Food and Drink delivery to the office – a goldmine left untouched?

1-min read

Just behind that wall is a bundle of treasure yet to be reached. Sometimes things are within our grasp, but we fail to see the full picture. This article highlights key reasons why I believe businesses in the Hospitality sector are missing out on a potential gold mine with targeted workplace delivery.

In a world where the line between work life balance seems to be becoming increasingly blurred, being able to offer customers fresh food and drink to their office with ultimate convenience helps to separate them from their working day, even if only for a few minutes. Work can be stressful, so anything that could positively impact a person’s mental health should be considered!

We have all been there, no time for breakfast before commuting or a hectic schedule meaning no lunch break. If you can deliver right to an employee’s desk it takes away the time they need to hunt around for something to eat or drink. Customers can pick their favourite choices and have them in as little as 15 minutes. Convenience is key in this circumstance, from selecting their dishes to checking out, the customer can order in a matter of seconds.

Workplace catering is here to stay

The office is the centre of a business’s creativity. Workplace catering could become a regular revenue source as companies will place large orders to cover several of their staff. Many employees from the same organisation could pick from a menu, creating lots of small orders that you bundle into a single preparation and delivery. There are over 5 million employees in London alone, hopefully this statistic shows the staggering number of potential customers no matter where you are located. Catering to them will allow you to deliver and display your unique restaurant experience at any location, building loyalty and love with consumers.

The characteristics of orders to workplaces at lunchtime are not to be argued with. Standing out from our data is a 30% increase in overall order worth with brands who offer a catering menu. Put quite simply, the higher the value of orders, the higher the profitability. Repeat customers regularly buying £100+ worth of food for their organisation could be compared to a sparkling diamond, right? Scheduled orders are put in every week to brands that are adjusting and accommodating.

We spoke to our good friend Alberto, CEO of a high growth company who regularly caters to his workplace to hear his thoughts.

“I order to the workplace because we regularly have long team meetings and have lunch together to be more efficient with our time. The convenience is that we can work harder, be more effective dedicating less time to lunch while the team is happy with it because we have good quality food together. I would recommend it because it is very practical and convenient, you can keep your meetings and discussions in a friendly and closer atmosphere.”

How Cheerfy could help you reach the goldmine

• Cheerfy Shop can look to reach customers within a specific delivery range, allowing you to target office heavy locations. We are integrated with platforms like Stuart, which will provide an automated delivery process where we can assign a delivery driver size dependent on the price of the order, saving money and being more efficient with transport.
  

• You can use our features to offer separate menus catered for the workplace, which can only be accessed at certain times, offering pre booking or even allocated time slots. Setting a cut off time for offices to order will make sure you do not get overwhelmed in the kitchen during your busiest hours and be 100% in control of your online and physical location.
  

• Cheerfy Loyalty will allow you to have a direct channel of communication between you and the office, where customers can register and receive marketing material, as well as discounts and offers. Building a loyalty program with these customers will help you maximise your profits, as it will increase the amount of times regular orders are made.

I hope this article has introduced and potentially shown you why we believe workplace delivery is an untapped opportunity in the hospitality industry. With Covid-19 measures easing, you need to be ready when employees return to the office. Maybe you do not want to be selling high value orders to loyal customers through delivery aggregators who charge a hefty percentage?

If you are already using Cheerfy, we encourage you to think about how you could expand your services to accommodate.

If you do not use Cheerfy but are thinking about it, we would be happy to explain operations and capabilities in further detail.

Sam @ Cheerfy

Don't miss the bus again

1-min read

Now that restaurants are gradually beginning to resume their "normal" activity, it may be a good time to take stock. What has been taken, and what has been given to us during this damn pandemic?

I believe that we will never go back to the "old normality", but I see this as a positive. Let me explain myself. From my point of view, Covid has not changed anything as such. What it has done is exponentially accelerate some changes that were already taking place. Having the will to improve, and above all, to adapt, is a decision that we must make.

To summarise, the main change is called digitization and its surnames are Delivery and Take Away. Those who were used to work with these two services are the ones who have suffered the least. Those who have had to jump on the moving bus, have sweated a little more.

