Mobile Ordering: Dominos knows – do you?

By Phil Talbot – go to guy | mobile ordering |saavi

Mobile Ordering is their future

Dominos as one of the world’s largest and recognised Pizza brands knows a thing or two about where they are going to earn their crust in 2015 and beyond. In fact, according to a recent online article on Internet Retailing, mobile is set to become Domino’s most popular sales channel in 2015.     

Online sales account for almost 70% of their Domino’s UK sales revenue with almost 40% of their orders placed on mobile devices and this figure is up 69.7% up on last year’s figures – clearly mobile ordering is booming growth area for Dominos.

In what could be a peek into the future of retail, an increasing number of people are utilizing their mobile devices to uplift the shopping experience (i.e., comparing prices, researching products, buying), according to a new report from Alliance Data Retail Services.

The benefits are significant

Based on leading international research and our own experience in the Australian market, there are a number of benefits of implementing mobile ordering:

·         Your own branded mobile apps positioning you as a market leader

·         Allow customers ordering in less than 30 seconds.

·         Customer orders go direct to your accounting system 24/7 from all customer mobile devices and tablets

·         Improved customer loyalty and a reduction in brand switching

·         Significant reduction in voicemail orders, phone, fax and email orders – saving you thousands per month

·         The ultimate customer targeting and engagement tool available – passive product marketing direct to customer mobiles

·         Improved client communication through a single interface for all customer

·         Significant improvement in the turnaround of time to process orders to packing slips

·         Reducing staff involvement in processing credit notes for incorrect orders

·         Improved cash-flows resulting from less invoice disputes

Benefits of a Mobile Ordering App

There are many advantages to using mobile ordering. First, it reduces costs by shortening order-taking time and avoiding errors that normally goes when people call in their purchases. Additionally, its barcoding capabilities also eliminate data entry mistakes. Second, it widens sales channels, allowing customers to order right at fingertips. Third, mobile ordering systems can help increase customer loyalty and consumer satisfaction by looking at their buying trends and purchasing behaviour. All these advantages drive consequently drive profits up, especially when combined with social media marketing.

Mobile Orders direct to your accounting system

One of the most compelling benefits of any Mobile Ordering system is integrating the system to your accounting system. Any accounting system that is SQL-based will be supported by SAAVI Mobile Ordering and implementation can take a matter of weeks. Now live pricing, inventory updates and item availability can be made available to customers, meaning that you do not have to maintain 2 separate databases. Any changes in your accounting or ERP system will be immediately updated in your Mobile Ordering System.

Join the fastest mobile growth area

As a leader in Mobile Ordering Solutions, SAAVI has a number of leading Australian companies who are already significantly benefiting from deploying mobile ordering including Aquanas Seafood, Dicksons Statewide, Princes Laundry, and Fastrac Food Service to name a few.

Join the mobile ordering revolution today.

Phil Talbot is founder of SAAVI – the food ordering specialists and the resident expert in mobile ordering systems. You can follow SAAVI on Facebook.

Benefits of Mobile Ordering

Mobile ordering systems allow consumers to select, order and pay for goods using their mobile phones through small programs more popularly known as mobile ordering apps. 

By Phil Talbot – go to guy | mobile ordering | saavi

Mobile ordering and mobile payment

Mobile ordering apps are similar to another class of app, the mobile wallet, or mobile payment system — which just allows you to make payments, not order.

The most successful implementation of a mobile payment system, is M-Pesa in Kenya. This implementation is said to even rival those in the United States.

The success of M-Pesa in Kenya has been attributed to:

• Consumer need (carrying cash is a big risk).
• Affordability.
• Limited bank involvement (M-Pesa’s mobile network operator, Safaricom, is not a deposit-taking institution).

Consider the need

But both mobile ordering systems and mobile payment systems need to solve real customer problems in order to succeed.

VentureBeat takes the toll and parking payment system PayByPhone as a case in point. VentureBeat contrasts this with the mobile payment app Square Wallet, which VentureBeat says simply “replaces the marginal inconvenience of swiping a credit card with fumbling through a mobile app”.

Square is famously known for its Square Register app, which solves a retailer (not consumer) problem of making payment-taking through credit cards more widespread with the use of iPhone dongles. This is what technology writer Mike Elgan calls a solution that “pays the companies currently making their living from credit cards.” A solution that Elgan says is needed by companies, not consumers.

