In today’s restaurant industry, a quality dining experience isn’t just about the food. As restaurant operators contend with inflation, rising labor and input costs, high-interest rates, and other challenges, they increasingly rely on technology to streamline their efforts: from the kitchen to the front of house.
Finding the right tech strategy has always been a challenge from a time and money perspective. As legacy platforms were replaced by a variety of new offerings, researching and then vetting either the right single source or multiple touch points has become a challenge.
From traditional POS features to reservations, loyalty and inventory management, TouchBistro has been on a mission to make running a restaurant easier through the use of innovative technology.
To assist industry professionals, Total Food Service spoke with Matt Zibell, Vice President of Product at TouchBistro, to learn more about the company’s latest updates.
TouchBistro’s product line enables operators to streamline operations with the flexibility to implement a fully turnkey core POS solution.
It also offers open architecture that integrates seamlessly with TouchBistro’s current “tech stack,” which includes payment processing, online ordering, reservations and digital waitlisting, loyalty features, inventory management, and labor management.
“When we compare TouchBistro to some of the legacy players in the restaurant management space, our breadth and depth of products – some of which restaurants may not need today but can grow into in the future – is a big differentiator,” Zibell said.
As an all-in-one solution, TouchBistro appeals to restaurant operators seeking a variety of technologies that all function as part of a tightly integrated system to increase revenue and consumer satisfaction.
When TouchBistro’s customers apply these technologies, Zibell regularly observes a “bifurcation” in what they attempt to do in the kitchen compared to the front of house.
“Restaurants are becoming more amenable to automation in the back of house, such as Kitchen Display Systems (KDS) that communicate with the POS, and I eventually expect to see robotics for more mundane food preparation tasks. In the front of house, however, restaurants want a 360-view of all their different touchpoints with guests so they’re adding online ordering, gift cards, and loyalty options to appeal to different diners and track those interactions.”
Across the spectrum of diners and technology offerings, “the challenge is ensuring that all your products communicate with each other and sync to one Customer Relation Management (CRM), so you can market it more effectively to your full database of customers,” Zibell explained.
When talking to prospective TouchBistro customers, Zibell often frames their growth potential in terms of restaurant operators who are “doing it right.”
The most successful operators, he said, “have a crystal-clear vision of how they want to use these management technologies.
“The operators that understand what they’re trying to accomplish with tech and have the resources to implement those solutions effectively are the ones that succeed,” he said.
By clearly articulating their technology needs relative to business goals, these operators also “consistently deliver a great dining experience,” Zibell added, often complementing their tech stacks with on-the-ground research to understand their guests’ needs, pain points, and opportunities.
Even if restaurants aren’t in the market for a new CRM or POS, “it’s important for operators to think about the frequency of takeout versus venue dining, guests’ perceptions of loyalty, and other diner trends,” Zibell noted.
Third-party delivering systems and takeout, for instance, “aren’t going anywhere,” Zibell confirmed, based on his industry knowledge as well as TouchBistro’s latest 2024 American Diner Trends Report.
Restaurants can use this knowledge – combined with a strong understanding of their business models – to adopt and maintain “a great core POS system, which they can customize to fit their business’ specific needs through TouchBistro’s own solutions or with leading integration partners,” Zibell explained.
These types of integrations reflect the inclusivity of the market, in which Zibell perceives opportunities for smaller tech players to change the landscape of restaurant management.
Zibell offered the example of a “boutique” incentive-based labor management company that TouchBistro met with recently “because of their ability to respond to ancillary problems, like scheduling employees, which chip away at larger labor challenges,” he reflected.
In terms of both technology and relationship-building in the industry, openness is key. When asked how he’d advise restaurant operators looking to stay ahead of their competition and industry trends, Zibell emphasized that restaurants’ “competitors” are also members of a community – and they can learn by sharing their experiences openly with one another.
“If you’re considering a restaurant management solution, talk to your fellow restaurateurs and ask what they’re using. These conversations can help you understand areas of opportunity in your business and design a tech stack to improve specific metrics, as opposed to just adding tech that sounds cool or interesting,” Zibell advised.
As the needs of restaurant operators evolve, TouchBistro learns and adapts alongside them.
“We keep our finger on the pulse of the market and consumer demands, continually listening to our customers, and investing in whatever changes need to be made,” Zibell said – and this philosophy is reflected in the architecture of TouchBistro’s technologies.
For restaurant operators interested in working with TouchBistro, visit TouchBistro’s website to request a demo and see how TouchBistro’s restaurant management can enhance your restaurant operations.