The bad (or good) news is that the adaptation process doesn't end here. The digitization of the venue has also come to stay. Now that the restaurant's interiors recover part of their joy, it is time to anticipate new needs.

If everyone is used to reading the letter through a QR code, why not take advantage of it so that your customers can order and pay directly? Surely not all type of restaurants allow this service to be developed, but I would dare to say that most of them do. Some restaurants and cafes such as Totale, Black Sheep Coffee or Big Al’s among others, are already doing it.

It may seem "weird" at first, but... who is surprised now when getting off an Uber you do not have to do anything because it is already paid? Not too long ago, few would have anticipated...

In order to help you understand how the dine-in service can benefit you, here are some use cases and main advantages:

• Possibility of paying digitally. The moment of payment is one of the moments that creates the most friction with your customers. Offering the possibility of ordering and paying directly has two fundamental advantages: from the customer's point of view, they do not have to bother asking for the bill, that they bring the dataphone... that is, the customer gains time and comfort. On the other hand, the restaurant gains operational efficiency since it surely needs fewer waiters, and these can be focused on where they really add value: serving your customers.
  

• Customer acquisition. Many restaurants would be surprised to learn the number of unknown customers who pass by their tables. This is a way to register them all and include them in your loyalty plan, being able to interact personally with them. From a restaurant point of view, it can fit within your marketing budget.
  

• Educate the customer on your Web experience. Threading in with the beginning of this article in which I discussed the current importance of Delivery and Take Away, this is a way to show customers who visit you physically your online ordering experience with which they would place their Delivery and Take Away orders.
  

• Display the menu. There may always be customers who prefer to pay in the traditional way. In that case, you would be offering both possibilities, ordering and paying to the one who chooses it, or simply showing the menu to people who prefer to order in the usual way.
  

• Avoid crowds in times of Covid. Avoid crowds in times of Covid. If one of the main challenges inside restaurants is to avoid congestion of people, the fact that they can order or pay without having to wait makes the room flow more agile.

In addition, offering this possibility means differentiating yourself from competitors. If you allow me to place a bet, in a few months this will stop being a source of competitive advantage and become a necessity. This leads me onto my next question, what if this time you wait for the bus "calmly" at the stop?

If you already use Cheerfy, I encourage you to ask yourself if online ordering and paying for a dine-in service can help you.

If you still don't use Cheerfy, but are thinking about it, we will be happy to explain its operation and capabilities in detail.

I am here to help you.

Tony @ Cheerfy

#2 Cheerfy Product News

Cheerfy Shop | Apple Pay & Google Pay

Now your customers will enjoy the easiest way to pay on the web, with Apple Pay and Google Pay, only one click is needed.

It is the fastest, most intuitive payment experience thanks to the use of Face ID or Touch ID, whilst also being the safest.

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Cheerfy Shop | Menu Push

Update your multiple Cheerfy Shop menus centrally from Deliverect, in the same way that you manage your menus in marketplaces, always preserving the presentation power that Cheerfy Shop offers you.

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Cheerfy Loyalty | Activity Dashboard

Our new Dashboard gives you an even more complete view of all your registered customers and the origin of their registration: online orders, loyalty plans, booking engines, Social Wi-Fi, or other CRMs.

In addition, you will have a breakdown of activity by channel: delivery, take away or dine-in. All filterable based on demographics, preferences, brands or locations.

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Cheerfy Loyalty | Clients Module

The single point of customers truth. This is the purpose of our new module.

You can search for a specific customer or filter by all kinds of segments: super fans, customers with a high average ticket, high-value customers who have not bought for a long time, promoters or detractors, or customers who are about to have their birthday. The possibilities are endless!

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We hope that these new features are of the greatest use, we are already working on the next level!

We will be happy to receive your feedback and talk about any point of interest.

Valen
Cheerfy Technology Officer

The power of your story

1-min read

I am certain that you are thinking I could have chosen a better picture for this article. To be honest, I think the same. But let´s do a test. I challenge that after reading, you are going to perceive it (as a little) more beautiful.

