2015_Restaurant_Technology_Buyers_Guide

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2015 RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGY

BUYER’S GUIDE FROM NEXT-‐GEN POS TO INTERACTIVE GUEST EXPERIENCE,

WE LOOK AT THE SMARTEST NEW RESTAURANT TECHNOLOGIES TO SEE WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL TO YOUR BRAND’S ROADMAP

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THE CHALLENGE OF INNOVATION DETERMINING FUTURE VS. FADS Over the past year, Rockbot has closely monitored the growth, development and deployment of new restaurant technologies to help the industry’s leading brands adopt systems that actually impact their business. THE PROBLEM As restaurateurs of any size are all too aware, technology does touch every aspect of their business—however, the explosion of custom apps and on-‐table devices, mulIple entertainment opIons, mobile ordering and payment, reservaIons, employee scheduling and point of sales (POS) technology has made understanding the difference between fads and must-‐have market makers difficult to discern. Our 2015 buyer’s guide to restaurant technology walks you through the latest developments and emerging trends to help you understand the current landscape. You’ll learn how to beSer uIlize technology to aSract

customers, enhance their experience and create loyalty, as well as streamline operaIons to opImize output and make your restaurant locaIons more profitable. YOUR ADVANTAGE As restaurant technology conInues to advance, the tech companies offering these soluIons become faster and more efficient at implementaIon. Therefore, it’s never been easier to test, deploy, and start seeing results at your locaIons. Today’s brands that are most diligent about piloIng new plaUorms and evaluaIng their success will not only culIvate a culture of innovaIon needed for growth, but will also conInually posiIon themselves to enjoy results before their compeItors. LET’S BEGIN Take a look at 2015’s nine essenIal restaurant tech categories and the key players in each.

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NEXT-GENERATION POS & OPERATIONS

1.  CLOVER 2.  TOUCHBISTRO 3.  SQUARE 4.  REVEL 5.  BREADCRUMB 6.  LAVU (SEE PAGES 13-‐14)

“The next generaIon of POS extends beyond payment with a range of apps that solve everyday business needs – from

tracking inventory to managing employees.”

Leonard Speiser Founder, Clover

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“The era of ‘Smart Dining’ has begun…and restaurants will need to whole-‐heartedly embrace it or risk their brands becoming stale. Consumers expect speed, convenience and modernity.”

1.  E LA CARTE’S PRESTO 2.  ZIOSK 3.  MENUPAD (SEE PAGE 15)

Rajat Suri CEO, E la Carte

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TABLETOP ORDERS & ENTERTAINMENT

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GarreL Dodge Founder, Rockbot

1.  ROCKBOT 2.  BUZZTIME 3.  TOUCHTUNES (SEE PAGES 16-‐17)

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CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

“Today’s generaIon wants to be entertained everywhere they go—most of all, at restaurants with their friends. Brands know this and are looking for a way to engage customers in a more relevant way.”

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ONLINE ORDERING & DELIVERY

MaL Maloney Founder, GrubHub

1.  GRUBHUB 2.  EAT24 3.  CHOWNOW 4.  ORDERAHEAD 5.  GOMOBO

(SEE PAGE 18)

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“While the fax and phone process has always worked well for restaurants, our in-‐restaurant tablet enables restaurants to process orders in just a few taps. The OrderHub has become a

criIcal tool for restaurateurs.”

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INTERACTIVE DIGITAL SIGNAGE

“Tech-‐savvy restaurant brands are increasingly managing their own digital signage and customer experience by effecIvely updaIng their

menus, promoIons, and entertainment content on the fly.”

Jeff HasSngs CEO, BrightSign

1.  BRIGHTSIGN 2.  FOURWINDS INTERACTIVE 3. ENPLUG (SEE PAGE 19)

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EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT

1.  WHEN I WORK 2.  SCHEDULEFLY 3.  HOTSCHEDULES 4.  7SHIFTS 5.  ESCHEDULE

(SEE PAGES 20-‐21)

“Today’s employees rely on smartphones, text messages, and the web to connect with their work... Employers need scheduling

so^ware that fits into the busy lifestyle of today’s mobile worker.”

