For decades, all a restaurant had to focus on in order to succeed were the priorities of their guest, the front of the house and culinary teams. That has since morphed in recent years into a race to understand and implement technology into an efficient foodservice operation. This can be both a taxing and time-consuming task. With that in mind, Avi Goren and his Marqii team have created a simple portfolio of solutions.
In what is a technology first for the restaurant industry, Marqii enables owners and operators to automatically apply changes to their menus wherever a restaurant has a digital presence. Using its online menu dashboard, Marqii transfers any new updates to the leading menu platforms including Google, Yelp, Facebook and more. “Accurate data and relevant content,” are the keys to being successful in your online presence, Goren noted during a recent conversation. “Having a consistent and accurate menu updated and easily viewed by customers can be the difference between a shining review and a poor customer experience.”
Goren was born in Brazil but moved to Long Island when he was a child. Working at D’Cocco’s Restaurant and Pizzeria as a teenager, he started taking away valuable lessons from the restaurant industry that would later help him succeed with Marqii. “I learned that doing what you can control well is what’s going to separate you from the competition; don’t worry about what you can’t control,” Goren said.
After going to school at the University of Texas at Austin, Goren began his career at Yelp, followed by Yext, an online presence management service, before founding Marqii. All his past experiences helped him gain insights into what running a successful business would be like, as well as what small businesses need in order to establish their online presences in a professional and proactive manner. Goren found a market opportunity in the disconnect in digital strategy accessibility among small and mid-sized restaurants, noting that “McDonald’s has access to tech solutions that mom-and-pop operators never will. Marqii was invented to give all companies in the hospitality industry a fair chance to use technology to its fullest capabilities, no matter the size of the company or their previous online managing styles.”
Goren further explained the little differences in how tech is managed that can actually make an enormous impact. “Going to a restaurant labeled ‘open’ on the internet only to realize that they’re closed once you get there is enough to ruin a customer’s day, and a business’s reputation. Marqii lets you make sure that the expectation is clear when they show up to your restaurant,” Goren said. “In an industry in which all content matters, branding and dependability go a long way. Messaging, including store hours and special offers, needs to be accurate and timely.”
Marqii also allows a simple path to manage many of the changes that the pandemic spurred. Ghost kitchens, for instance, gained popularity as chefs and restaurant entrepreneurs sought ways to prepare and sell food without the need for bricks-and-mortar dining space or front office staff. Curbside pickups and 3rd party delivery services increased as well, along with many companies’ online presences. With the rise of so many innovations, Marqii gained immediate traction by helping its clients accomplish the digital transformation needed to survive and thrive during the pandemic. “Just because you bought more technology, doesn’t mean it’s going to be a seamless plug-and-play. Marqii helps maximize the tech investment the restaurant has made,” Goren said. “Staying reliable and easy to use and maintain is what makes Marqii so valuable to smaller restaurants with limited IT resources.”
The speed at which takeout and delivery operates has created a pace that can easily strain operations as a restaurant looks to keep its online presence up to date and accurate. “Content is either updated or outdated,” Goren said. “Marqii at its core is a digital operations efficiency tool. Our goal is to enable technology to work for restaurants as they seek to grow and build a loyal following of repeat customers.”
Goren has developed an astute eye for the changes in the needs of the “New Normal” restaurant operator. Because of that, the company has greatly simplified the on-boarding process of new customers with a brief 30-minute onboarding meeting where Marqii learns each company’s specific practices and operational techniques for implementing changes internally. Then Marqii, without altering a customer’s previous style, will adapt to make sure that the restaurant is able to push its online menu information across all relevant customer-facing platforms efficiently, accurately and quickly.
With varying packages offered, customers receive beneficial information such as location data, menu management analytics, and reviews after the collaboration begins. “Our representatives respond quickly to our restaurant customers. We like to think of it as treating you the way that you want to treat your customer,” Goren concluded. In a business where respect and honesty are priorities for building a sound reputation, Marqii helps to ensure that those qualities are highlighted as a restaurant builds its digital brand.
To learn more about Marqii, visit their website
