previous icon Back to blog
Oct 14, 2021
6 minutes read

Wave goodbye to queuing and crowded bars at your events with Mobile Order

Whether it’s a football match, music festival, or classical concert, there’s nothing more annoying than standing at a crowded bar, fighting to get the barkeeper’s attention for a drink while you miss big chunks of the event. After all, it’s the reason you’re there in the first place. So how do we solve this? Let’s start by looking at something almost all visitors take to events with them: a smartphone. It is already widely used for e-ticketing, so why not also for ordering food and drinks, too? This is where CM.com’s Mobile Order product comes in. The exciting thing is that reducing queuing time isn’t the only benefit this technology can bring events organisers. Let’s take a closer look…

Esmee Spaan
Esmee Spaan,
Product Marketer Ticketing

What Is Mobile Order?

Before we delve into its benefits, let’s first give you an idea of how Mobile Order works. The best – and easiest – way to understand it is by knowing that it’s summarised as three essential steps: scan, order, and pay. And because we know every event is different and with its own unique processes, Mobile Order is completely customisable depending on your needs. Here’s a closer look at how it’s been designed according to the three steps:


Mobile Order phones


  • Scan: How Your Visitors Get Into the Order Page

With Mobile Order, you can choose how your visitors see what’s on the menu. Perhaps it’s a QR-code on the table with short and clear instructions on how to use it, or, instead, maybe it’s integrated with your own festival or event app. There’s also the option for them to be sent a link in an email, WhatsApp, or SMS (made possible with our Mobile Marketing Cloud).

  • Order: Design Your Own Page

Here you can design how your order page looks, upload products, your own images, prices, logos, and text. Even create categories to make it easy for visitors to find your product if you like.

  • Pay: Determine How the Drinks Are Being Collected

For the third and final step, decipher how your visitors pick up their order. For example, will the waiters deliver the drinks to the visitor’s location, or will they collect them from a specific bar, as stipulated on their order receipt? Once the order is ready for pickup, fans receive a notification via email and SMS with pickup instructions. And as an event organiser, you can choose the payment method on the checkout page.  


Benefits Of Mobile Ordering 

There are four major benefits when it comes to utilising Mobile Ordering tech. They are: 


1. A Seamless, Satisfying Experience for All

First and foremost, Mobile Order has been designed to enrich your visitors' event experience, ensuring that they can enjoy their visit to the fullest. By ordering and paying directly via their mobile phones, the only contact they’ll have with your team is when they serve the snacks and drinks they ordered. This frictionless experience is easy, safe, and swift – a win-win for all involved.

And because payments are made in a secure environment, carried out by CM.com, there is no need for cash or token systems. For one, this means fewer security concerns. Guests no longer have to worry about their credit cards being lost or stolen. Likewise, event staff don’t need to keep an eye on their cash registers.

And it’s a move that’s already approved by most attendees. According to Statista, cashless transactions are on a rise worldwide.

With the entire ordering and payment process taken out of the organiser's hands, Mobile Order means visitors can be served quickly, even during peak times, with no long queues or worry about losing or running out of cash. On top of this, the system remains operational in case of PIN or internet failures. Phew!

Mobile Order cup


2. Valuable Real-Time Insights

Not only do cashless payments increase attendee satisfaction, but mobile payments also help planners take better control of their event’s analytics and reporting through real-time event data such as attendee’s spending patterns and the most popular products. This enables event organisers to optimise their inventory, improve stock management and food wastage, and because inventory is updated in real-time, it means you won’t be selling items you no longer have in stock. You can even change what’s on the menu on the go thanks to real-time insights into sales and revenue.

Having access to this kind of data and insight can be invaluable for event organisers, especially during large-scale, high-pressure events like stadiums and festivals. 


mobile-order-platform


3. Increased Revenue

Naturally, employing a product like Mobile Order will add value for event organisers by reducing expenses and increasing revenue. Especially since poor visitor experience directly affects F&B businesses, particularly in the leisure industry.

According to Oracle’s Fan Experience report, the two biggest culprits for disturbing food and beverage sales are slow service and fear of missing game action. Even the perception of lengthy waits at concessions will have a massive impact on sales, it seems, as 45% of those surveyed revealed they had given up buying food or beverages at least once in the past 12 months because queues were too long. 

However, another recent survey by Oracle uncovered how over half (59%) of sports fans would spend more on concessions if their wait time were cut in half, with 74% saying they’d prefer to pick up an order from an express line at a concession stand if it was possible.

So, by deploying your staff efficiently to reduce personnel costs, plus without the queues at the bar, staff can work on preparing orders. And because payments take place on the visitor's mobile, you don't need an expensive Cash Register System, let alone cash.


