Optism™

Mobile payments are revolutionizing the way customers pay for their food or merchandise at restaurants. More and more food establishments now accept a mobile payment that does not involve cash or a credit or debit card. Why? Convenience for both the customer and the proprietor. As these payment programs are fairly inexpensive and do not require much technical knowledge, many businesses, both large and small, have adapted to this relatively new technology. In the restaurant industry, accepting mobile payments has been a boon to small establishments in terms of cost-savings, record-keeping, and ease of use.

Consider the following 4 benefits that come with accepting mobile payments at restaurants.

1. Integrate and Increase Incentive Programs.
One of the biggest benefits of using mobile payments is the ability to integrate customer incentive and loyalty programs into the application. Traditional programs require customers to present key ring tags or punch cards or to supply information, such as a phone number, with every purchase. Mobile payment systems store customer information in the application and then save new information every time the restaurant processes a mobile payment. Customers value mobile technology that links payment to a loyalty or incentive program. As new customers become repeat customers, revenue increases, making the program worthwhile for both parties.

2. Track Customer Trends and Inventory.
If smaller restaurants have difficulty tracking customer trends and inventory, incorporating a mobile payment program erases that issue. This technology is much more than a payment service; because it also tracks data processes to help restaurant management to understand customer preferences and needs. For example, a restaurant may learn that it sells the most chicken wings on Friday nights and can plan for that. When restaurants meet customer demands, they increase sales and customer service, while improving their reputation within their demographic.

3. Increase Customer Checkout Speed.
Customers appreciate fast service, particularly during the payment process. Both staff and customers enjoy a significantly faster payment process with a mobile device instead of a credit card or cash. Since customers are more likely to return to a restaurant that offers a totally enjoyable dining experience – from start to finish – repeat business increases. Additionally, the time saved with mobile payments directly increases profits because more customers are able to dine during a single time period. For example, a restaurant that has a lunch rush on weekdays benefits from offering this type of payment.

4. Save Money on Credit Card Fees.
Accepting credit/debit card payments may not be an option for small restaurants, particularly those in remote locations, due to the high cost of the technology to process a payment and associated fees. For example, farmers’ markets and food truck vendors are unlikely to accept credit card payments. This fact impacts sales revenue, since customers must have cash on hand to patronize these establishments. Restaurants that implement a credit/debit card payment option via mobile payments see an immediate increase in both sales and customer base.
Many mobile payment companies charge lower transaction fees than credit card companies. This means direct savings for a restaurant. As each company has a different structure for its payment program, restaurants need to weigh all options to determine which mobile payment company is most cost-effective.

About the author:

Note: Optism is republishing our five most popular blog posts of last year, this was number #1  for 2012 and was originally published on September 21, 2012.

Our crackerjack staff reviewed a bunch of mobile marketing campaigns over the past few years and we picked 50 of what we thought were the best. We chose innovative campaigns that used mobile advertising, SMS, QR Codes, Mobile Apps and Mobile Commerce from companies including Starbucks, Macy’s, Target, O2, RedBox, McDonald’s and a couple of our own. We salute these companies for their ingenuity and hard work in creating these campaign that delight and inform us as mobile consumers. Stay tuned for next year’s picks.

Click here to download Optism’s 50 Best Mobile Marketing Campaigns.

Note: Optism is republishing our five most popular blog posts of last year, this was number #4  for 2012 and was originally published on April 27, 2012.

Social Media’s influence across the ecommerce landscape has been profound. With so many choices and conflicting information about which products to choose, consumers are increasingly relying on their social networks both off-line and online to query their community about the right product and service choices. I’ve done it myself and asked my Facebook crew for recommendations on which gaming system to get for my kids. Why did I do it? Because it’s real-time feedback and it makes my life easier. In addition to listening, consumers are also broadcasting their recommended products out to their community. No matter whether they are listening or broadcasting, consumers have become more sophisticated and more careful about their shopping choices — using all available options.

Mobile has accelerated this trend by allowing retailers and other companies to easily reward this word-of-mouth behavior with non-currency rewards. One of the experts on this new trend is Liz Crawford who was recently interviewed by Mike Lewis of Business2Community in an article entitled, The Shopper Economy: 5 Questions with Liz Crawford. Crawford identifies a new dynamic where a shopper can actually earn value in exchange for one of four behaviors: paying attention (e.g. watching a video), participating (e.g. demoing a product), advocating (e.g. writing a review on Yelp), or committing (e.g. participating in brand-sponsored charity event). The rewards can be loyalty points, free mobile minutes, discounts, social recognition or free products like a phone.

Crawford says, “I thought it was fascinating that digital technology, especially mobile technology, was enabling new kinds of transactions between buyers and sellers.  In addition to shoppers purchasing brands, brands were purchasing shopper behavior. I believe this is a relatively new phenomenon.”

Crawford has a new book, The Shopper Economy: The New Way to Achieve Marketplace Success by Turning Behavior into Currency. In the book, Crawford provides detailed examples of Brands, like American Express, that understand consumers are evaluating many products. They know that if they can incentify people towards evaluating their products, they will have a better chance of selling it. Some of the companies helping brands provide behavioral currency include Foursquare, shopkick, SCVNGR and Checkpoint. shopkick gives you kickbucks just for entering the store without buying anything and then you can redeem these kickbucks for gifts like iTunes gift cards, movie tickets, store gift cards and even make donations to charities.

This is a fast-moving trend that will only grow as consumers increase their use of mobile. Crawford says, “Shoppers will become increasingly sophisticated in understanding the worth of their labor.  This means that they will evaluate transactions with brands and retailers with a sharper eye to their own advantage.” Marketers pay special attention to Crawford’s words as the consumer is smarter and has more power than ever before. On the opposite side of the equation, it makes you wonder if people will behave a certain way in order to get rewards thus creating artificial brand advocates.

What do you think about rewarding shopping behaviors? Is it something that you will do or have done? Let us know by leaving a comment or participating in our Facebook Poll. If you could earn something in exchange for sharing your shopping behaviors such as “paying attention” or “promoting” a brand’s product/service, which option would you be most likely to choose?