Key issues in the industry

Do you want a game plan for increasing average checks and overall gross volume? It starts with great product, but even the best product can’t drive sales when customer service is lacking, especially in difficult financial times, where there are only so many disposable dollars to go around, and plenty of food and beverage competitors out there, hands wide open to snatch those dollars away from you!

Good service and great tasting food get people talking for all the right reasons. However, poor service and sub-par food works the opposite way – and does so exponentially!

Research clearly shows that dissatisfied customers will tell 9-10 people of their poor experience and these will tell 20 others. The scary thing is that 96% of dissatisfied customers don’t complain to the restaurant management. Whether it’s at a fine dining, casual dining, or quick service restaurant, customers expect quick, friendly and attentive service, hot food hot and cold food cold, as well as clean and well-maintained facilities, or they won’t return.

We’ve learned what makes successful operations the champions that they are, and why the rest fall by the wayside. It all has to do with staying on top of your business and its brand standards, as well as investing in the customer intelligence products that give you the reliable data needed in order to empower you with critical knowledge and customer perceptions. A quick list of some of the more measured variables in this includes:

  • Do we create a welcoming and friendly environment on the phone and at the host/hostess stand?
  • Do we hard up sell, do we order take or do we “sweet sell” while maximizing sales opportunities?
  • Do we highlight the menu selections and front of house experiences that distinguish our brand?
  • Are we hitting our timing benchmarks across the board?
  • Which things about us create brand loyalty and repeat business, and which diminish them?
  • Do our servers come across as professional, friendly and knowledgeable?
  • How do our customers feel about each specific location and our brand overall?
  • Which operational adjustments can garner higher returns?
  • What are people saying about us on Facebook, Twitter, etc?
  • How does our dining experience compare with our competitors?
  • What do our customers perceive as our negatives and how do we reduce them?
  • How do our locations stack up against each other?
  • Are all personnel following the specific training and protocols that we provided them with?
  • Are we offering the overall guest atmosphere that we think we are?

So many, many choices for the consumer when it comes to dining out…how do capture their attention and keep them coming back to your brand concept? The solution is to provide great customer service, and that comes from understanding both the mindset of the consumer and the operational effectiveness of each unit location.

Over the years, we’ve seen the best of the best continually invest in customer intelligence data, and use that data to tweak brand positioning, customer service platforms or in-unit operational procedures to maximize the guest experience, which leads to greater brand loyalty, positive halo and word of mouth, and ultimately, optimal sales performance and market share.

Maximum sales performance equals maximum revenue, and CX Orlando has a proven suite of measurement and marketing tools to ensure your casual or fine dining locations are creating the best possible sales environment to drive profits and deepen customer loyalty.

Customer Intelligence Best Practices for the Industry

Acquiring and maintaining exceptional customer service levels requires the ability to consistently gather and measure data and feedback throughout your value chain. Below are the most prominent areas that clients of CX Orlando use to gather customer intelligence and improve overall performance.

  • Phone Experience
  • On-Site Dining Experience
  • Take-Out Service Experience
  • Catering Experience
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Social Media and Reputation Tracking
  • Employee Climate Status

Benefit from our experience in the Casual Dining and Fine Dining Industries by requesting a consultation today. We can help you develop a customized plan to address the needs you know you have, and the ones you didn’t even know existed.

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