Chad Halvorson Founder, When I Work

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SEO & WEBSITE MARKETING

1.  MOPRO 2.  UPCITY 3.  LOCU

(SEE PAGE 22)

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Carey Levine Founder, Mopro

“Restaurants need to control the conversaIon that’s already happening about their establishments online… We empower them by

le`ng them tell their own stories, beauIfully and affordably.”

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RESERVATIONS MANAGEMENT

1.  NOWAIT 2.  OPENTABLE 3.  SEATME 4.  NOSHLIST 5.  DINETIME

(SEE PAGE 23)

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Ware Sykes CEO, NoWait

“An 18-‐year-‐old armed with a 15-‐minute tutorial and an iPad becomes empowered to not only seize control of the host-‐stand,

but to make significant improvements regarding how the restaurant anIcipates, seats, and delights customers."

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LOYALTY PLATFORMS

Victor Ho Founder, FiveStars

1.  FIVESTARS 2.  BELLY 3.  PUNCHCARD 4.  FRONTFLIP 5.  PERKA 6.  PERKVILLE

(SEE PAGES 24-‐25)

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“Because we know all their behavior, we can send customers unique messages at the right moment in Ime. “Congrats on your second visit! Come back within a week and get 30% off.”

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ANALYZING THE

39 RESTAURANT

TECHNOLOGIES LET’S TAKE A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PLATFORMS TO HELP YOU DETERMINE

WHICH ARE ESSENTIAL TO YOUR BRAND’S ROADMAP

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MEET THE BEST OF POS For years, restaurants have grappled with unreliable, inefficient POS systems—largely because it seems Ime-‐consuming and costly to migrate away from legacy technologies. However, deferring adopIon is far more costly than upgrading to more advanced soluIons. Many new systems eliminate batch processing in favor of real-‐Ime transacIons, and combine easy payments with cucng-‐edge analyIcs at faster speeds. They also feature enhanced data security, apps for daily business needs and mobile payment compaIbility.

Clover StaSon hSps://www.clover.com/ Designed to make onboarding seamless, Clover StaIon arrives preloaded with your menu. Once connected to the internet, a touchscreen wizard guides users through acIvaIon of a built-‐in scanning camera, card reader, printer and cash drawer. Offline mode enables processing even if the Internet is down. A range of apps extend the system’s capabiliIes to allow for happy hour pricing, server tableswaps and other features. TouchBistro hSp://www.touchbistro.com Named a top-‐grossing food and drink app by App Annie, TouchBistro provides POS soluIons for a broad range of businesses. In addiIon to standard POS funcIons, TouchBistro offers pay-‐at-‐table, hassle-‐free check splicng, print and email receipts, floor and menu management tools, and comprehensive inventory and reporIng with training and 24/7 support.

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NEXT-‐GENERATION POINT OF SALE

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MEET THE BEST OF POS Square hSps://squareup.com/ Popular among SMBs without complex POS needs, Square allows merchants to accept payments directly from smartphones or tablets with its proprietary 1”-‐square card reader. Installing the hardware is as simple as plugging the reader into your phone’s 3.5mm headphone jack. Both the reader and the app come free and the service fee is a flat 2.75% per transacIon. Square Register offers an iPad stand that connects with cash drawers, printers, barcode readers and other POS peripherals. Revel hSp://revelsystems.com/ Revel’s iPad-‐based plaUorm offers several features beyond managing tabs and transacIons including online ordering, Paypal, and Bitcoin payment integraIon and several customized versions of their POS package, with custom and pre-‐configured setups for businesses ranging from yogurt shops to movie theaters, stadiums and drive-‐throughs. Revel can also act as a Kitchen Display

system to monitor and manage orders, and a customer order alert system. Breadcrumb hSps://breadcrumb.groupon.com/pro Powered by Groupon, Breadcrumb is a powerful POS system that provides several management tools including table availability, menu creaIon and check management. In addiIon, the system acts as a staff management service enabling employees to clock in and out and post messages on the system’s bulleIn board. Lavu hSp://www.poslavu.com An iPad-‐based system, Lavu manages mulIple aspects of both front-‐of-‐house and back-‐of-‐house duIes including standard payment and check-‐splicng, mulI-‐room table layouts, seat and course numbering, inventory tracking and employee informaIon. Its touchscreen interface and mobile and wireless cloud-‐based plaUorm supports mobile ordering and remote management.

