How Technology Can Help Your Bar or Restaurant

Bars and restaurants in Illinois are looking for any advantage that they can get in an increasingly competitive market. One avenue that many establishments can take in order to carve out a larger market share is to adopt and embrace new technology within their venue. The word “technology” can often elicit fear in business owners as many associate it with other, more negative words like ‘complicated’, ‘time-wasting’, and ‘inconsistent’. However, that does not have to be the case. There are many exciting and new tools out there that can truly make a difference in your location. Here are a few:

Google Pop Cards

Reviews are vital to any business as people tend to trust a third-party more than the business itself. With that in mind, businesses should seek to collect and gather as many reviews as possible - as they will often influence potential customers’ purchase decisions. A new way that businesses can accomplish collecting reviews is through the use of Google Pop Cards.

Google Pop Cards are a new tool that can collect your customers’ reviews easily and efficiently. The card includes a QR code attached to your location’s Google Business Profile which, when scanned, will take the customer to a platform to submit their review. This makes the reviewing process a lot more streamlined and accessible to your customers.

TouchTunes

Found in over 65,000 bars and restaurants throughout the world, TouchTunes is a great addition for any small business looking to generate revenue, boost customer engagement, and/or create new opportunities for growth. With innovative music visualizations, advanced LED lighting, intuitive music profiles, and dynamic learning to go along with a fully licensed music catalog, these jukeboxes will be extremely popular with your patrons and staff alike.

TouchTunes gives everyone in your establishment the opportunity to listen to their favorite songs, while also providing a source of revenue for your business. In fact, Accel locations, on average, experience a $7,000 increase in gross revenue per year after adding TouchTunes.

Third-Party Delivery Apps

Food delivery services like DoorDash, GrubHub, and Uber Eats are amazing avenues to expand your location’s online reach. Through these services you can reach new people who otherwise would not have considered your establishment an option. This provides your venue a great opportunity to expand your brand by reaching individuals you otherwise would not have.

Utilize Social Media

Businesses today can no longer afford to not promote themselves on social media. Social media affords small businesses the opportunity to connect and interact with their target audience at various digital touch points. Platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter allow for businesses to develop and expand their brand to a larger audience.

If your establishment currently is not active on social media, Accel recommends focusing your energies on building out your brand on one platform as opposed to attempting to run multiple at the same time. Consider posting consistently (3 - 5 times per week) to create a sense of consistency within your social media strategy.

Technology represents a major avenue that small businesses can take in order to expand their reach, increase foot traffic, and drive revenue. Reach out to Accel Entertainment if you have any questions on how you can improve on promoting your bar or restaurant. Please check out our other resources on how you can market your business here: https://www.accelentertainment.com/blog