Mobile ordering apps solve a consumer need

What makes a good mobile ordering system better than just a mobile payment system is that it not only solves a business problem, it also solves a consumer need.

Take Starbuck’s newest property, La Boulange. Writer Rocky Agrawal posted his experience with La Boulange’s mobile ordering app, and how the mobile ordering app allows customers (who pre-ordered using the app) to avoid waiting in line at the restaurant.

Agrawal thinks a mobile ordering app becomes a hit if it meets these conditions:

• The app is affordable for businesses (i.e. monthly flat fee instead of per-transaction).
• Your brand is famous and highly patronized (like Starbucks and Chipotle). Even a locally famous brand can still benefit from a mobile ordering app.
• The speed of preparing a customer’s order is reasonably fast.

Great mobile ordering apps are therefore affordable to implement and give convenience to customers. But they won’t make your products highly sought-after and your service speedy – those are up to you.

Phil Talbot is founder of SAAVI – the mobile ordering specialists and the resident expert in mobile ordering systems. You can follow SAAVI on Facebook.

Mobile Ordering App Design Mistakes: Avoid These 10

By Phil Talbot – go to guy | mobile ordering | saavi

Perhaps you have mastered the world of cross-platform app design and is ready to get your hands on your first mobile app design.

Though you maybe ready to get down to the nitty-gritty and is already having visions of grandeur how the whole universe is going to thank you for such a wonderful accomplishment, think twice before you leap. Many an enterprising mobile app developer forget that ultimately it is the user who is the final arbiter of the application.

Before you catch negative reviews here are 10 mobile app design mistakes you should avoid to prevent putting your career in a precarious position.

1.                 Flow map first before wireframes.

Technicalities can follow so make sure from the onset you have the user in mind. Even the simplest of applications should have a well-thought-out flow map to get a navigational structure in place.

Skipping the flow map can have disastrous results; it is like going to an unknown country without employing a map.

2.                 Never overlook the budget.

It is easy for a designer to bring changes to the table. However, everything has to pass through the developer. Budget should bring the right perspective to changes. Things that look as simple as a type-ahead search that gives live results may take more than just an hour, or even days to build.

3.                 Don’t let low resolution or bitmaps fool you.

High-res, pixel-dense screens is the way to go. If you are being skimpy on the pixels, forget about getting users for your app.

4.                 Never undersize the hit area.

One measurement to remember is the average size of user’s index finger: 1.6 to 2cm wide. Make buttons smaller and your functionality is in danger.

5.                 Intro animations can be a drag.

Sure, fun little animations upon opening an app can be really sweet. But if you have to wait for ages to see it, then that would amount to many users doing a change of mind.

6.                 Never leave users hanging.

Even when something is being loaded make sure your users know something is going on. Utilizing a countdown can do the trick or even better a progress indicator.

7.                 Avoid being a blind copycat.

Lest you forget, every mobile OS has its own quirks. Android, Windows Phone and Android have

very distinct aesthetic. Though it is not your obligation to make your app act like it was built by the OS creator, making it looking like it belong to the platform is definitely a good consideration.

8.            There is good pixel-density and there is such a thing as an overstuffed one.

True, there is a strong temptation to get things crammed up into the interface because you have more pixels within your disposal especially when designing high PPI (pixel per inch) displays.

It’s astounding if you’re looking at it on a 27-inch high-res display. Remember though that the actual device could be measure a full ruler lower or even much less.

9.                 Never assume people will use your app the way you do.

Usability testing frees your app. No matter how good you think your app is, it still has to boil down to the user. A closed beta to a limited number of friends could do the trick.

10.           Use gestures but don’t abuse them.

Remember that it is necessary to make every single element of your interface fully visible or easily-accessible.  For instance, we could look into the Mail app used for iPhone. A user could actually swipe a message revealing a delete button in the inbox view. This is a good shortcut but in a way it also shows a balance.  Other users who have no knowledge of the shortcut may just press the “edit” button. Gestures are a plus but being overly dependent on them can be disastrous.

In the end, keeping your users in mind always can save you the hassle. Above all, they are the reason why you are building the app.

Phil Talbot is founder of SAAVI – the mobile ordering specialists and the resident expert in mobile ordering systems. You can follow SAAVI on Facebook.