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TABLETOP ORDERS & ENTERTAINMENT While POS systems, TV and music have been mainstays in bars and restaurants for decades (with the notable excepIon of miniature jukeboxes), technology never quite made it to the table. An emerging class of tabletop devices has taken up the challenge with tablets that enable users to browse interacIve, illustrated menus, order, pay, request songs, play games and even share snapshots of their experience via social media. E La Carte hSp://elacarte.com/ E La Carte has rolled out its Presto tablet to Applebee’s and other top brands to offer ordering, entertainment, menu, and payment funcIons. The Presto captures 10% higher sales with 7 minutes faster table turn, and with flexible payment that results in no upfront cost. Its case is designed for easy cleaning and durability and its menu supports “dynamic availability and pricing supports happy hour, daily specials, and out-‐of-‐stock items.”

Ziosk hSp://www.ziosk.com/ One of the first restaurant tablets introduced to the market, Ziosk offers a streamlined dining experience for customers who are Ired of flagging down the waiter. Patrons can view an interacIve menu with photos, order and, with an integrated credit card swiper, pay at their convenience. The Ziosk tablet includes features like the ZLoyalty App, games, and a built-‐in camera for sharing their experience on various social media plaUorms. MenuPad hSp://www.menupad.com Launched by the co-‐founder of Outback Steakhouse, MenuPad is designed to integrate with exisIng POS systems. Its interacIve menu opIons mean faster table-‐turn and more ways for staff to interact with patrons. With three interfaces -‐ tabletop and kiosk for more self-‐service opIons, as well as a server mode – it gives servers access to more product detail, minimizes order error, and accepts credit card payments at the table.

EASY PAY, MORE PLAY, LONGER STAY

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CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT

ENGAGING THE SMARTPHONE GENERATION As the integraIon of tabletop tablets into the dining experience indicates, for many restaurants enhancing the guest experience has moved beyond just the quality of food and drink opIons. Inevitably, patrons now have their own devices in hand—smartphones, tablets, laptops—and a few companies have successfully bridged personal devices and in-‐house services designed to entertain on-‐premise consumers. These next-‐generaIon entertainment plaUorms are designed to offer a variety of content from music and video to games and social media. Prepare for an era of in-‐house entertainment that encourages customers to BYOD—Bring Your Own Device -‐-‐ to engage and interact while they dine and drink with their friends.

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CUSTOMER ENGAGEMENT Rockbot hSps://rockbot.com/ Rockbot is an all-‐in-‐one entertainment plaUorm for restaurant brands that allows customers to engage with a restaurant’s music, TV display, social media, and promoIons, right from their smartphones. Customers use a #1-‐rated mobile app to select music the brand has approved, vote on the playlist, see custom promoIons and share their acIvity on social media. Restaurant brands manage the level of customer control and customize the experience with messaging and social media content. Rockbot also enables a digital signage component on restaurant TVs, which displays the music playing, customer interacIons, and branded content. TouchTunes hSp://www.touchtunes.com A combinaIon of tradiIonal and digital elements, TouchTunes provides restaurants with a wall-‐mounted jukebox, but features a mobile app similar to Rockbot

that lets customers engage from their smartphones. Touchtunes provides a catalog of songs to the business, which features significantly more than the CD jukeboxes of the past. Users can also take group photos in front of the jukebox by paying for a digital Photo Booth session. BuzzSme hSp://www.buzzIme.com/ Known for its mini game tablets, BuzzIme is an entertainment plaUorm that provides a variety of games such as Hold ‘Em poker and trivia popular in sports bars. BuzzIme’s digiIzed pub game plaUorm tracks players’ scores both in the restaurant and naIonwide, bringing out customers’ compeIIve edge and increasing their engagement as they match skills with other players from across the country.

