to hurt the bottom line.
When pizzerias are looking to revamp their technology architecture, what drives their purchasing decision?
I hear every day “I want to streamline my business.” When a customer calls in to place an order, makes modifications to menu items, and requests delivery, it involves a number of complicated processes that are often disjointed. Business owners are asking for an intuitive system that will integrate all moving parts of their business into one platform.
What are the biggest concerns pizzerias have about adopting new technologies?
Two big concerns I hear from business owners are: (1) their ability track delivery drivers and optimize routes and (2) how to offer a consistent online, in app, and in-store experience for my customers?
How can a pizzeria be competitive in a digital world?
As a physical store in an increasingly digital world, it is essential to deploy an omnichannel platform to be competitive. Simply put, be where your customers are—online. For this, you need to expand your sales channels to include a website and mobile app with ordering functionality, social media, your POS, and your staff. Not only do these channels need to exist, but for there to be an inherent benefit, they need to be interconnected and easily managed through one platform.
The average customer base consists of multi-device power users. To cater to tech-savvy customers, you need a fully-developed, customized eCommerce platform. There’s immediate results in deploying an omnichannel strategy; you can increase profits, through the multiple touch points, as well as create a satisfying end-to-end experience for your customers.
U.S consumers spend $33 billion on pizza delivery each year. How can a pizzeria optimize its delivery process to get a larger slice of this industry?
After placing an order, the customer cares about two things: how quick the order comes and are they getting what they paid for. Consistently quick and accurate service will go a long way in increasing customer retention and general satisfaction. To achieve this you should know exactly where your drivers are and how long it is taking them to deliver. By setting up your POS with real-time driver status updates and intelligent delivery time estimates, you can better communicate back of house orders with the front of house delivery. Also, it’s easy to cut costs through route optimization. With a built-in mapping system, you can determine the optimal route to deliver multiple orders.
With shifting consumer demands and an evolving food service industry, how can a pizzeria be agile?
Data. Understanding your hourly sales, peak times in business, and inventory variances will allow you to make informed decisions in the moment. To be truly forward-thinking, you need to leverage forecasting technology. Through sales reporting, you can differentiate between trends, seasonal and holiday traffic, and anomalies to ensure you’re on the path to success. Furthermore, this information can be used to optimize your pricing structure and staffing.
What is your vision of the industry in five to ten years from now?
Customer-centricity will be more critical than ever. With the rapidly growing customer review and social media sites, every interaction will be scrutinized and rated. To future-proof your pizzeria, you need to dedicate a customer experience budget and implement technologies that empower customer choice through order customization, mobile apps, and loyalty programs.
We also may be seeing drone delivery, as tested by Dominos!
Revel Pizza Point of Sale
Process more transactions, increase the customer experience, and ultimately have the edge on the competition with an open API Pizza POS. From ingredient-level inventory, customized mobile app and online ordering system, and comprehensive reporting to a whole suite of delivery management tools, you can stay competitive in an increasingly noisy market.
Coming to Pizza Expo? Swing by Booth N2637 to learn how Revel can help you make dough!
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