Reinventing restaurants with Messenger Bots

Companies are leveraging chatbots in order to improve their customer engagement. Ensure consumer loyalty and implement marketing strategies by harnessing the large user base of popular messaging channels like Facebook messenger. With a service-based business like that of a restaurant it is vital to engage your customers and inspire loyalty. With chatbot technology in full swing, a lot of industries are moving towards implementing this AI conversational strategy for customer engagement.

So then what can this Messenger bot do for your restaurant?

It still remains a fairly new concept so, let me help you with understanding what a Messenger bot can exactly do for your business and improvement of consumer service.

If you are a chatbot enthusiast, here to learn about how Messenger bots can be used to enhance your consumer’s service experience, keep on reading, as I am sure you are well acquainted with chatbots and their use in customer service. If you are new to chatbots and customer service, I suggest you read this first.

Since I was planning to write this article about a month ago, I decided to do a little experimentation, here’s what I did –

I decided to message a few restaurants on their Facebook pages. However, only 10% of those restaurants replied within the same day while 15% of them replied after a week. And there’s still a whopping 65% of those restaurants I am waiting to hear from!

Facebook Messenger bots can absolutely transform this scenario by engaging your customers as well as potential consumers with instant responses. The Messenger bot’s potential is not merely limited to their ability to reply instantly, but it can address a large number of customers simultaneously, while also assisting you implement various marketing strategies.

However that’s not the only reason for you to implement a chatbot for your restaurant.

Have you been to some of those restaurants with trained waiters that have interesting order taking skills? They make the whole ordering process an immersive experience. This is exactly what a Messenger Bot can also do for you, except that it will not take a monthly salary for it 😉 Bots can flaunt your menu with a personal impact. It takes orders while keeping the conversation interesting by recommending special items, asking questions and cracking occasional jokes.

The interaction with the customers is not just limited to displaying an interesting menu. It has massive potential wherein you can offer different rewards and discounts, post about new engrossing offers a customer could avail and much more. Transform your clients into loyal customers that not just avail but also recommend your service.

Illustrated below is an example of how you could leverage the use of a Messenger bot

One of the most amazing features of restaurant messenger bot is your brand promotion and marketing. It lets the customer know about the upcoming offers or events at your restaurant. You can send promotional messages and offers to your customers. You can attract new customers to your bot by Facebook click on ads.

Imagine you are extremely hungry and craving a pizza and someone just sends you the image of them eating a delicious looking pizza 🍕 Tough situation right? Well you could be doing the same thing with your customers!

Appeal your customer’s appetite by visually stimulating them, send them pictures and menus of mouth watering food items from your restaurant. Visual stimulation can go a long way for building your sales rate.

As is customary, many customers and regular restaurant goers tend to ignore the special items on the menu since they are unsure about the taste, ingredients and appearance of it. Bots can present all such items of your menu in an attractive and conversational manner while making recommendations to the customer.

Here are some of the most basic features your bot can have, however there could be much more that your bot could do depending on how the restaurant wants their user experience to be –

1.Manage reservations: 

Your team needs to spend a lot of time on managing reservations. And mobile apps are not making it easy at all, especially the fact that they need to be separately downloaded makes it a tedious process.

Messenger bots are significantly better managed. They can make reservations for you over the Facebook messenger chat and make it a personalised experience for your user in doing so. It will help you to stay connected with your old customers, attract new customers and you don’t need to be worried about management issues anymore. Automation also reduces your human error margin, improving your overall service.

2. Reviews and feedbacks:

For every restaurant each positive review is important. New customers usually judge the restaurant with these reviews. But does each customer that enters your restaurant give you a review?  No! No one really cares about that. Chatbots can automatically send reminders and encourage your customers to leave you a review. They also make the process quick and interesting.

3. Promotions and Deals: 

Messenger bots are the best platform to promote your offers and deals. Bots can easily recognize your regular customers and attract them for coming back with special offers and deals. It promotes your food and restaurant in a very exciting way and makes your customers feel special. Don’t forget customers spend more when they feel special!

4. Loyalty Program: 

Loyalty programs encourage customers to buy more from you. Chatbots are masters in bringing repeat business. And for a restaurant, generating repeat business is a primary target. A loyalty programs run by chatbot will help you to convert your customers into loyal ones. Your customers will only be happy to get involved in your restaurant loyalty program when they know that there is something in it for them. The chatbot will take care of customer involvement, without having to assign an employee for it.

5. Online ordering and delivery: 

If your restaurant offers delivery and takeaway services, bots are the best option. It automates the whole ordering process and the post delivery services like taking service feedback. Customers can message you just on Facebook and place an order while having a highly engaging conversation with the chatbot. It helps the restaurant to reduce personnel costs and reduce the error margin present due to human involvement.

Therefore, if you don’t have a chatbot for your restaurant yet, then get it now and effectively stay ahead of the competition. For more information on how Chatbots can help your industry in making customer’s experience pleasant, you may visit our website or you can reach us at coffee@kevit.io also visit us at Kevit.io.