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Earlier this year, GrubHub went public announcing over 28,800 U.S. locaIons in 600 ciIes and 3.4 million diners, cemenIng itself as the category leader. But that hasn’t stopped other soluIons from compeIng by addressing challenges like take-‐out and waiIng in line. GrubHub hSp://get.grubhub.com/ GrubHub’s consumer-‐reach alone would be aSracIve to any restauranteur, but GrubHub also remains innovaIve and focused on its businesses, first and foremost. Mobile composes 50 percent of all consumer orders, and its OrderHub tablet has been a hit with restaurant owners. Eat24 hSp://eat24.com/ Eat24 provides restaurants with online ordering through Yelp, PayPal and UrbanSpoon, three popular networks

trusted by today’s diners. The company also offers 24/7 support, which is essenIal to many restaurant types. ChowNow hSps://www.chownow.com/ ChowNow makes it easy for restaurants to take orders on Facebook, their website, and custom mobile apps. If your brand has a strong Facebook community, consider direcIng fans to your page to order more quickly. OrderAhead hSps://www.orderaheadapp.com/ Originally known for streamlining take-‐out, OrderAhead has added delivery to its offering, as well as custom financial reports and real-‐Ime order tracking. GoMobo hSp://gomobo.com/ GoMobo’s claim to fame is lecng consumers with take-‐out orders to skip the line when they pick up their food. Perfect for fast casual establishments and many SMBS.

ONLINE ORDERING & DELIVERY DELIVERY, TAKE OUT, AND BEYOND

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INTERACTIVE DIGITAL SIGNAGE The ubiquitous presence of screens of all sizes in restaurants, bars, casinos and hotels offers a number of new ways to engage and interact with customers throughout their visit. InteracIve HD kiosks, music engagement, live HD TV, digital menu boards, calendars and adverIsing and promoIonal materials can all be displayed, curated and dynamically updated on a single screen, or across mulIple devices to create a “digital wall” effect. BrightSign hSp://www.brightsign.biz The market leader, BrightSign provides a powerful engine for dynamic, interacIve signage. Features such as “geo-‐fencing” allow customers to view content based on their current locaIon. Live feeds update messaging to trigger playback and content from moIon sensors, RFID, touch screens and mobile devices. The BrightSign app

enables easy updates from smartphones and tablets and the ability to create and edit presentaIons on-‐the-‐fly. FourWinds InteracSve hSp://www.fourwindsinteracIve.com/ Powering systems from small meeIng room signs to large, outdoor LED displays, FourWinds offers soluIons, professional services and content consulIng for a broad range of industries. Ranging from hotels to cruise lines to museums, its applicaIons display interacIve visuals designed to aSract the aSenIon of patrons. Enplug hSps://enplug.com/ Quick plug-‐and-‐play capability means Enplug can be plugged in to any TV to immediately provide integrated app support so customers can view live social media feeds from Facebook, Instagram, TwiSer and blog plaUorms as well as graphics, news and weather, digital menu boards and directory informaIon.

PUT YOUR SCREENS TO WORK

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Timeclocks. Spreadsheets. Time sheets. Manual. Data. Entry. As with POS systems, the ease, affordability and pace of app development have created a wealth of approachable, intuiIve and user-‐friendly opIons for all the day-‐to-‐day tasks of restaurant management, from scheduling to payroll. If customer tesImonials are to be believed, users claim Ime spent managing shivs and payroll can be whiSled down from hours to minutes per week, meaning the Ime saved more than pays for the low entry price of these systems within the first months of use. Many offer free trials, pricing based on number of employees and/or month-‐to-‐month payment, training and 24/7 support.

