More and more, millenials are demanding a higher quality experience as customers and there are many ways restaurants can deliver this. One major lever you can pull is with the music you play on-premise and these days there seem to be services popping up everywhere. With all of the restaurant music solutions out there now, we created a list of 5 things you should be thinking about when implementing or updating your restaurant music service, with a strong emphasis on the modern needs of both your customers and your brand.
1. Music is not solely in the background.
Music is an integral part of your brand experience. It has the power to connect with your guests, whether it's subconsciously or in the foreground of their conversations. It can be a way to differentiate your brand and make a statement. You can get more out of your music solution by connecting it with your other FOH digital assets. Put music in the hands of your guests by using an app like rockbot which can integrate with your existing mobile app or stand-alone. Get more out of your television screens by promoting your brand's unique music selections. Use music as content to drive your social channels and differentiate yourself as a brand. All of these things let the customer know that there was thought put into the experience you are creating for them. The provider you work with should reflect these values and work with you to create the type of environment you desire as a brand. This means you need to work with someone who is flexible and available to work with you as your needs change over time. A plug and play solution will not suffice.
2. How many venues do you need to manage?
Depending on your answer you will want to know the following things. How is the installation process? Is it quick and seamless or will you need to pay additional costs in labor? Another thing to think about is the ability to oversee multiple venues and make changes across all of them. If you are an enterprise chain and want to limit or allow certain music during different times of the year (think Christmas music, game time music etc.), is that possible? Are you thinking about the different music selections you will need for your stores in different parts of the country? Your customers in the midwest may not be listening to the same music as your customers in New York City and making sure your music provider has the ability to accomodate this is very important and sometimes overlooked.
3. What kind of music selection and controls do you need?
If you're investing in a music provider you should have a sense of the kind of vibe you want to create through music. Will your music provider be able to filter out songs with inappropriate lyrics? Do they have a database large enough to accomodate unique themes? Will you be creating the playlists or do you need the expertise of a music curator to help with that? Also thinking about features such as remote turn on or controlling the energy level of your restaurant music throughout the day, can make your music solution even more seamless.
4. Getting your employees involved.
Believe it or not, music can be a big pain point among restaurant employees. Some of the larger chains we work with actually talk about how employees have unplugged solutions they have used in the past, opting to play their own music. This can sometimes be off-brand and in a lot of cases is also illegal if the right permits and licenses aren't in place. You can avoid this by choosing a music solution that encourages employee engagement, whether it's the ability to choose their own songs off a playlist of pre-approved music, or getting their input on the type of music they think represents the brand as well as the customers they are speaking with every day. Music can increase employee happiness and get employees more involved with your brand.
5. Is your music service smart?
This is becoming more and more important. As restaurant technologies continue to evolve - from paper menus to kiosks and from placing an order over the phone to placing an order through your branded mobile app - it makes sense that your restaurant music provider should also be getting smarter. Does your music solution know who your customers are and what their preferences are? Can it use this information to update the playlist so it's playing music your customers actually like? If you're looking for a music solution that's smart you should also be thinking about what kind of insights it can pull from your customers and also how the music solution interacts with your customers whether it be through beacons, your mobile app etc. Today's smart solutions allow you to do more with less and your restaurant music solution should be no different.
We hope these insights will help you make more informed decisions when you are thinking about how your music solution can help shape your restaurant environment. Rockbot is the smartest music solution in the industry and gives you the option to let your customers pick the music with our jukebox app. Our solution gets smarter the more your customers use it, analyzing who is present in your venue, what their musical preferences are and making changes based on that information. Best of all, you can be fully implemented in under 10 minutes. If you are interested in learning more about Rockbot's solutions for both small business and large brands with multiple locations, click below!