Table of contents
So you want your customers to be able to self-serve order and pay. You invest in a kiosk, knowing it’ll help lines move faster and create a better experience for customers and staff. But what if your kiosk could actually help boost revenue? When you add Square Kiosk to your restaurant, seemingly minor decisions like where you place the device and how you set up your menu help make this possible.
Let’s walk through some key best practices for maximizing Square Kiosk so your business gets the most value.
Tips for initial setup
Tip #1: Be strategic about mounting and placement.
During setup, think about what placement will be easiest for your business in terms of reducing operational change and avoiding construction or installation costs, as well as how visible the device will be for customers as they enter your restaurant.
With Square Kiosk, you have options for a wall, counter, or floor-pedestal-mounted setup. We recommend at least one kiosk directly at your entrance, facing diners head-on, if you can. If this isn’t possible, consider using signage to help get customers’ attention.
Signage can help inspire customers to use the kiosk to take their order as soon as they step into your restaurant. See the visuals below for a retractable freestanding banner, blade sign, and wall poster.
Tip #2: Simplify your menus.
You may have heard of the term “analysis paralysis.” It’s been proven – namely, through a jam experiment, among others – that choice overload makes consumers buy less. Keep your menu simple for guests who may be swiping through your options for the first time.
Suggestion: Consider removing any items that are purchased in less than 5% of orders, reducing your menu category count to five or fewer, and keeping your menu offerings to less than 100 items.
Tip #3: Streamline your required modifiers.
Think of it this way: A customer should be able to click into an item, explore it, then add it to their cart in fewer than five clicks.
Tip #4: Turn on tipping options for customers and guide with suggestions.
This will help you to capture a higher sale per customer. Square allows you to set percentage tips and smart tips with tipping rules, i.e., if a transaction is less than $10, the available tips are No Tip, $1, $2, or $3, but if a transaction is $10 or more, ask for percentage tips of 15%, 20%, or 25%.
Increase your average order value, guaranteed
Tip #5: Add pictures of menu items and modifiers.
Think about a food and beverage business you went to for the first time. Did you look up their menu beforehand to see what tit looked like? It’s one thing to read the name of a menu item and another to see it firsthand.
Similar to online ordering, kiosks can help promote higher sales when menu pictures are included. And with Square Kiosk, you can also add visuals for modifiers.
Tip #6: Try a Most Popular or Limited Time category with high-value items.
This helps reduce the mental load on your customers to find what looks best, and it can automatically help you cross-sell items. Imagine someone comes in for lunch ready to order their favorite burrito bowl. This time, they use Square Kiosk and see beet juice in the Specials category at the top of the menu versus squinting up at a menu board.
60%
increase among average order size after customers add it to cart
Suggestion: Start with a sorted list of your business’s items organized by highest to lowest profit margin.
Tip #7: Use paid modifiers to upsell.
You’ve probably heard that big chains are increasing revenue by having cashiers ask questions like, “Would you like fries with that?” Your kiosk can essentially do the same thing. You can create this experience by adding your most popular beverage as an optional, paid modifier to your entrees. If you offer pizzas, for example, you could add a liter of soda as an available option with each slice for an additional $5.
Drive down your average labor costs by increasing order capacity with staff.
Tip #8: Add kiosks until you get to zero wait times.
Imagine you have two cashiers who can accept one order every two minutes, on average. They each work a four-hour shift. That’s 240 orders per day. That means your customers are typically waiting four minutes to order.
Let’s say you add a kiosk that can accept an additional 120 orders per day at the same rate. This reduces your average time to order by two minutes. By adding a second kiosk, you could bring your average wait times closer to zero.
This strategy could help increase your revenue per day and decrease impatient customer churn without increasing your labor costs beyond $1.67 per day (or $0.50 per hour in this four-hour-business day scenario).
*Keep in mind that increasing order-taking capacity may also require increasing your order-prep capacity in your kitchen. See tip #15 for further guidance.