Storytelling is a tradition as old as the existence of the human being. All cultures and civilizations have told stories with which to entertain and teach (sometimes control) people.

Of course, each company, each restaurant, also has its own story. In fact, there is a direct relationship between the most successful and the best told. Focusing on you, are you really telling your story to clients?

In 2009, a journalist called Rob Walker wanted to prove whether "storytelling" was really the most powerful tool of all. To do this, he bought 200 items from eBay for no more than 4$ each. He then called 200 authors and asked each one to write a story about one of the objects.

One of the objects was the beautiful horses head you can see in the picture above. This was bought for 99 cents and was sold, when the story was added, for 62,95$. Was this a one-off situation? Not really, he bought the 200 objects for a total of 129$ selling them for 8000$.

Your story is relevant, it adds real value to your product, and it helps you to differentiate from others. Actively being faithful to that story will give naturalness and credibility to what you are telling. Interacting with your customers while you share it, making them participate, will help you connect emotionally with them, exponentially increasing the options to retain them.

Find here some examples of how some restaurants are telling their stories, summarized below:

• Grosso Napoletano bases their entire experience in Naples. If there are two things that distinguish this city it would be pizzas and football, the two pillars on which they interact with their customers. For this, in addition to emulating the experience in their premises through their wood oven and "pizzaioli", they have created the Squadra Grosso CF, a loyalty plan that unifies the physical and virtual world, allowing them to have a fluid and consistent conversation with their customers maximizing their brand attributes.
  
  The Squadra Grosso F.C. simulates a football tournament in which their clients start in "Quarti di Finale" and progress to become "Campeoni". Along the way, each "calciatore" wins "partitas" to win rewards in the form of pizzas and different surprises.
  
  In addition to the messages through which they congratulate their clients when they win a “partita”, they encourage them to continue playing when they are close to a reward, they ask them for feedback in a contextual way, they congratulate them on birthday, or, when their clients haven’t visited for a while, they reach out to them highlighting key aspects of their experience, such as the history of their wood oven manufactured by Giuseppe, a fourth-generation Neapolitan artisan.

As we have seen, a loyalty plan is not only about the customer’s transactional experience, but the narrative and the way in which to impact each client in a personalized way.

I do not know if I have been victorious in the challenge that I proposed to you at the start of this article.

What I would like to have achieved is to have made you reflect on all the virtues of your restaurant and its history that you still have hidden. Are you are considering different ways to get them out of their hiding place?

If you already use Cheerfy, I encourage you to review your loyalty plan.

If you still don't use Cheerfy, but are thinking about it, we will be happy to explain its operation and capabilities in detail.

I am here to help you.

Tony @ Cheerfy

Storytelling examples for your Loyalty Plan

Grosso Napoletano bases their entire experience in Naples. If there are two things that distinguish this city it would be pizzas and football, the two pillars on which they interact with their customers. For this, in addition to emulating the experience in their premises through their wood oven and "pizzaioli", they have created the Squadra Grosso C.F., a loyalty plan that unifies the physical and virtual world, allowing them to have a fluid and consistent conversation with their customers maximizing their brand attributes.

The Squadra Grosso F.C. simulates a football tournament in which their clients start in "Quarti di Finale" and progress to become "Campeoni". Along the way, each "calciatore" wins "partitas" to win rewards in the form of pizzas and different surprises.

In addition to the messages through which they congratulate their clients when they win a “partita”, they encourage them to continue playing when they are close to a reward, they ask them for feedback in a contextual way, they congratulate them on birthday, or, when their clients haven’t visited for a while, they reach out to them highlighting key aspects of their experience, such as the history of their wood oven manufactured by Giuseppe, a fourth-generation Neapolitan artisan.

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Another very illustrative example is New York Burger. The scenario is based around building a relationship with its clients, developing through the City of Skyscrapers.

Through their #NewYorkers loyalty plan, they simulate a trip through all the city's neighbourhoods. Starting in the Bronx and ending in Manhattan, as clients advance in the plan, they are told interesting information, places to visit on a mandatory basis, and ultimately, curiosities of all corners, acting as a tour guide.

