6 Ways Cafe’s Can Apply AI to Increase Their Value

by Vanessa Lovie 15th of February, 2024

6 Ways Cafe’s Can Apply AI to Increase Their Value

With over 2,000 cafes for sale in Australia, a competitive advangage is important. In the next 5 years Artifical Intelligence (AI) is going to change the way most businesses operate, there has not been such a huge shift in technology since the internet. Business owners need to be prepared for that shift and now is the time to embrace the technology and see how it can work at their cafe.

As you know, the more profitable a cafe is, the better value it can receive when it is time to sell. AI can help you to drive that profitability and access resources that previously would only have been availabe to large companies. So before you place your cafe for sale its important to look at AI tools that can make your cafe more profitable and effecient.

1. Customer Service

Tired of your phone constantly ringing? We are in an era when technology is growing at a rapid pace and AI technology has even created a phone answering service to take the pressure off your front of house staff. Pop Menu is one AI tool that can get your phones answered and complete requests such as ordering a caramel cheesecake with a chai latte. This allows your team to focus on the in-person service.

Online interactions are important for cafes, and chat bots are changing the way businesses interact with their clients. Implementing AI-powered tools such as Chat Fuel to your cafe's website or social media platforms can increase more than just your bookings, they can take orders, make recommendations, setup repeat orders and more.

These phonebots and chatbots can operate 24/7 and can handle multiple chats at once. That means you can be helping customers when your cafe is busy or even when your business is closed!

Whats even better - the customer probably wont even know your using a bot as the technology is getting better day by day.

2. Marketing Campaigns

The more you understand your clients needs, the better you can service and market to them.

There is AI technology that can analyse your customers preferences, personalise emails, target social media ads, offer customised offers and discounts. The more you know about your clientele the better you can engage with them. Previously, a marketing team was required to fill this role - which is hard for small cafes. But with this technology AI tools can be your marketing team.

Once such tool is Albert.AI which can be used to automate and optimize digital marketing campaigns across various channels, including social media, search engines, and email. It analyses data to make decisions and deliver marketing strategies. It can improve efficiency, targeting, and overall campaign performance for businesses.

3. Inventory Management

Who loves to stocktake? I dont think many people will raise their hands. Its always a good idea, until you have to actually count every item.

The benefit of cafes is they dont usually carry alot of stock, unless they also have products being sold or a large kitchen with alot of produce.

But there is now technology such as BlueCart that can help predict what produce you will need, what stock is selling, what impacts the weather may have, what public holiday is coming, if lamingtons will be needed on Australia day and so on.

AI can automate the reordering process for essential items, reducing the risk of running out of stock and saving time on manual inventory checks. It also reduces the wages in paying staff to run stocktakes and manage inventory.

4. Operational Efficiency

Some cafes are experimenting with AI-driven tools in the kitchen, such as automated coffee machines that learn customers' preferences over time. There is alot of development happening with machine learning and creating ways to reduce the manual labour.

AI tools can also analyze peak times and staff availability to optimize work schedules, ensuring the cafe is adequately staffed during busy periods while controlling labor costs. They can help to create rosters and notify employees of changes.

5. Sales and Customer Analytics

Use AI to analyze sales data to understand popular items, peak times, and customer preferences. This information can guide menu adjustments, pricing strategies, and promotional activities. Its important to know which items on your menu are making you the most profit, and which are not working. It can also be used when analysing new suppliers and working out the profit margin of new products.

AI can analyze customer feedback from various sources, like online reviews and social media, providing insights into customer satisfaction and areas for improvement. It can collect responses, and give you a guide forward.

6. Smart Energy Management

Utilize AI for managing energy consumption more efficiently, such as smart thermostats and lighting systems, to reduce overhead costs. Electricty is such a big expense to businesses in Australia so being able to manage the costs of electricity is important.

In 2024 if you work on implementing some of this AI technology into your cafe then it could be in a better position when its time to sell. Buyers want a cafe that is profitable and easy to manage. AI can help your cafe be more effecient, profitable and scalable.

Whilst AI can help you to understand your cafe better and streamline activities, it is still a business that requires good food, coffee and hospitality. So it will never be void of the human touch.

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