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A business exists for it’s customers. Its purpose is simply fulfilling their need. If business are to be viewed with this perspective, the businesses related to the food industry tops the business chart as they provide for the basic need of people i.e. food. Restaurants are not merely places where people can satisfy their hunger. Many things go into the Restaurant business including quality of ingredients used, the taste of food served, the presentation of food, the ambience of the restaurant, the services provided by the attendants, the skills of the bartenders, etc. Amidst all this, ultimately the customer is the major deciding factor. CRM for restaurants is thus unavoidable. Now the question may arise, 

What Is CRM?

CRM here means CRM system i.e. Customer Relationship Management System. CRM is a Saas i.e. Software as a Service Product developed by CRM development company. There are different CRM systems and different development companies design their different CRM. However, the purpose of CRM remains the same i.e. to build a better relationship with the customers. Thus, it is a power tool which collects data about customers, analyzes it, uses it to improve the relationship between the business and the customers, reaches out to new customers, retains old ones, and ultimately improves the sales to bring in profit.

If CRM was to be defined in single sentence, we can simply consider it as the marriage between customer and business.

10 Reasons Why CRM Software For Restaurants Is Important:

Integration With Other Systems: A well established restaurant will have different systems working for it such as the Point of Sale or POS, the online order and delivery system, etc. CRM enables integration of all these systems.

Allows Integrated Approach:  CRM not only allows for the various sytems of your business to integrate, it also integrates them with the various segments or departments of your business as the marketing team, the sales team, etc. This enables proper internal communication and there is an integrated approach of all the systems and departments working together towards a single goal – Customer satisfaction.

Data Collection: From the POS and Online Ordering system, CRM is able to collect all the data about the customers such as the demographics, how many times they have visited your restaurant, what have been their purchases etc.

Easier Data Access: CRM software for restaurants is not restricted to a single device and a single person. It can be accessed by any authorised person from any authorised device. Thus all the data available to CRM can be easily accessed from any place at any time enabling your business to act accordingly as the need arises.

Know Your Customer: With CRM you will know all the details of a customer which has visited your restaurant at least once. You will know their name, how many times they have visited, their food allergies, their table preferences, birthdays or anniversaries or other occasions, etc. 

Royal Treatment: Once you know the intimate details of the customer, your can use it to give the customers arriving at your restaurant a Royal treatment. You can call them by their name, you can offer them the table they prefer, make special arrangements and give them wishes if it any birthday of anniversary, etc.

Customized Marketing: CRM provides the marketing team of your restaurant with all the customer data. The marketing team can make use of this information to sent customized mails, messages, etc. to the customers. 

Retain Customers: Once the customers know that you remember them and serve them accordingly, giving them personalized treatment, being friendly and serving them according to their choices, they will be satisfied. Satisfied customers will always return back to you, and thus your restaurant will be able to retain loyal customers for yourself.

Loyalty Programs: Loyalty programs have become the trend in the recent years. It focuses on offering personalized rewards, discounts, some promotional offers etc.For example, if data collected from CRM shows that a customer has been coming to your restaurants every Sunday, you’ll be offering that loyal customer some discounts on Sunday.  

Evaluate Your Restaurant: CRM for restaurants is integrated with POS, thus you can get data on which dishes are being ordered, what is the peak time of orders, which dishes are being ordered more, etc. This enables you to evaluate your Restaurant, how are the sales, etc. It enables you to understand the trend of the dishes, the customers and their choices, etc., which even helps you in inventory management too.

Sam Walton once said – “There is only one boss. The customer. And he can fire everybody in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his money somewhere else.” Well, it’s true. As a business, we don’t pay for our profits or the pay checks of the employees; the customers do that. We merely manage the money. And while managing that money, CRM enables your restaurant business to keep all your customers satisfied, and form a great relationship with them.