*This is based on a monthly SaaS fee of $50/month/device for Square Kiosk.
Maximize your customer lifetime value and frequency.
Tip #9: Use marketing opt-ins to turn first-timers into second-timers.
Another strategy is to ask your diners to share their phone and email address so you can capture opt-ins for remarketing.
Square Kiosk integrates with Square Marketing, allowing businesses to reach out to their kiosk customers by email and text-message marketing.
Imagine sending your customer a welcome email after their first visit, a new-menu text to bring them back the next week, or a seasonal email campaign to make sure that they don’t drop off and forget about your brand.
Tip #10: Turn on automated marketing campaigns to generate revenue, hands-free.
Tools like Square Marketing will take the opt-in that you captured during a kiosk order and automatically reach out to your customer to bring them back for their next visit, faster. This is done through trigger-based campaigns, which include:
- A win-back email, which helps reengage a customer
- A birthday collector email and birthday offer
- Reminder campaigns when offers aren’t used
Tip #11: Turn on loyalty to extend CLV — give incentives, nudge faster returns.
Just like how a point of sale can offer loyalty opt-ins, a kiosk should, too. Your kiosk can become a tool for both capturing sign-ups into a loyalty program as well as a method to announce loyalty rewards for customers to redeem. If you’re using Square Kiosk, turn on Square Loyalty, too. Businesses that use this feature see a 53% increase in diner spend.*
*Based on a 2022 comparison of average spending data between Square Loyalty users and nonusers.
Tip #12: Announce your kiosks to anyone who has dined with you in the past.
There’s no time like the present to reach out to your existing customers and get them to come back. You’re making a major operational improvement to your dine-in experience, so let them know!
Consider sending a marketing email that encourages diners to order faster at a kiosk the next time they drop by, and let them know that they can redeem any loyalty points automatically. You can also use this email to announce any new items or exciting promotions or updates at your location.
Decrease customer churn by improving the ordering, dining, and remarketing experience.
Tip #13: Add your branding so your guests feel welcome.
Your kiosk should be as hospitable as a live person taking an order. Since a device can’t smile, you will need to rely on your branding, welcome screen, and seamless menu-viewing and ordering experience to accomplish this. Add your logo, brand colors, and images so that ordering at a kiosk feels like part of your typical hospitality experience.
Tip #14: Pair with a digital KDS display screen for faster prep.
Adding a kiosk to your business can help your team accept orders faster, but your team’s ability to prepare a higher volume of orders relies on your order prep process. Adding a kitchen display system like Square KDS that integrates with Square Kiosk can help your staff see and fulfill orders faster. Users can see up to 18 tickets at once — without relying on printer rolls. Imagine swapping out printed tickets for tapping on orders to complete them. Much easier, right?
Improving prep speed can help reduce the likelihood of a customer walking away from your business. Think of it this way: Your kiosk controls the wait to order, but a KDS controls the wait for food to arrive.
Tip #15: Mark items as sold out, right from the kitchen.
We’ve all been there. Imagine you’re excited about trying a new menu item or coming back for your favorite dish. After you place your order, you wait with excitement. Unfortunately, you’re told after the fact that the item is sold out. With a digital kiosk menu, your kitchen can immediately mark an item as sold out. This way, customers automatically know what’s available when they place an order.
Tip #16: Don’t forget to staff thoughtfully.
While Kiosks can help your business in so many ways, they can’t replace your team for several reasons. It’s important for diners to be able to share feedback directly with your business so you can maintain a positive guest experience. Plus, customers with different abilities may need in-person assistance. Because Square Kiosk requires a point-of-sale companion, you’ll always have a live person available for any customer who either requires or prefers assistance.
To keep a pulse on how diners are feeling as they order, whether they plan to return, or how you can improve their experience, you might consider having some staff nearby to accept feedback after customers order via a kiosk or while they wait for their food.