In this way, they intend to immerse their customers in an experience in which they are really having a burger with a New York soul.

Along the way, customers accumulate "NYB Dollars" and win rewards in the form of purely American burgers so that their strength does not fail them during their trip.

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Finally, an example that we are fond of is Pizzart. If Roman pizza is their hallmark, there is nothing more distinctive in Rome than the Colosseum and its gladiators.

For this reason, through the #PizzartTeam, they guide the entire conversation with their clients through combats in which each "Gladiatore" will win "Scudos" to go from being a "Gladiatore Novizio" to being a "Gladiatore Professionale".

The rewards grow as you level up, regardless of whether you have "fought" in the online or physical world.

This creates an experience orientated element which will make it difficult for a client not to associate the brand with Rome. The result is opening a different and fun communication thread with their clients, generating greater engagement.

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One ring to rule them all

1-min read

Do not be frightened. Although I would love to, I am not here to talk about Lord of the Rings, nor to reveal its end because you must watch it. I will do it on the incipient need of hospitality to carry out its digital transformation in the simplest way.

Technologically speaking, the operational complexity of a restaurant becomes overwhelming. There are a multitude of platforms, most of the time unrelated to each other, that separately manage different unknowns of the same equation. Emailing and booking platforms, online orders or feedback are just some examples.

Such technological fragmentation is surely one of the main reasons why digitization is taking place slower than in other sectors.

"There are two transformative elements for modern-day retail.
First you have to create a customer experience in your brick-and-mortar store to make it a destination.
And you have to extend that experience to a digital customer relationship.
And if you fail to do both of those, you will struggle".
Kevin Johnson, CEO @ Starbucks

If the digital relationship with your customers is already as important as how tasty your food is, the question at this moment should be, of all the platforms that exist, which one would I need?

Although of course custom solutions can always be developed, many companies prefer to focus on serving and delighting their customers, hiring a one-stop platform that allows them to integrate the different solutions to develop a single "operations centre".

Find here some of the virtues of centralized and automatic management of the relationship with your customers:

• Integration between orders received and your loyalty plan. The connection between your own sales channel and your loyalty plan, in addition to supplying a new source of income, allows you, for example, to reward your customers individually and in a personalized way based on the orders received, and regardless of where they were done (Delivery, Take Away or Dine-in).
  

• Ask your customers for feedback in a contextual way. Associating your customers shopping experience with an assessment not only allows you to know your points of improvement but also gives you the opportunity to start fluid and sustainable digital conversation with all of them.
  

• Centralize all your data sources in one place. Registering clients through different channels (QR on your packaging, QR on the table, online store, bookings, web...) and placing them on the same platform, gives you the possibility to "act on the data" in real-time and automatically.
  

• Centralized analysis of the data. Analyze both the characteristics of your audience (demographics, habits, likes, recurrence, feedback...) and the results of the actions carried out from a single Dashboard that encompasses all sources of information.

If you already use any of the Cheerfy platforms, I encourage you to consider the advantages of jointly using the online sales and loyalty platforms.

If you still don't use Cheerfy, I encourage you to ask yourself the following question: do I want to use a different ring for each task, or a unique one that rules all of them?

I will be happy to talk if you want to know all the details.

I am here to help you.

Tony @ Cheerfy

Ask for their phone number as you may not see them again...

1-min read

We are all already aware of the irrefutable changes that technology is producing in the model of consumption. Additionally, these changes have been dramatically accelerated because of COVID-19.

Smartphones are a big culprit. In 2020, the number of global smartphone users is projected to total 3.5 billion. Therefore, if most of your clients have a Smartphone in their hand, the key is to reach it to reach them.

If one of the main challenges in hospitality is the little knowledge that we have of clients, now technology gives us the opportunity to know them all, registering their email or telephone number automatically. Surely your customers are accessing your menu through a QR code. What if you add to that experience, the possibility of ordering and paying directly from your mobile?

Having redirected your client to the internet to view the menu, you are just one step away from allowing them to order and pay, with all the advantages that this entails:

1. Increase your online shop sales. Offering the virtual table order service means opening a new source of income for your online shop. Although perhaps even more interesting, it is an opportunity to make it known, educating your client in the use of your own shop to place an order (Delivery, Take Away and Dine-in).
   

