Tech to support a new era for customer loyalty in the hospitality sector

As pubs, restaurants, hotels and cafes prepare to reopen their businesses on the 4^th July, a technology company has heralded a new era for customer loyalty through technology.  Licklist for Business’s mobile ordering app and takeaway ordering system will be installed in over 300 hospitality venues by the 4^th July.

Brad Nobbs, CEO and co-founder of Licklist for Business, the b2b arm of Licklist said: “Like many businesses, coronavirus turned our business upside down. All venues closed overnight, which was the main market for our Licklist brand. We’ve had to pivot and focus on our Licklist for Business brand, to support hospitality businesses opening post covid-19.”

“We’ve had mobile ordering available for some time, but now, as hospitality venues start to reopen, it’s something that every venue needs. As well as the obvious advantages of mobile ordering such as reduced person to person contact, it’s a great way to capture data. Hospitality businesses will be using data in ways they’ve never used it before.”

“The mobile ordering system requires the customer to enter their data to make their order which venues can then use for highly targeted campaigns. They will be able to offer tailored marketing and initiatives for their customers, for example, an offer on pizza to customers who have purchased pizza at their venue through the app.”

“Post coronavirus, loyalty will be more important than ever. Whilst there may be an initial spike in visits post 4^th July, competition will be high. Businesses will need to be smarter about attracting customers to their venue, and encouraging them to return. With the mobile ordering app, they can utilise the loyalty element and reward customers for repeat business.”

During lockdown, many venues such as pubs have embraced takeaway as a channel, a channel that Nobbs believes will have to be maintained to support recovery, commenting:

“Many pubs and other venues will be operating at reduced capacity, say 30-50%, and takeaway adds another channel to market. Even as venues are able to increase capacity, many venues are telling me that they will continue with takeaway. Customer behaviour has changed, and businesses can support this with takeaway.”

“Our takeaway ordering system allows pubs to easily provide that takeaway service. There are no set up costs. For smaller venues, the costs of Just Eat and Deliveroo are prohibitive and might not fit with the brand of, say, a country pub.

“Landlords we’ve spoken to have been trying to do the takeaway ordering themselves, with customers having to call the pub to place their order with the need for a person to be sat at the phone taking the order, then it having to be logged somewhere. Our technology makes this all simpler, quicker and has the added loyalty and data advantages.”

“Both our mobile ordering system and the takeaway ordering system can be white labelled for the venue. This adds to the brand experience for the customer, making it more consistent.”

Nobbs says that Licklist for Business’s “spare pricing” will enable smaller venues to market themselves in a more sophisticated way.

He said, “In the past, a pub, café, restaurant or hotel might have relied on word of mouth for their marketing, or maybe they’ve used leaflet drops. They don’t capture data, or if they do they don’t necessarily do anything with it.

“Because our mobile ordering and takeaway ordering systems are transaction based, they are suitable for any venue regardless of size. There is a fee per transaction. For mobile ordering this is 1.5% of the transaction cost + 20p. Many venues choose to add this cost, say 50p onto the order.”

“Venues have gone 3 months without the majority of their income. They are hugely appreciative of the fact that there are no set up fees, no monthly fees and no contracts for our tech. It enables them to innovate and adapt without the long term commitment. No-one knows what the hospitality sector is going to look like 12 months from now, even 6 or 3 month; businesses need solutions that they can action now ready for the 4^th July.”

“When I speak to venues, they’re often worried about their lack of technical know-how. Venues don’t need technical know-how to introduce these systems, we support each venue free of charge until they are confident with it and understand how to leverage the systems to support loyalty.”

Licklist for Business have also partnered with LocoSoco as the exclusive partners for a range of safety and hygiene initiatives for the hospitality sector including sanitising systems, smart distance awareness tech, sanitisation booths and thermal recognition. Licklist was founded in 2015 by Nobbs who came up with the idea after running events in the nightlife sector, and seeing the potential for tech to support customer experience and loyalty:

“What I say to our venues, is that if there is something you want, tell us. We’ve built our whole platform on customer feedback through our in-house development team.

“Our mobile ordering and takeaway ordering systems are the next step in supporting businesses post covid, and are exactly what our industry needs right now. It has been incredibly busy over recent weeks, as we’ve worked with venues to get them set up ready for the 4^th July and beyond and we look forward to helping even more hospitality businesses adapt for this new era in marketing loyalty.”