4. Better Understanding Your Visitors 

When using Mobile Order, you’ll automatically collect the details from each of your visitors, which will give you greater insights into who they are: their preferences, their behaviors, and so on. This data will be collected legitimately by asking the attendees’ detail via the platform, which is collated in a Customer Data Platform

Powered by Mobile Marketing Cloud, this means organisers can send them automated messages based on their preferences afterward or during the event, for example, targeted offers on products they bought at the last event they attended. 

Mobile Order flow


What Makes Mobile Order Stand Out of the Crowd

Finally, what makes Mobile Order unique is that it works in conjunction with all CM.com’s other tools, which integrate together seamlessly to offer an unrivaled experience – from Ticketing to Mobile Marketing Cloud. Also, if you’d still like to provide your customers with the option to buy at the bar using cash, that isn’t a problem - we offer a cash register system as part of our Mobile Order product, too. 

Are you interested? Contact our sales team today for a free demo of the platform.

Was this article interesting?
Share it!
Esmee Spaan
Esmee Spaan,
Product Marketer Ticketing

Focuses on understanding the needs and behavior of target groups and trends within the market to ensure that our story and solutions are optimally aligned.

Related articles

Event Growing
Oct 30, 2024 • Live

How to keep your event growing in the off-season

In the same way that growing your event feels inevitable when you’re deep in promo mode and the ticket sales are rolling in, the opposite is true when you don’t have anything specific to promote. The off-season can be a barren time for promoters, short of the marketing ammunition that an upcoming event naturally provides. But it doesn’t have to be. Below, we give you the insights and tactics you need to keep up momentum even when you don’t have any events on sale. If the time has come to put in place a more sustainable event strategy, one that goes beyond the sugar rush of ticket sales and social media growth, then this one’s for you.

multi-channel-vs-omni-channel
Oct 28, 2024 • WhatsApp

WhatsApp Business pricing changes for 2024 and 2025

The WhatsApp Business Platform pricing is based on conversation categories with corresponding fees, however, recently, Meta has announced some upcoming pricing changes for 2024 and 2025. What does this mean for you and your business? Read all about the pricing model in this blog.

whatsapp-business-blog_image-deals-offers
Sep 16, 2024 • WhatsApp

Increase conversion with promotional messages on WhatsApp

In an age of mass marketing, it’s safe to say peak sales periods, especially Black Friday and the holiday season, can be overwhelming for consumers. Consumers receive irrelevant information from companies that doesn't match their personal needs and desires, so it's no surprise people might want to switch off and tune out all forms of marketing until the season is over. As an eCommerce player, you should always be looking to avoid this by diversifying and personalising your marketing strategy in a way that suits your customers' needs.

WhatsApp RCS
Aug 19, 2024 • RCS

RCS vs WhatsApp: which messaging channel is right for your business?

RCS and WhatsApp are both notable channels for businesses that strive for a personal and conversational approach to customer communication. But what features do both channels have? What sets them apart? And more importantly, which channel is most suitable for your business? In this blog, we'll explore the differences to answer these questions.

WhatsApp Pay
Jun 24, 2024 • WhatsApp

How to get the WhatsApp Business verification badge

The WhatsApp Business verification badge, also known as the green tick, is the official badge for Meta verified business accounts. It helps users to distinguish between authentic businesses and fake accounts. Many users place high value on the green tick and brands sporting this badge will see a positive impact on their business. But how can your business apply for the verification badge? Read all about it below.

engage-platform-effect-customer-service
May 13, 2024 • CM.com

Happy clients, happy agents: the platform effect in customer service

As a member of the customer service team, you stand on the frontline of customer interaction every day. In a world where customers demand quick and personalised service, long wait times, impersonal responses, or worse, incorrect answers, can quickly drive a customer away. Your goal, however, is to connect customers with your organisation and deliver the best answers and service possible.

sms-email-leads
May 06, 2024 • SMS

SMS templates to streamline customer service

Using SMS for customer service enables service agents to connect with your customers and using templates not only saves time but also lets agents create personalised, on-brand communications with just a few clicks. In this blog, we’ll share SMS customer service templates you can use to give your customers the information they need — fast.

sms-vs-mms-vs-rcs
Apr 29, 2024 • SMS

Optimise customer service with notifications and live support via SMS

Add SMS to your contact centre to help your agents connect with your customers, tackle more conversations at a time without losing personal touch and gain valuable insights with streamlined feedback surveys to enhance customer satisfaction rates.

SMS Security
Apr 22, 2024 • Security

Secure your business with SMS OTPs and alerts

In the current digital era, technological and online advances are rapidly growing, creating new ways for businesses to engage their customers. Unfortunately, where there is growth, there will be criminals trying to steal some of the profits. Protecting business data, customer information and online accounts is a priority for every modern business. SMS security can help protect your business and your customers from online fraud and cybercrime.

Is this region a better fit for you?
Go
close icon