4 Tips to Transforming the Payment Experience for QSRs
The payment experience is one of the most important aspects of dining out. It can either make or break a customer’s perception of a restaurant. That’s why it’s so important to get it right.
Nowadays, customers expect more than a combo fries and drink deal when they visit a restaurant. They want to be able to pay the way they want, they want more convenience and shorter queues, and they want their favourite QSRs to anticipate their needs ahead of time.
So how can QSRs take advantage of the latest payment technology to transform the customer experience and drive additional revenue?
Payment Challenges for QSRs
QSRs face a number of unique challenges when it comes to payments – but perhaps the greatest challenge is keeping up with ever-evolving customer expectations while keeping daily operations running smoothly.
Today’s customers want the same seamless experience whether they're ordering food online or in-store. They also want personalised offers and recommendations based on their previous purchases which can be challenging for a company that has multiple locations or franchisees across the country.
Another challenge is offering a variety of payment methods: credit cards, debit cards, mobile wallets like Apple Pay or Google Pay, gift cards...the list goes on. QSRs need technology that helps them accept all these payment types while providing consistent and seamless experiences across channels, whether it be online, in-store, or in-app.
Streamlined purchasing processes both in-store and online, including self-service options such as kiosks, are key factors shaping how consumers shop today. The lack of such options has made it difficult for QSRs to compete with other types of retail stores. This is especially true when we look at millennials and younger generations who are used to more personalised experiences from all aspects of their lives, including shopping and dining out.
The lack of tailored shopping experiences within the industry represents a real opportunity for QSRs to stand out – and data insights are the key to success. Customers want an experience that rewards them for their loyalty, remembers their preferences, and is tailored specifically for their needs, not just a generic option that’s available at every store they visit. QSRs with siloed systems and disconnected sales channels are missing out on rich cross-channel data insights that can provide a more holistic view of the customer journey, opening up new opportunities for marketing activities, loyalty programs, greater operational efficiency, and more streamlined services.
Tackling these challenges might seem overwhelming, but with the right partner and technology, QSRs can easily take payments from a cost centre to strategic revenue driver.
Tip 1: Prioritise a quick and convenient payment process
The most important thing is that QSRs have a system in place that allows customers to quickly and easily pay for their food without any hassle or frustration, which will improve the overall experience they have while visiting a restaurant. When customers are able to pay quickly and easily, they will feel more satisfied with their experience, which can lead to increased loyalty and repeat visits.
To develop smooth and easy customer transactions, businesses need to understand how customers pay in their target markets and offer easy ordering and payment options. QSRs can also provide convenience in-store by allowing people to pay at tables, choose a tip amount and split bills with friends—all from kiosks.
Diners love returning to their favourite restaurants, and QSRs can reward that loyalty with payment-linked technology at the checkout. Recognizing customers at terminals allows personal interactions while detecting language skills lets them choose currency they prefer being charged in—creating an all around better customer experience!
Tip 2: Ensure security during the payment process
QSRs can transform their payment experience by ensuring security during the payment process. When it comes to security, there are three main things QSRs need to make sure are in place:
- Encryption: Encryption means that all the data QSRs send and receive is encrypted using an algorithm that only authorised parties can understand. This prevents hackers from reading any information they intercept during transmission, which protects both the customer's personal information and the business's financial data.
- Duplicate protection: This prevents unauthorised users from making duplicate payments by creating a unique transaction ID for each purchase made on a QSR site or app (even if the customer used the same credit card).
- Identity verification process: It adds another layer of security by requiring customers to verify their identity before completing payment transactions online including two-factor authentication.
Tip 3: Personalise the payment experience
Personalisation is the key to creating a memorable experience. To transform a QSR business' payment methods into something that feels more like an extension of the brand than just another formality at checkout and increase conversion rates along the way, QSRs should think about how to make each interaction feel unique by leveraging what they know about customers.
Personalised offers can drive sales and increase frequency of visits, while customer data can be used to personalise the payment experience based on the customer's purchase history. For example, if customers frequently order coffee at a restaurant but never pay with their phone or card, the restaurant could offer them a discount when they do so as an incentive to complete their order with mobile payments and increase overall usage rates.
Tip 4: Leverage the power of unified commerce
In a complicated industry like QSR, it's important for businesses to take a unified approach to payments. Omni-channel customer experiences will be taken up another notch with unified commerce. Integrating in-store and online payments into a single platform can help businesses give customers a consistent, seamless experience across all sales channels.
The benefits of unified commerce are endless. By connecting all aspects of the business, QSRs can provide a better experience for customers and employees, better manage their data and other assets, and improve processes like reporting, payouts and more. Unified commerce can help QSRs complement and enhance their digital and in-store experiences, update outdated equipment at the point of sale (POS), gain access to valuable cross-channel data insights that can be used for everything from customer satisfaction measurement to payroll administration.
For QSRs, having one payment platform means lower fees and fewer contracts to manage—allowing them to focus on both scalability (growing their customer base) and the real-time needs of their customers.
Partner with a powerful payments platform
A great way to stay ahead of the curve is by partnering with a company that offers powerful payment options and technology solutions designed specifically for food and beverage businesses.
Nando's, a popular restaurant chain in Australia and New Zealand, partnered with Adyen for a unified commerce that can provide cutting-edge customer experiences, across every touch point.
Nando’s has launched Adyen's unified commerce platform across its website, app, and network of 200+ restaurants in Australia and New Zealand. This includes mobile ecommerce, launched in February 2020, as well as Nando’s Delivery, launched in September 2020, and mobile ordering via in-restaurant QR codes – all of which provide greater choice for contactless dining.
With Adyen, Nando’s can now see a complete single view of each customer across all payment channels (online, in-restaurant and app) to deliver actionable insights for personalising marketing strategy.
In addition, the two companies strengthened Nando’s payment channels by using Adyen’s RevenueProtect technology to assess customers' risk levels. This mechanism combines device fingerprinting and algorithmic matching with behavioural analytics to ensure that only legitimate clients can make purchases while avoiding fraud.
Key Takeaway
Payment is a critical component of the customer experience, and it's one that needs to be handled seamlessly in order for customers to feel like they're getting what they want.
There are many different ways QSRs can transform the payment experience for their customers, including offering more flexible payment options and using digital tools. However, if a QSR business is looking for something more powerful than just a simple point-of-sale machine, partnering with a powerful payment platform like Adyen could be the right move.