SMART EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT

SMART SCHEDULING, SMART ALERTS

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SMART EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT WhenIWork hSp://wheniwork.com/ WhenIWork allows managers to quickly configure and coordinate hourly employees’ availability and shivs in a single interface and remotely, via any mobile device. Employees can access the system at work or via mobile device to communicate, schedule Ime off or swap shivs. Schedulefly hSp://www.schedulefly.com Schedulefly features an employee message board, cloud-‐based storage, mobile access for managers and employees, and a dashboard to forecast sales and labor costs and message employees across locaIons. HotSchedules hSp://www.hotschedules.com HotSchedules integrates into POS systems to go beyond shiv scheduling to handle useful analyIcs such as sales

forecasIng, trending budgeIng, and overIme alerts as well as employee messaging via email and text message, shiv trades and employee cerIficaIon tracking. 7Shi`s hSp://7shivs.com/ 7Shivs provides mulI-‐locaIon support, drag-‐and-‐drop scheduling, permissions-‐based access to allow employee self-‐scheduling, text and email messaging, mobile access and labor cost forecasIng. They also offer “shiv bidding” allowing employees to easily cover for each other. Eschedule hSp://www.eschedule.ca Eschedule boasts a straighUorward scheduling interface that will help you schedule for months in advance with a few clicks. Eschedule provides the unique perk of syncing its schedule to any iCal or Google Calendar, allowing employees to access the calendar even when off-‐duty.

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SEO AND ONLINE MARKETING Without robust markeIng departments, big budgets and the analyIc power of major chains, mid-‐sized establishments can be challenged by the costs and Ime of maintaining an online presence. Using only Yelp severely limits online visibility while Facebook posts only reach a fracIon of fans; the same is true of TwiSer. Bad online reviews and mismanaged content can damage your brand’s credibility. One way to maximize your visibility is to consider a Search Engine MarkeIng (SEM), Search Engine OpImizaIon (SEO) or online markeIng service to help Ilt the balance in your favor. Mopro hSp://www.mopro.com Truly a one-‐stop shop, Mopro creates company websites from scratch for $399 guaranteed to go live in 30 days. Created to take the enIre process off the hands of its

customers, Mopro’s fee includes an HTML5 website with HD photo and video documentaIon of your site, social media integraIon, web hosIng, support, training and a dashboard to review social media tools and analyIcs. Upcity hSp://upcity.com/ Upcity is an SEO sovware and educaIon plaUorm, available either DIY or as a service, that helps opImize your exisIng website for greater searchability, across search engines and social media plaUorms with advice, support and reporIng starIng at $39/month. Locu hSps://locu.com/ An easy way to update criIcal business informaIon online, Locu allows users to enter menu items, hours, item photos and business informaIon into a single form, which is then posted to sites including Google, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Bing, Facebook and OpenTable.

YOUR FRONT DOOR IS ONLINE

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Sign-‐ins, no-‐shows, white boards, and illegible names. Today’s digital systems make yesterday’s hassles a thing of the past. From smart data collecIon to text alerts, a host of services are challenging Opentable’s dominance. No Wait hSp://nowaitapp.com/ Ranging from free to $199/month, No Wait may provide the highest customizaIon available. The “Forever Free” plan includes 200 parIes per month, an unlimited floormap tool, free training, and the No Wait Guest app. SeatMe hSps://www.seatme.yelp.com/ Powered by Yelp, SeatMe is an affordable alternaIve to Opentable, offering comparable funcIons at $99/month. SeatMe’s app is run using your exisIng mobile devices.

OpenTable hSp://www.opentable.com/ In addiIon to reservaIons, market leader OpenTable now tracks seaIng and customer preferences to opImize return rates. Cost is $650 upfront, $199/month and $1-‐$2.50 per reservaIon. Noshlist hSp://www.noshlist.com Noshlist’s free service includes a waitlist view on mobile and offers 100 bookings per month. Noshlist Premium is $19.99/month for funcIons comparable to Opentable. DineTime hSp://dineImehost.com/ DineTime allows customers to search for restaurants by distance, raIng and wait Ime. Start free at 600 parIes per month or upgrade for more parIes and analyIcs reporIng.