2. Use virtual table orders to promote your loyalty plan. Activating this service means that your customers will be self-scanning in your restaurant just because of buying. Due to the integration between Cheerfy Shop and Cheerfy Loyalty, you will automatically include them in your loyalty plan, turning your customer into a recurring customer. Additionally, having access to all their information means you can speak to them by name, and based off their preferences.
   

3. Differentiate from competitors. Offering this type of experience brings added value to both customers and your own waiters. You make life easier for the customer in two key moments, ordering and paying. These are key moments because they do not contribute anything as such, but nevertheless, if they take longer than necessary, they can subtract. On the other hand, you will be giving your waiters time to focus on issues where they can add value (welcoming your customers, recommending your specialities or dishes of the day, taking and bringing orders ...).

If you already use Cheerfy, but have not implemented dine-in, I encourage you to ask yourself how this service can help you.

If you still don't use Cheerfy, but are thinking about it, we will be happy to explain its operation and capabilities in detail.

I am here to help you.

Tony @ Cheerfy

We're disloyal by nature

1-min read

Loyalty needs to be helped. In most businesses, and hospitality is no exception, the Pareto Principle is usually quite well adhered to. According to this principle, 80% of a company's sales come from "only" 20% of its customers, which means that most of them are just passing through.

You shouldn't forget about the rest, but focusing your resources on your top 20% of customers that are really going to boost your bottom line, seems like a good deal.

Your goal should be to turn your customers into ambassadors. This means loyal customers who will return to your restaurant or online shop, while also recommending it to friends or family. The key will be in the experience they live in each of the touchpoints with your brand. Remember, it is important not to lose contact and continue interacting with them once the purchase has already been made.

Based on our experience, here are the keys to building a successful Loyalty Plan:

1. Design a loyalty plan with an attractive topic. Avoid tedious approach that leads your customers to look at other brands. Go further than the traditional: "every 10 drinks I always reward you with the same". Tell a story that acts as a common thread in all your communications. Your plan is not just a few conversion rules, your plan is a means that acts as a speaker for your brand's values.
   
   For example, Grosso Napoletano in Madrid simulates a football tournament in which they start with "Quarti de Finale" and progress to become "Campeoni".
   

2. Personalize the rewards of your loyalty plan. Having the loyalty card, which allows you to know when your customers receive what reward, and the CRM, which allows you to segment based on their preferences, reward your customers with something that you know they will value.
   

3. Create your own online sales channel. Use it for delivery and take away, but also for dine-in, giving the possibility of making digital orders on-premises. You will be boosting your online shop traffic but will also be building an omnichannel loyalty plan in which your customers will be registering automatically due to buying, regardless of whether they visit you physically or virtually. In addition, it will provide you with greater profitability compared to marketplaces.
   

4. Interact with your customers after their purchase. Customize the ticket including the benefits obtained after the purchase, welcome them to the next level, share interesting content after a few days, or try to retain it several weeks or months later if they did not buy from you again. This will be developed in a contextual and personalized way, prioritizing quality vs quantity. Not becoming spam is a must.
   

5. Prepare NPS-type satisfaction surveys to determine who your promoters are and understand which aspects of your experience are the ones that raise or lower the score. This will enable you to know which points to exploit and which to correct.

Why should your clients stay with you?

If you already use Cheerfy, I encourage you to review your engagement plan on the platform.

If you still don't use Cheerfy, but are thinking about it, we will be happy to explain its operation and capabilities in detail.

I am here to help you.

Nacho @ Cheerfy

#1 Product News

Cheerfy Places empowers restaurants to create their own food delivery marketplaces. Places turns multiple Shops into a fully-fledged marketplace.

Key features: branded design, multi-brand and multi-location management, restaurant filtering (categories, price, diet), promotions, or smart routing to individual Shops. Available in Web and/or App.

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Cheerfy Shop | Multi-brand Orders

If you own different virtual brands in one kitchen, you can develop a multi-brand user experience. Your customers will be able to combine products from multiple brands in the same order.

