THE PROBLEM IS MANY OPERATORS ARE SHORT ON TIME AND RESOURCES . AROUND 40 % DON ’ T ACTIVELY REACH OUT TO GUESTS .
INDUSTRY WATCH
THE PROBLEM IS MANY OPERATORS ARE SHORT ON TIME AND RESOURCES . AROUND 40 % DON ’ T ACTIVELY REACH OUT TO GUESTS .
An early leader in bringing Artificial Intelligence to restaurant technology , Popmenu is announcing enhanced AI features that address labor gaps and other pressing challenges for operators – while increasing revenue opportunities .
From answering hundreds of calls at once to automatically creating marketing content that is tailored for each restaurant and tracking marketing ’ s influence on online and on-premise sales , Popmenu ’ s AI is helping to guide busy operators on what to do next to grow their business in an increasingly competitive market .
The majority ( 60 %) of restaurant operators reported that they are having a hard time hiring for certain roles ; 39 % have lost revenue opportunities due to staffing issues . This is according to Popmenu ’ s nationwide study of 362 US restaurant leaders in April 2024 .
“ The restaurant market is more competitive than ever , and there is a noticeable difference in financial performance between restaurants who are consistently marketing and those who are not ,” said Brendan Sweeney , CEO and Co-founder , Popmenu .
“ The problem is many operators are short on time and resources . Around 40 % don ’ t actively reach out to guests . We ’ ve invested in AI over the years to help restaurants not only automate marketing across digital channels but do it in a personalized way – and pinpoint what ’ s having the biggest impact on sales . It ’ s not just about giving them tools ; it ’ s about giving them content and a playbook for growth that is based on billions of guest interactions .”
Popmenu ’ s announced the following updates to its AI-powered solutions :
AI Marketing
Why it ’ s needed : When asked to identify their most time-consuming tasks , 58 % of restaurant operators said creating marketing content . Three in four ( 74 %) are open to using AI for this purpose ; 79 % said they would rather edit marketing content vs . building it from scratch .
How it helps : Popmenu ’ s AI Marketing automatically creates a full month of emails , texts and social posts that are based on the restaurant ’ s dishes , events , reviews , and more . Operators can easily approve , edit and schedule the content – which is written to reflect the restaurant ’ s brand voice .
After driving sizeable increases in marketing impressions and corresponding online sales for singleunit operators , Popmenu recently began offering AI Marketing to multi-unit operators to customize content for each of their locations or concepts .
In the coming months , Popmenu is launching a new AI tool that enables operators to enter a topic they want to talk about and then instantly composes an email , text and social post for them , including an image . The company is also planning a phased rollout of a Mobile Advisor feature on its Popmenu for Owners app that serves up marketing content for operators to consider on-the-go .
AI Answering
Why it ’ s needed : With 42 % of consumers saying they ’ ll eat elsewhere if a restaurant doesn ’ t pick up the phone , 62 % of restaurant operators say they ’ re interested in using AI to make sure every call is answered .
How it helps : Popmenu ’ s AI tech has answered over 6.1 million phone calls for restaurants , freeing up staff and capturing more revenue . AI Answering fields calls 24 / 7 with custom greetings and responses , promotes specials and events , prioritizes return calls , and sends links for orders and reservations . Popmenu recently added more voice options as well as new features that enable callers to reach staff after business hours and create a library of fallback numbers for special inquiries such as catering .
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