How an omnichannel strategy can boost today's hospitality businesses

The hospitality industry is more competitive than ever, with UK operators facing constant challenges - from rising energy bills and the cost-of-living crisis to shifting customer behaviour and staff shortages. businesses are having to overcome a growing number of barriers. So, what is an omnichannel business, and how can this strategy help mitigate some of industry’s concerns?

What is an omnichannel hospitality business?

Omnichannel hospitality businesses are organisations which don't just rely on their restaurants as a revenue stream. For example, brands like Pizza Express have their supermarket pizzas, as do Nando's with their cooking sauces. Even food chains or independents which sell merchandise or branded clothing are using an omnichannel approach. These businesses are making the most of their customer base, providing exciting offerings which span beyond their own venues.

For businesses choosing an omnichannel approach they have spent years creating a brand persona which resonates with their customers. However, for a long time, this was only used to encourage consumers to visit their physical establishments, and income therefore, relied on people only spending money within an operator's venue. However, with omnichannel, the range of ways businesses can intertwine with a consumer's everyday life is much wider thanks to being able to offer a diverse range of goods and services across a range of places, both off and online.

However, omnichannel goes beyond simply being present on various sales channels. It involves aligning all of your channels and having them operate together to deliver a consistent, streamlined customer experience.

How does omnichannel help boost our bottom line?

Take Starbucks as an example. While best known for their coffee shops, they’ve built an iconic brand that extends far beyond their stores. By leveraging their branding, they sell merchandise like travel cups, clothing, and mugs. This diversification creates additional revenue streams, reducing reliance on in-store sales, though those still make up the bulk of their turnover.

Customers expect convenience when interacting with a restaurant and it is the businesses responsibility to deliver a consistent brand image and customer journey online and offline, across all touchpoints for dine-in, pick-up, takeaway and retail, as well as across devices.This allows you to offer products and experiences that reflect what makes your brand iconic, building customer trust in other settings outside the restaurant, such as in the supermarket.

This maximisation of brand loyalty across sectors can drive diversification of revenue streams; something which is key in the current hospitality market.

But, with any new adoption or change in offerings, one key question remains: how do businesses ensure they have a complete oversight of their customers, delivering truly enhanced experiences to match their needs?

Enhancing experiences across your omnichannel

Imagine your business has five customer channels; restaurants, home delivery, in-store food products, online merchandise and in-venue experiences (such as corporate cocktail making classes). You now have five sets of customers to reach, all with individual preferences and needs. While this presents a huge opportunity for sales and growth, it is critical that you have oversight of these customers, and can target them individually.

To do this, you must collect data from all your customer touch points. Your in-store diners, kiosks or other ordering platforms offer a chance to collect data, while online shoppers leave a digital footprint via cookies. Take-away or supermarket food fans may be interacting with your brand using a third-party. What’s crucial is you have the systems in place to track this data.

Three Rocks® XMS consolidates data from all your omnichannel transaction points, helping you identify what works, what doesn't, and what your customers want.

Once you have this data, you can analyse it to create tailored campaigns; campaigns which still deliver your core experience while being bespoke to hit each part of your audience. XMS ensures that the experience provided at every customer touchpoint aligns with your brand, maintaining consistency.

Get in touch to find out how three rocks can help transform your omnichannel!