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Cheerfy Shop | Integrations

We continue to expand our deployed integrations. New POS softwares: Agora, Revo, Nextt, Sinqro, Ordatic and Last. New delivery platforms: Stuart and Mox.

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Cheerfy Loyalty | Database Export

In addition to the information available in our Dashboard, you can now export the complete database (users, transactions, messages, ratings, vouchers...), to deepen your analysis with total flexibility.

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As a result of the integration between Cheerfy Loyalty and Cheerfy Shop, you can customize the order confirmation message that your customers receive.

Key features: Embed a picture or gif, design with your corporate colors, customer progress within the loyalty plan, and direct access to the loyalty card.

Valen
Cheerfy Technology Officer

The 7 deadly sins of online sales

1-min read

Have you launched your own Delivery and Take Away channel, but are not selling what you expected?

In just 12 months, hospitality has taken a radical turn towards the online world. The situation to which the pandemic has exposed us has caused a sensation of hurry in the ambition of restaurants to digitize and implement their own sales channel.

This is why if you have a restaurant, you will most likely identify with the question I asked at the beginning. While the benefits might be clear, it is inevitable that you have missed some important details because of the urgency to implement your online shop.

The first thing we must understand are the aspects that every online restaurant shop needs to work on to maximise sales: attract, convert and drive loyalty. We will need to implement different actions to optimize results at each step of the consumer journey.

Later we will delve into each of the stages and each of the actions that can be carried out within each one. For the moment, although they may seem obvious, I share with you "the 7 deadly sins as to why your restaurant's online shop doesn’t sell" that we´ve seen consistently:

1. I will not do Content Marketing: the market has to know about the existence of your own channel and its advantages. Create and share quality content that helps you connect with your target audience, generating brand awareness that will translate in trust. The more people know you, the greater your credibility is, the higher your sales will be. For this, use all the communication channels in which your potential customers may be present (social media, events, emailing, blogs ...). Here are some examples such as Coya or Arboreal.
   

2. I will not exclusively promote my online shop: although it sounds surreal, there are restaurants that, on their websites, simultaneously promote their own store and Marketplaces. It is very important to drive all your website traffic to your own channel with which you will be more profitable, you will have all the information of your clients, and you will control their experience end to end. Update your social media or Google My Business profiles with your online store as a preferential option vs Marketplaces.
   

3. I will not give proper visibility to the "Order" button: the call to action to order must be in a central or top right-hand side position in your home page, in a striking and visible way, eliminating unnecessary elements that distracts customer's attention.
   

4. I will not promote my online store in my physical one: your venue is another fishing ground for loyal customers. Use it to advertise your online channel through clear signage and attractive rewards.
   

5. I will not use QRs to register customers who order via Marketplaces: with promotions redeemable in your online shop. The idea is to place it on the critical path of customer's attention, that is, on the packaging and NOT on a flyer that will most likely get lost along the way.
   

6. I will not do SEO: when we decide not to do SEO we are allowing Marketplaces to appear positioned before you with your own brand. Add SEO descriptions that enhance the position of your website as an online order channel. I encourage you to Google several restaurants and see how in most cases Marketplaces are the ones that are better positioned.
   

7. I will not differentiate my online shop from Marketplaces: following the dynamic of aggressive discounts on Marketplaces is not the only interesting option. Create your own loyalty plan with prizes and exclusive products for your online shop, which adequately reward your loyal customers. In addition, interact with them in a personalised way to generate greater engagement that will be translated into recurring sales.

I encourage you to review which one or which of the 7 deadly sins you are committing and see how your results begin to improve.

If you have any questions, we will be happy to help you.

Tony @ Cheerfy

New look & feel of the loyalty card

1-min read

We are delighted to present to you our new “look & feel” of the loyalty card and its vouchers.

The world is increasingly more saturated with information. This means that branding is a necessity in building an identity that allows us to differentiate and be recognizable.

Our goal is to help restaurants transmit their brand attributes, adding value to each of the touchpoints with their customers.

