Guest post by Shannon Suetos (learn more about Shannon at the end of this post)

With technology growing everyday, business owners need to stay on top of industry news and trends to get the most for their company.  Businesses in the food industry are seeing popularity in how they can process orders, pass out coupons, and even how they process their credit cards.  How are they doing this? Two words cell phones.

It seems like these days everyone has a cell phone.  Because of this, you can now purchase software for your POS system that has the capability to support “call in” orders from text messages.  These orders can really streamline a business’ call in orders, and free up employees to do other things like making the customers food items.  Some Subway stores are already taking advantage of a software application called Zingle, which allows them to receive call in orders via text.

Other companies like Pizza Hut are utilizing social networking to promote contests. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Pizza Hut is inviting their customers to share their best pick-up lines. Customers will tweet their best pick-up line to “@pizzahut for the chance to win a single order of Hershey’s Chocolate Dunkers, Pizza Hut’s chocolate-topped dessert sticks.”  With Twitter having mobile applications, this means their customers can tweet on the go, and one lucky winner can with the chocolate pizza.

Another system that is gaining popularity is ONOSYS, which is a software program that allows retailers to provide online and mobile ordering technologies for restaurants.  They have recently partnered with Boston Pizza International to develop a new online ordering platform.

If your restaurant is lacking credit card processing, looking into non-traditional credit card processing may be beneficial.  There are now companies popping up that allow you to turn your smartphone or computer into a credit card processing terminal.  Square and MerchanWARE Mobile are just two options to consider.

No matter how you look at it, whether it is through texting, social networking or how you process your credit cards, the fact is times are changing.  There are many more channels for how people can gain communication, and business owners need to be utilizing as many channels as possible to get the most exposure.

About the Author

Shannon Suetos is a writer based in San Diego, California. She writes extensively for Resource Nation, an online resource that provides expert advice on purchasing and outsourcing decisions for small business owners and entrepreneurs.