GENERAL SESSION / MONDAY / OCTOBER 4, 2021 / 2:15 PM
Brain Exchange
The Brain Exchange breaks attendees into small groups to discuss some of the most pressing issues facing restaurant operators today. These informal group discussions allow attendees to learn from one another’s mistakes and successes.
Brain Exchange Topics:
• CATERING
• COST SAVINGS | Sponsored by: Entegra
• CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE OPTIMIZATION | Sponsored by: Plexure
• FOOD SAFETY | Sponsored by: Steritech
• FRANCHISING
• INNOVATION/TECH | Sponsored by: ServiceChannel
• LABOR CHALLENGES | Sponsored by: Revel Systems
• MARKETING
• MENU TRENDS | Sponsored by: Botrista Technology
• MOBILE | Sponsored by: Appetize, now a part of SpotOn
• PERFORMANCE METRICS | Sponsored by: Decision Logic
session sponsors
AGGREGATING POS DATA | Using Transactional Data to Drive Incremental Frequency and Sales in Your Business
Facilitor: Dennis Becker | CEO | Mobivity
ANALYTICS | Gaining Insights from All That Data
Facilitor: Patrick Bobrukiewicz | Director of Business Development | Rosnet
The amount of data and data sources is on the rise. How are executives using info to gain insights? Do you have any staff in place to properly examine data and data relationships? What type of plans do you have for the future in regards to business analytics? Even more important, is it worth the investment? Can you afford the consequences of not having the data?
BUSINESS DINING | Is business dining your restaurants silver lining?
The restaurant industry is experiencing a state of upheaval. Many are scrambling to adjust as delivery service and other technology-based disruptors erode traditional at-table traffic and sales, and restaurateurs are being forced to shift their focus away from diner experience and satisfaction. While everyone else is out there looking for silver bullets, we have a silver lining.
Consider this: corporate travel is a multi-billion-dollar industry that is predicted to climb 7% in 2018, and major enterprises are increasingly measuring traveler satisfaction as a key success indicator. What’s the opportunity for you? All of those business travelers have to eat, and tasty dining experiences make travelers very, very happy.
In spring 2018, Dinova teamed up with GBTA, the Global Business Travel Association, to conduct first-of-its kind research into business travelers’ dining behaviors and preferences and their company dining guidelines. Join us for a deep-dive into the research, with takeaways that you can use to better target this growing opportunity.
At the end of this session, you will have insights into the following:
• Distinctions among different generations, including what types of restaurants they’re choosing and their expensing behaviors
• What tools and technologies influence business dining decisions and what they use for research
• Diner sentiment around loyalty programs
• How strongly business travelers feel about staying healthy on the road
CUSTOMER INSIGHTS | Knowing and engaging with your best customer
Facilitor: Amy Hunt | VP Strategy and Insights | Epsilon
Discuss ways to connect with guests in the moments that matter. Discussion to include data requirements, best practices on understanding customers potential value, communication throughout the customer lifecycle resulting in the ability to measure the success of your customer experience, build lifetime loyalty and increase share of stomach.
DIGITAL MENUS | Shaping Customer Demand to Increase Sales
Facilitor: Tim Butler | President | WAND Corporation
Digital Menus have the ability to be an extremely important part of your in-store marketing efforts. In an increasingly digital world, customers expect a digital experience that is aligned with the brand they are interacting with. If done well, your menus can complement your overall brand strategy, engage and educate your customers, and provide a significant sales and profitability lift. In this session, we will discuss how to ensure ROI, mistakes to avoid, and the future of the digital in-store restaurant experience.
EMAIL MARKETING | Supercharge your email strategy: Breathing new life into a tired program
Facilitor: Michael Baker | Senior Account Executive | Emma
Today’s restaurant marketers find themselves caught in a balancing act. Marketing teams constantly adopt every new technology that becomes available, enamored with the marketing channel du jour. At the same time, they have to operate at razor-thin margins, maintain a strict budget, and prove steady growth. Given the circumstances, how can they possibly do their jobs effectively?
The answer is email. While it’s not the newest or sexiest marketing tactic, it’s the tried-and-true performer, consistently generating more than double the ROI of any other digital channel. However, email is not a “set it and forget it” system, even when it’s working. To create a more meaningful connection with your guests, you have to constantly develop strategy and incorporate data. During this discussion, we’ll walk through how today’s restaurant marketers are working to breath new life into their email program—and generating more revenue as a result.
FINANCIAL REPORTING | What metrics keep you up at night?
Facilitor: David Silver | Principal Sales Consultant | Oracle NetSuite
Certain metrics and figures can spell financial fortunes, while others are a prelude to financial disaster. Which metrics are you monitoring to take your restaurant to next level? In this session, we dig into the data and discuss ways to effectively measure the health of your business.
KITCHEN OPS | Technology and Its Impact on Back of House Operations
Facilitor: Erik Koenig | Marketing Director | Heritage Parts
Technology is becoming an ever more increasing component of how front of house operations provide service. From menu selection, ordering and checkout, customers expect and in many ways demand technology as part of the restaurant experience. This technology also helps to improve overall front of house operations and is critical to succeeding and expanding within a highly competitive and highly selective, taste-changing environment.
Back of house operations is also undergoing a technological revelation as well. Foodservice equipment is becoming more complicated and connected. Providing owner-operators with solutions to provide better overall food quality and consistency, more diverse menu options, energy savings and an improved overall cost of ownership for that piece of equipment.
• What does the future hold for technology in back of house operations?
• What are the current the current pain points owner-operators experiencing in back of house operations?
• What technology is helping relieve those issues and /or contributing to higher guest satisfaction?
• What is missing? What innovations would you like to see to help improve back of house operations?
This round table is designed to create an open dialogue about technology and its impact on back of house operations. Provide insights and share how owner-operators are integrating technology into how they provide an unparalleled guest experience.
MOBILE | Navigating the mobile landscape: How to capture more sales by increasing foot traffic to your locations
Helping multi-location brands drive more consumers from their mobile device into your store. MomentFeed’s Mobile Customer Experience (MCX) management platform is modular software that empowers multi-location brands to continuously and predictably capture more sales through mobile.
MOBILE ORDERING & PICKUP | Best Practices
Facilitor: Alex Rosenblatt | VP, Head of Sales – North America | Curbside
Fast Casual Chains like Panera and Boston Market have rolled out new pickup programs, following the lead of QSRs like McDonald’s, Chik-Fil-A and Starbucks. This discussion will explore what the leaders are doing, technologies behind the programs and how to get started. It will also look ahead to what we can expect to see as leading chains refine their customer experiences next year.
PEOPLE | Proactive Recruiting
Facilitor: Kelly MacFarlane | Regional Director | talentReef
Recruiting and hiring is the key to competitive success, and it is critical to effectively reach quality applicants when and where they are and create a positive candidate experience.
ROI | Integrating Your Functions to Maximize Franchisee Revenue
Facilitor: Justin Mink | Senior VP of Sales | Scorpion
Join Justin Mink, Senior Vice President of Franchise at Scorpion, to discuss how to seamlessly integrate strategy, marketing, operations, and technology for the long-term growth of your franchise brand.
TRAINING | Learning, meet doing
Facilitor: Nate Gillespie | Senior Product Manager | Inkling
Technological, cultural, and economic shifts are changing the learning landscape in the restaurant industry. Training and operations need to be connected closer together than ever before. What does this mean for the future of learning in your business? Gather with fellow leaders to discuss strategies for bring learning and doing together to reduce employee turnover, shorten onboarding time, improve operational performance, and help your employees keep up with the competitive pace of your industry.