Following on from this, the "new" loyalty card and the new vouchers, which are downloadable in the Wallet needing no Apps, now allow new capabilities both at the design and functional level. We summarize the main ones here:

• Levels: customize the loyalty card with its own design for each level (colours, fonts, photos, logos, stamps...).

• Proximity notifications: set up push notifications that customers will receive on their mobile screen when they approach one of your venues.

• Omnichannel: customers can use the card and the vouchers both in the physical world through the scanner, and in the online store automatically due to the integration between Cheerfy Shop and Cheerfy Loyalty.

• Messages: impact customers automatically with personalised messages based on their progress within the loyalty plan. Take them through a story that acts as a common thread between all of them through storytelling.

If you already use Cheerfy, we encourage you to review your current layout and setup.

If you still don't use Cheerfy, but are thinking about it, we will be happy to explain its operation and capabilities in detail.

I am here to help you.

Tony from Cheerfy

Don't forget about the little ones

1-min read

In these confined times, families are more united than ever. Precisely for this reason, we must not only focus on our usual target, but on their entire family nucleus. Not surprisingly, the family is the reference group with the most influence on the personality, attitudes, and motivations of the individual.

A study carried out by Facebook IQ in eight countries of the world, indicates that 62% of parents say that they buy more products for their children than their parents bought from them.

 That's why we want to propose to you to go one step further and create a value proposition for the youngest to positively evoke the influence that a child can generate in their parents.

And above all, without forgetting the most important thing: for the little ones, cooking is another way of learning, playing, having fun, and educating.

Referents such as McDonald's through its "Family Hub", Pizza Express with its "Piccolo Corner" or Wagamama with its children's menu with a wide variety of Japanese mini dishes, are just some examples of brands that are carrying carry out these types of initiatives successfully:

• Create activities and interactive packagings so that children can have fun.

• Encourage the purchase of your products with gifts and surprises for the children for when they return to your premises as a family.

• Design an online take away or delivery menu made for the youngest.

If you already use Cheerfy, we can help you create your online ordering platform integrated with the rest of Cheerfy's loyalty elements so that we and our children enjoy a little more these days.

Interesting? Get in touch. Always here to talk. #StaySafe

Nacho @ Cheerfy

E-commerce, your great ally

1-min read

Businesses with a value proposition based on physical experiences are facing a great challenge. Circumstances make you unable to attract customers to your restaurants, bars or coffee shops, but... What if you take the restaurant to their homes?

If we recently mentioned sharing recipes as a way of interacting with your customers in these times of COVID-19, now we suggest you go one step further through e-commerce.

E-commerce allows you to "open the doors" of your business while the confinement lasts, but above all, it gives you the opportunity to be prepared for a future that will most likely be marked by greater social distancing.

Furthermore, it provides you with a new income source, helps you maintain your brand awareness, and allows you to increase engagement with your customers.

On the other hand, your customer saves time in finding everything they need. And this doesn't mean having to compete with Tesco or Deliveroo but to occupy the space in-between by providing quality products, specific to your brand, or even from other countries.

Some consolidated platforms such as HelloFresh or Gousto, which has recently closed £33 million in funding, help us validate this market opportunity.

Pure, Trü or Inventive Productions (owners of Alcotraz) are just some examples of businesses that have already launched this type of initiative:

• Make "recipe boxes" for food or cocktails, sharing the steps to follow and delivering all the necessary ingredients.

• Generate a way out for your stock of non-perishable or semi-perishable products and avoid sending them to waste .

• Sell meal packs that contain all the components for complete and quality nutrition, and let customers enjoy it at home or in the office.

If you already use Cheerfy, we can help you make this e-commerce happen,  integrating the experience in your restaurant with the online world.

Interesting? Get in touch. Always here to talk. #StaySafe

Tony @ Cheerfy

Income in times of COVID-19

1-min read
COVID-19 has arrived without warning, catching us all on the wrong foot, putting restaurant liquidity under maximum stress. There are many unanswered questions restaurateurs face today, although surely one stands out above the rest: When will I invoice enough again to be able to bear my costs?

