The Tech Chef, Restaurant, Hospitality and Hotel Technology Business Podcast

Episode 3: Growth Hacking and Marketing Technology. 

This episode features Danielle Guzzetta who is the Senior Vice President of Growth Hacking for Smokey Bones and, has more than 25 years of marketing and revenue-generation experience. Danielle join Smokey Bones in January 2019 and is responsible for driving non-traditional revenue and delivering rapid growth by finding every go-to-market opportunity that provides leverage as well as uncovering new revenue streams; ultimately driving the bottom line. She has established several new revenue streams for the organization including Ghost Kitchens.

How to contact me

Comment hotline: 954-302-0851

Website: https://SkipKimpel.com (show notes will be posted here)

Twitter: https://twitter.com/skipkimpel

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/skipkimpel1

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skipkimpel

Next week’s show, we will be starting a starting a multipart series on contactless payment…. The hottest, most talked about subject out there right now.  

Show Notes:       

Today’s show will cover the subject of working remotely.  This is not an industry specific topic so please share with your friends and colleagues!

CONFERENCES

FSTEC – Are you going?  Any other restaurant industry-based conferences that you have heard of that are back on for this year?

Approaching working remotely from two different aspects:

-  As an employee – Equipment, etiquette, tools to make you more successful

-  As an IT professional responsible for the mobile workforce

Video Conferencing:

Etiquette 

-       Mute yourself when not speaking.

-       Be on time.

-       Ensure your technology works correctly.

-       Wear work-appropriate clothing.

-       Frame the camera correctly.

-       Have the right light.

-       Look into the camera.

-       Pay attention.

Lume Lights for making you look better:

https://lumecube.com/collections/computer-lighting/products/video-conference-lighting-kit-for-remote-workers

Green Screen

Chair Mounted Green Screen

https://myproductiveplace.com/products/green-screen?variant=31836103704627&utm_medium=cpc&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=CjwKCAjwlZf3BRABEiwA8Q0qq-R0yH27FZmnchdOD8DSDGDDPBjJvIzP8NcDPQQd2mytVN9KLlnX-BoCzekQAvD_BwE

Promaster 6x7 Pop-up Background Green/Blue

https://www.amazon.com/Promaster-Pop-up-Background-Green-Blue/dp/B002BTTTYQ

Remote Video Conferences Security

-       Password protect your meetings

-       Authenticate users

-       Join before host

-       Lock down your meeting

-       Use a randomly-generated id

-       Avoid file sharing

-       Check for updates

Great video conferencing software feature comparison chart on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_web_conferencing_software

Security plan for an individual

-       Protect devices with an antivirus solution

-       Update programs and operating systems

-       Configure wi-fi encryption

-       Change your router login and password (no defaults)

-       Use a VPN service if connecting to a wi-fi network that doesn’t below to you

o  Express VPN: https://www.expressvpn.com

o  SufShark:  https://surfshark.com

-       Lock your device before walking away

-       User corporate services for e-mail, messaging and all other work

-       Create strong passwords

-       Stay vigilant / email links, credentials, unusual requests.. double check everything

-       Keep your work separate from personal

General individual good practices

-       Track your progress – be ready to report on what you ‘ve done and how much time it took

-       Try to work normal office hours

-       Create a comfortable workspace – desk, well lit room, standing up, stretch your legs, drink water, get plenty of sleep and don’t skip meals.

-       Be transparent and communicate everything

For those that are running departments and responsible for your remote workers:

-       Make sure that staff know what to do if their device is lost or stolen. 

-       Work schedule policies and expectations must be communicated 

-       Encouraging Collaboration Keeps Teams Engaged

More to the techy side of the conversation

Making the appropriate tools available for users

-        infrastructure to the cloud

o  Servers

o  Azure / AWS

o  SaaS applications

o  Office365

SECURITY

Observed security activity: (covid-19 themed operations and schemes)

-       eCrime

-       Targeted intrusion

-       Targeting remote services, SaaS

-       Vishing Robocall and Tech support scams

General security tactics and solutions

Crowdstrike whitepaper: https://go.crowdstrike.com/rs/281-OBQ-266/images/eBookCybersecurityCOVID-19.pdf

-       Make sure you have a current cybersecurity policy that includes remote working. 

-       Sensitive data may be accessed through unsafe Wi-Fi networks. 

-       Plan for BYOD (bring your own device) devices connecting to your organization 

-       Personal devices will need to have the same level of security as a company-owned device

o  User MDM solution

Vulnerability management with a distributed workforce

-       Scanning remote systems

-       Agent based vulnerability assessment

-       Find a best in class endpoint protection and deep visibility into vulnerabilities

Patch management

o  Create a dedicated vulnerability management team

o  Deploy patch prioritization and automation tools

Securing remote workforces:

-       Reducing exposure with vulnerability risk management

-       Hardening remote user endpoints

-       Protect your collaboration platforms

In closing:

That is a lot of content to take in in such a short amount of time!

