Partner Article

Technology in hospitality an underused driver for sales

Almost 9 in 10 (86%) hospitality businesses believe they lag behind others when it comes to consumer research and almost as many feel the same about customer insight (83%). Yet only one in three (29%) see technology as an important way to gain this knowledge of their customer. These are just some of the findings from the Peach 2013 Business Leaders’ Survey, conducted by Peach Factory on behalf of hospitality technology experts Omnico, which found out how the UK’s eating and drinking out businesses are failing to use technology to improve the customer experience.

Even during a flat economy, the hospitality industry is putting increasing emphasis on the ‘customer’s experience’ over value for money. Trends such as the growth of ‘single item menu’ establishments and the industries’ top three priorities for 2013 - ‘engaged and motivated staff’ (88%), a ‘high quality customer experience’ (86%) and ‘building loyalty and recommendation’ (73%) – puts the customer at the heart of a hospitality businesses’ commercial success.

Yet, hospitality businesses believe that technology adds far more value for marketing and promotional activity (66%) than it does for customer research (29%).

Peter Martin, CEO of The Peach Factory said: “The fact is technology can help drive sales through the creation of a personalised experience – something that is becoming increasingly expected by customers. Omnico has shown how hospitality brands can use new technology for everything from better payment, to customer analytics - all to ultimately create a better customer experience. Investment in technology should be a no-brainer.”

Commenting on the take up of technology, Steve Thomas, CTO at Omnico says: “The view from hospitality was eye-opening for us and we can see that there are opportunities to demonstrate the versatility of technology in helping brands deliver an outstanding customer experience. The majority of participants felt their use of technology was behind market – and businesses can ill afford to miss out on opportunities to engage with customers due to outdated technology.”

The findings from the survey are available in a new whitepaper from Omnico entitled: How to harness technology for hospitality success.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Graham Vincent .