RESERVATIONS MANAGEMENT MORE PREDICTABILITY, LESS STRESS

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Age-‐old assumpIons hold true. Rewarded guests are more frequent guests. Remember paper punch card-‐based loyalty programs? Buy five sandwiches, get your next one free? Like most other aspects of customer engagement, loyalty programs have gone high tech. With the emergence of Apple Pay, Square, and Google Wallet, today’s customers are wondering if they need a wallet at all, let alone one big enough for 20 different loyalty cards. IniIaIng or transiIoning a loyalty program to one of the many rewards apps can keep the process relaIvely simple and eliminate the problem of forgoSen and lost cards. Several apps offer alternaIve modes of rewards to keep the customers coming back.

LOYALTY PLATFORMS

REPLACING THE PUNCH CARD

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LOYALTY PLATFORMS FiveStars hSp://www.fivestars.com/ FiveStars reports increases in customer return rates up to 50% and increases in customer spend of 10%. Its custom rewards programs let restaurants control their own promoIons content while FiveStars manages markeIng with automated campaigns and incenIves. Belly hSp://www.bellycard.com StarIng at $50/month, Belly allows customers to keep a virtual loyalty card on their smartphone, which they can swipe over the iPad (iPad included with subscripIon) at your locaIon to reap points and rewards. Punchcard hSp://www.punchcard.com/ PunchCard allows businesses to reward frequent customers with rewards, with further opportuniIes to earn points through parIcipaIon in games. The app has seen a quick rise to popularity, boasIng over 15 million users within its first year of launching.

FrontFlip hSp://www.fronUlip.com/ Rather than rewarding points based on number of visits, like Belly and Punchcard, FronUlip offers users rewards from America’s biggest names, such as McDonald’s and Bud Light. Rewards are earned through games and providing feedback and other loyalty measures. Perka hSps://www.perka.com/ Perka stands apart from its compeItors by rewarding actual sales instead of mere check-‐ins. The service provides detailed analyIcs of which purchases are made through Perka, enabling restaurants to refine their campaigns to keep customers engaged and coming back. Perkville hSp://www.perkville.com StarIng at $49/month, Perkville rewards customers not only for coming back to your brick-‐and-‐mortar, but also for promoIng your brand through social media promoIon and referrals. 25

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THE CASE FOR TECH IN 2015 WHY THE TIME TO UPGRADE IS NOW Whether you’re updaIng obsolete systems or opIng for smarter customer experiences, your Iming is perfect in 2015. All the technologies listed above have been tested and adopted by leading brands in 2013 and 2014, meaning they’ve been thoroughly veSed by the industry and are already being embraced by your customers. Ten years ago, upgrading to new technologies could be a dreaded process and it was oven easier to do nothing. However, today’s tech companies are light-‐years ahead of their non-‐digital counterparts, making it easier than ever to demo, pilot, and deploy new systems. Most services offer trials, Iered pricing, training and 24/7 support. 2015 is the year to get ahead of the game or fall behind—so, evaluate your partners carefully, and make them do the heavy living for you.

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EASY NEXT STEPS THREE THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW TO GET STARTED

1.   Ask your innovaSon/IT team to review this guide and respond with a list of your current vendor in each category.

2.   Find out which vendor contracts are expiring within the next two years and determine which upgrades to prioriIze.

3.   Chose five innovaSve soluSons to trial in 2015 and challenge your team to schedule an in-‐venue pilot of each by the end of Q1.

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THANK YOU We hope the ideas presented in this buyer’s guide sparked even beSer ideas of your own. We wish you the best in 2015, and would like to help your brand create the perfect customer experience.

“Rockbot is rapidly changing outdated music in restaurants with an exciIng, social experience for

customers.”

Rockbot was one of the most celebrated restaurant technologies of 2014, replacing old background music services in restaurants with a smart, all-‐in-‐one entertainment system that includes customized music, a mobile app for customers, social media & branded digital signage. See how today’s leading casual dining brands are uIlizing Rockbot: hSps://rockbot.com/.

MEET ROCKBOT

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2015_Restaurant_Technology_Buyers_Guide

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