John Maynard Keynes affirmed "the importance of money flows from it being a link between the present and the future". We'd like to suggest a simple example of how to boost your cash flow in these difficult times.

We are referring to gift cards or gift vouchers. Its main advantage lies both in generating income in advance and in driving traffic to the storewhen everything is normalised. On the other hand, they represent a big opportunity to attract new customers and reinforce your brand image.

According to a survey by First Data, “51% of respondents visited a store sooner than they would have otherwise, 33% spent more on a gift card than on a traditional gift, and on average, the end consumer ended up spending $23.41 beyond the original value of the voucher”.

Black Sheep Coffee, BrewDog Bars, or the prestigious chef Quique Dacosta with Arros QD in London, are just some examples of restaurants and coffee shops that have already launched this type of initiative:

• Explain the cause driving your gift cards, such as supporting NHS staff or keeping your staff employed, emotionally connecting with your customers

• Wrap them around specific themes or special events: Father's Day, offers for families with children, birthdays…

• Associate them with experiences such as tastings (beer, coffee, your new menu...), cooking or cocktail classes and even a reopening party

If you already use Cheerfy, your most recurring customers and your promoters (according to NPS score) can be the core base to promote your cards through personalised communications, encouraging them to use them and share with family and friends.

Interesting? Get in touch. Always here to talk. #StaySafe

Tony @ Cheerfy

Music also builds customer loyalty 🎵

1-min read
In his famous TED talk, Daniel Kahneman (Nobel Prize for his analysis of the psychology of human behaviour) explains how just one relevant event is needed to influence a person's perception of an experience.

The COVID-19 crisis has forced us to experience a new paradigm of consumer behaviour. Knowing that we will have to #EatAtHome, any detail that recreates the customer experience at your venues to the maximum may be that secret ingredient that we like so much.

A good option is to share one of your Spotify lists from your restaurant. Songs are associated with memories, experiences, ie. with your brand.

Not surprisingly, the impact of music on customer loyalty is clear: according to a Mood Media study, 70% of consumers say that listening to music on premises helps them relate to and connect with your brand.

In this line, sector benchmarks such as Coya, Nando's, and Grosso Napoletano in Spain, among others, are already sharing their playlists with their customers. They complement their delivery and recipes, generate a closer experience and inspire that desire to return to their restaurants:

• Create hashtags and viral challenges around your songs on social networks.

• Enhance your recipes online, your home delivery and the story behind your drinks and dishes.

• Organise your comeback in style with those who follow your playlist: tasting events, parties or even unexpected surprises.

If you use Cheerfy, it can be your loudspeaker by giving you a communication channel through which to send personalised playlists and see how the people who listen to your music return to your restaurants. Somebody with a sweet tooth doesn't listen to the same music as an unconditional beer fan!

Interesting? Get in touch. Always here to talk. #StaySafe

Nacho @ Cheerfy

Inspire and entertain with your recipes

1-min read
Celebrity chefs like Yotam Ottolenghi or Jamie Oliver have always been prodigal in their sharing of restaurant recipes.

This is part of a global trend where we increasingly consume author recipes. According to NPD Group, cookery books sales have been increasing 20% annually. And this need can only accelerate in an environment where we are all forced to #EatAtHome. Its fundamental driver (vs googling for recipes online) is TRUST both in style and results, the kind of trust your customers naturally have in your brand.

So now it looks like the perfect time to start sharing recipes for your classic dishes, your popular cocktails or your secret salad dressings. Nostalgia for your creations can deliver some much needed inspiration, excitement and comfort at home, which will turn into customer loyalty down the line. Restaurants like Coya, Wagamama (via Gousto), Spanish group Larrumba and many well-known chefs already started.

• Make them fun, adding tips to involve kids in the preparations

• Offer a surprise gift when they post on Instagram their accomplishments

• Convert engaged customers into leads for a party, sampling or tasting for the time you reopen 

If you already use Cheerfy, you can automatically segment customers by preferences (50-60% share theirs!), offering you a channel to deliver personalised recipe ideas.

Interesting? Get in touch. Always here to talk. #StaySafe

Adrian @ Cheerfy