News

Nathan's Famous does a tech makeover, sees impressive test results

Proving you're never too old to learn new tricks, 104-year-old Nathan's Famous has just undergone a tech makeover (Photo: File).

April 7, 2020

Nathan's Famous, Inc. has more than 100 years of tradition behind it, but that hasn't stopped the brand from overhauling its technology from top to bottom. The move was made to help franchises operate more effectively and efficiently daily with improved online ordering and customer loyalty tools, a news release said.  

"In the fall of 2019, we embarked on a journey to update our technology across the board in restaurants nationwide," James Walker, senior vice president, restaurants, said in the release. "It's been quite some time since this brand took on an initiative like this one, and we believe the partnerships we've created since then will truly change the way our franchisees operate and how they interact with customers. The last few weeks have proved why this initiative has been so important. Enabling our system with this technology has greatly helped us navigate these uncertain times."

The brand's new tech ecosystem includes a partnership with PAR Technology Corp. and its Brink POS and Toast. Nathan's Famous began bringing in its first self-ordering kiosks through Toast late last year and the brand is currently testing the tech at franchised locations across the country, with plans to roll the kiosks out nationwide later this year.

To continue to boost franchisee operational efficiency, Nathan's Famous has also signed an agreement with RestaurantMagic to offer a back-office software solution that focuses on inventory and food management, labor and scheduling, and reporting and analytics. The brand hopes the tool will allow franchisees to gain insights and business improvements through the use of business intelligence and automation technology. The tool helps manage labor, monitor food costs and is also intended to boost customer service, the release said.

"While we know our franchise system has looked to us to help them be more efficient in both the front and back of the house, we also know they are looking for ways to connect even further with their customers," Walker said in the release. "Therefore we've taken a deep-dive into ways to drive customer engagement and have found some incredible partners that will allow us to learn more about our customers and reach them in different environments," states Walker.

Nathan's Famous also said it expects its investment in CloseComms and Targetable will help franchisees reach more customers. CloseComms provides the brand an SaaS platform that allows franchisees to provide Wi-Fi to guests and integrate the brand's app into that connection.

Targetable uses AI and machine learning to use what it called "dynamic creative optimization" to produce and distribute ads. Automation tailors ads to Nathan's current marketing goals, while AI produces creative ads based on popular content across Nathan's channels. Targetable's interface will also handle the strategy behind Nathan's campaigns, including geotargeting, audience segmentation, and more.

The brand said in its first month of engagement with Targetable, it reached more than 100,000 customers in a four-mile radius of its three test stores. In those tests the brand saw cost-per-click numbers that are low for digital advertising, and efficiency rates more than 10 times that of traditional circulars or mailers, it said in the release. 

"Targetable is fairly new in the industry, and it's forward-thinking technology like this that we are searching out to make Nathan's Famous more successful across the country, especially during our current climate," continues Walker. Targetable will roll out to franchisees in the coming months, allowing them to create area-specific campaigns to drive sales and customer engagement, something we know they need as they work to communicate with customers and drive sales as the uncertainty around coronavirus continues."