The culture of eating out is growing at a phenomenal rate. These days, it is a normal expectation for citizens of all large cities in the world to be presented with high-quality cuisine at all times – many of which include exotic dish preparations From Asian, African, South American, and Mediterranean cultures.
With such a varied background to deal with for both customers and employees, restaurant owners often have a hard time managing data and making the right decisions at the right time. And this is exactly where CRM software comes in.
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a special computer tool that helps businesses remember important details about their guests and partners, like what they like or buy, so they can give better service and make the market happy. Today we look at the 10 best free and paid restaurant CRM software and compare their abilities!
Can Restaurants Benefit From CRM Integration?
Yes, the answer is cryptic but quick – CRM plays several direct and indirect roles in boosting the day-to-day operations in any restaurant setting.
Essentially, CRM software takes monotonous everyday tasks off your hands, leaving you with the time to think of novel ways to expand and upgrade your restaurant. These software providers are continuously doing their research on how to bring innovative tools to the field of dining and catering!
So, it is no surprise that the restaurants that have been able to get hold of the best free and paid restaurant CRM software are leaving behind their competitors and even setting up new milestones in customer marketing that the world did not know beforehand.
At a glance, we can point out a few unique ways in which CRM software is going to help you:
- Track customer preferences for personalized dining experiences.
- Enhance customer retention through targeted promotions.
- Simplify online reservations and booking management.
- Automate feedback collection for improved service.
- Manage loyalty programs to reward frequent diners.
- Provide detailed sales and customer data reports.
- Streamline communication via email and SMS campaigns.
- Help manage and resolve customer complaints efficiently.
Top 10 CRM Software for Restaurants & Cloud Kitchens
1. SalesForce
Without a doubt, this is the leading CRM solution in the industry and is used by private chefs, restaurants, pubs, cloud kitchens, etc. SalesForce is known for its smooth interface and ability to quickly retrieve information from a large bulk of data.
Using SalesForce you can create a complete database for every guest. You can then use its AI technology to create unified data profiles for your company. This information is then used by marketing teams, logistics, and even storefront staff to provide a better customer experience.
One of the biggest pros of using SalesForce is its ability to assist in personalized guest marketing and customer retention.
Pricing: Starts at $25/user/month
2. Toast
This software is specially created for restaurant management. Toast makes it possible to log data into the system within seconds and retrieve it at a similar speed to streamline sales management, pattern recognition, data analysis, lead tracking, etc.
Most of these tasks can be automated using Toast. It can categorize customers into subgroups depending on their behavior and preferences. Then it carefully launches email marketing and loyalty programs for each subgroup differently.
Toast has a funky interface that appeals to the younger teams that value flexibility. It can easily support multiple location activities and even handle third-party delivery chains!
Pricing: Starts at the Free ‘Quick Start’ Bundle (for small businesses)
3. LimeTray
If you want to be creative with your CRM, you should consider LimeTray. It focuses on redefining the customer base for a restaurant and dividing them into functional categories.
This helps differentiate between dine-in, delivery, dormant consumers, etc. You can launch programs to initiate the most profitable change in customer behavior from each category because the software also shows you what kind of marketing technique they best respond to!
On the LimeTrayinterface you will find a weekly and monthly Calendar system. There is also a Campaign tab where you can monitor different marketing techniques.
Similarly, you can get the best free restaurant CRM software experience with the help of the free demo interface LimeTray has gone.
At the end of the day, it is not only minimalist but also customizable according to the modern needs of the restaurants using it (which include Burger King and Sugar Ratna!).
Pricing: Starts at Free Demo (additional cost applicable)
4. Podium
Podium is a cloud-based CRM platform that streamlines customer interactions. It is one of the few software that has special tools dedicated to ‘reputation management’.
Key components of the Podium include:
- Review Management: Monitor and respond to online reviews
- Webchat: Engage customers through website chat
- Text Messaging: Send targeted promotions and updates
- Payments: Secure online payment processing
- Feedback: Collect customer insights
Podium enhances customer experience and operational efficiency. Features like online ordering integration and customizable messaging facilitate seamless interactions. There are other tools dedicated to targeted promotions that help increase repeated sales and brand loyalty.