How to contact me

-       Comment hotline: 954-302-0851

-       Website: https://SkipKimpel.com (show notes will be posted here)

-       Twitter: https://twitter.com/skipkimpel

-       Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/skipkimpel1/

-       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skipkimpel/

-       You can now subscribe to this podcast directly through your favorite podcast platform!

-       Next week’s show, we are going to talking with Danielle Guzzetta, Senior Vice President of Growth Hacking for Smokey Bones. 

Show Notes:       

Welcome to Episode number 1!  This show is dedicated to restaurant and hospitality technology.  This weekly show will occur on Tuesdays and will include trending technology as well as interviews with industry leaders and vendors with relevant technology.

Introduction – Who is Skip Kimpel?

Industry conferences – where do we stand?

-       Who remembers Murtec from this year?  Doesn’t that seem like a  lifetime ago?

Restaurant Technology Network Career Center:

https://careers.restauranttechnologynetwork.com

Today’s episode is about the resurgence of QR codes, specifically within our industry

• History
• Ability to remove touch points
• No longer need an app to use QR codes.  Built in functionality for Apple and Android
• Use Case Scenarios
• One hot use right now is creating a QR code for your menus
• Link to online ordering
• Some systems out there allow you to embed the table number into the QR code so that when they place their order and it is fired in the kitchen, they know where to bring the food when it is ready.
• Daily specials
• Nutritional information associated with your food items.  
• Have a unique feature in your kitchen or want your guest to see how seriously your team members are addressing food safety and cleanliness?  Use a QR code to link them to a video.  
• Loyalty or gift cards:  scan a guests card or use your bar code scanner attached to the POS automate his process.  
• Curbside delivery – Put a code on the signage for the parking spots that perform an action like send a text message, place a phone call or simply lead the guest to website to let the restaurant know they are there and which spot they are in.
• Good old-fashioned marketing
• Enroll in a contest
• Improve service and measure customer experience with a link to your GSS
• Autopost on social media including sending out an automated tweet
• Links to existing photos and social media
• QR code in window so people can scan your code and view your menu when you are not open.  Especially useful in high foot traffic areas
• Signing up for loyalty program
• ·Allow guests to quickly download your brand’s app
• One QR code can differentiate between different phone types.  IOS, Android, etc.

Taking Payment

• Table service, print QR code on check to link to the payment system
• Create a contactless and truly touchless solution.  Fast casual or quick serve – display QR code on screen to pay via online form, launch brand’s app, apple pay or google pay.

Challenge:  How can we create a truly touchless payment system for fast causal and quick serve without holding up “the line?”  

o  Companies that are doing this to different degrees:

• Http://Onedine.com
• http://readytopay.com
• xDine: http://eigenpayments.com
• http://upngo.com
• http://bbot.menu
• http://rooam.com
• Park by Par http://partech.compark-it
• Hotels: http://eacyoapp.com
• Links are in the show notes

Upcoming episode solely dedicated to contactless and touchless payment solutions

• Operations use
• Track employee tasks
• Line or safety checks
• Link to schedules
• Inventory tracking

·      HR Uses

• Links to forms to fill out
• Onboarding materials
• Employee benefits
• Anything that is frequently updated, post the QR code to the document in the break room.  

Did I miss anything critical?  Let me know…. I will talk about how to contact me at the end of this show.

In today’s landscape, ask yourself, how can we eliminate touchpoints and how can we serve the guest in the way THEY want to consume information… or interact with you…. Or make a payment.

Tracking

-       Google Analytics

•  https://www.butterfly.com.au/blog/digital-marketing/all-about-the-stats-using-google-analytics-to-track-qr-code-visitors

How brewed solution

•  Where to get a barcode
• https://www.qr-code-generator.com
• Google QR Code Generator with tracking
• Custom / Stylized bar codes

Hopefully I have inspired you to start thinking outside of the box a little bit.  I am sure that many of you already have a QR Code strategy in place, but in case you don’t, this should get you started down the right path.  There are plenty of other applications I didn’t mention so if you have additional thoughts and ideas, please let me know.  

How to contact me

-       Comment hotline: 954-302-0851

-       Website: https://SkipKimpel.com (show notes will be posted here)

-       Twitter: https://twitter.com/skipkimpel

-       Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/skipkimpel1/

-       LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skipkimpel/

-       Next episode, working remotely and what you need to have in place from an IT perspective to make this successful for your team and other’s in your organization