Creativity and innovation will be the post-pandemic keys to customer retention | Mobile Payments Today
It’s not surprising that things are going to change once the world got back to business following the coronavirus pandemic. Although a large part of the workforce across the country still continues to work from home, stores and restaurants have opened again, but with limits to the number of customers they can have. Creative restaurant owners set up tables or tents outside to accommodate guests and meet the new rules and regulations regarding social distancing and mask wearing.
It will be the business owners who develop creative strategies like the restauranteurs and consider collaborations with other companies in order to answer the customers’ need for safe and contactless payments.
A concert is born: Live at the drive-in
Take something as simple as outdoor concerts. Thousands of fans have been waiting in hopeful anticipation that they can see their favorite groups or recording artist in the post-pandemic world. Unfortunately, large gatherings are not allowed in most areas so what’s a dedicated fan supposed to do?
Live Nation, a company known for concerts and live entertainment devised a collaborative partnership to give customers what they want, while meeting health and safety standards.
In Los Angeles, a city that has seen both an initial surge of the coronavirus and then a secondary resurge of cases, Live Nation partnered with Appetize, a cloud point-of-sale digital ordering and enterprise management platform, to create a socially-distanced drive-in concert series called, “Live from the drive-in.”
The nine drive-in concert series launched in July, and featured headlining performers such as Brad Paisley and Nelly. In addition to the Los Angeles venue, drive-in concerts were also held in Missouri, Nashville and Indianapolis, creating a whole new fan experience that works.
Instead of sitting in concert halls or stadiums, attendees were assigned a designated drive-in space in the venue’s parking lot. The space included a private tailgate zone for guests to set up chairs and enjoy the show, as well as additional buffer space that ensured ample social distancing from other fans.
When a customer wanted to order refreshments, they used Appetize’s web-based ordering system that took them to the ordering website where they could use QR codes to place a food or beverage order. While the customer was enjoying the concert, they received order status updates automatically via text messages and when their order was ready, it was delivered directly to their drive-in space.
The deployment of the mobile web ordering system is in addition to the over 10,000 cloud-based Appetize point-of-sale systems the two companies have deployed, which are all set up for contactless payments.
Philadelphia gets ready to rock
Since the West Coast drive-in concerts were a success, Live Nations and Appetize took their idea on the road, so to speak and will be holding several drive-in concerts this month in Philadelphia.
“Our ultimate goal is helping artists and fans connect and enjoy live music together, and our partnership with Appetize has helped us adapt and find an innovative solution to make that happen for these unique shows,” Tom See, Live Nation COO, U.S. Venues said. “It was incredible to bring everyone together for that quintessential summer concert experience they love, and Appetize’s touch-free mobile ordering allowed fans to have food and refreshments delivered directly to their personal tailgate zones on demand so everyone could stay socially distanced.”
The innovation and creative strategy in this collaborative partnership helped both companies not only retain customers, but gain customers as well. Live Nation found a way to answer the customer’s need for entertainment while socially distancing, and Appetize answered the customer’s desire to order food and beverages through a safe and contactless system.
At some point, live shows and concerts will resume in stadiums and theaters, as opposed to parking lots, but it doesn’t mean the collaboration has to end. Live Nation is already exploring future ways to utilize Appetize’s digital ordering and contactless technologies to create a more efficient guest experience, speed up lines and enable more seamless interactions.
“I’m proud that Appetize and Live Nation have been partners for over six years, innovating the way fans order at live events,” Max Roper, Appetize CEO and co-founder said. “Our goal is to provide large venues, like Live Nation amphitheaters, the tools they need to reopen with contactless and touch-free technologies, and we’ve been excited with the positive response and overall success.”
It’s amazing what a little creativity and collaboration can do.