Pricing: Starts at $399/month
5. Zoho CRM
Dedicated to ever-increasing sales, Zoho has every necessary tool to help your restaurant and your food go viral.
This CRM software is designed to be fast and uses simple formulas to automate those processes that we usually conduct manually. It includes AI technology named Zia, which can constantly check and report any data anomalies that might be hindering your growth.
Zoho can be used in partnership with over 1000 other apps in software. Even restaurant owners who are a beginner to the world of software can easily set this platform up and use it daily.
Pricing: Starts at $14/month
6. Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft itself prioritizes the quality of personal experiences, so this CRM software is tailored to deliver such amazement through data-driven insights. This Microsoft Dynamics 365 helps with both customer service and sales marketing!
The several automated processes that this software makes possible aim to streamline table management and order fulfillment – helping restaurants serve good food with great memories!
Likewise, real-time analytics inform menu engineering and inventory control. Dynamics 365’s scalability and flexibility meet growing restaurant needs. Seamless integrations with other existing data or delivery software further enhance efficiency.
Have been long searching for the best free and paid restaurant CRM software? Microsoft Dynamics, with its amazing research-based backing, can finally get the job done.
Pricing: Starts at $70/month
7. Eat App
This is another software created solely for restaurants and related businesses. This means it has special provisions to categorize reservation history, create special POS systems, conduct automated surveys, centralize customer data, etc.
In essence, Eat not only handles information effortlessly but also collects it! You can then filter out whatever you need at the moment and sir each audience in the best way possible.
Eat has incorporated actionable buttons as a part of guest profiles. This means you can quickly view the eating habits, total spending, frequency, etc, of a customer and quickly act on it to create personalized campaigns.
Pricing: Offers a Free Plan
8. OpenTable
OpenTable’s CRM software optimizes restaurant customer relationships through its comprehensive platform. It integrates reservation management to streamline table bookings and guest management to track diner preferences and history.
The software prioritizes marketing automation enabling personalized promotions and emails. They have a special tool for table management, designed to make seating and turnover successful during the busy seasons of the year.
The software also manages online reviews. For restaurants, OpenTable enhances guest experiences and operational efficiency. Integrated review management improves these areas without the need for constant human intervention.
Features like automated waitlist management and customizable messaging facilitate seamless interactions. Many clients have also used this best-paid restaurant CRM software for menu engineering!
Pricing: Starts at $149/month
9. Lightspeed (Previously Upserve)
The full list of possible data solutions in the restaurant industry has been realized within the same digital space by Lightspeed.
This software and app are used by successful cafes and modern-age restaurants to manage inventory, sitting arrangements, employee timetables, raw material import, delivery export, and a lot more!
Lightspeed has a unique, seamless tool setup that can automate table-side orders in such a way that they immediately reach your kitchen. It is successful in similarly conducting feedback from customers that can then be analyzed according to the principles of consumer psychology!
Pricing: Starts at $59/month
10. Punchh CRM
When your main concerns are customer loyalty and efficient marketing, Punchh is a go-to option.
Punchh is a software that believes in directly connecting with the customer. It is like a portal that works on both ends, providing you with real-time data and its interpretation for every individual guest.
Similarly, Punchh is designed to make the process of reading customer behavior as human and respectful as possible. It integrates with more than 200 different tools to bring you the best experience a commercial setup could ever have!
The brand has an on-demand ‘Fireside Chat’ option along with other blogs or video resources to help restaurant owners grasp the latest trends and strategies of restaurant loyalty.
Pricing: Pricing is not publicly available
In Closing
The future of CRM software will focus on smarter technology. AI will play a big role in helping businesses understand their customers better. Automation will make managing customer data easier and faster. Restaurants will benefit from CRM by improving customer experiences. It will help them track orders and preferences. Restaurants can also use it to manage loyalty programs and gather feedback.
In the next 5 years, new trends will emerge. Predictive analytics will become a part of all the best free and paid restaurant CRM software to allow these establishments to plan for customer needs in advance. Voice-based CRM tools will make it easier to interact with customers.