Olo

?? Ur ordr is rdy ?? That was 20 years ago We have come a long way from our text message ordering roots, but our purpose hasn't changed: to help restaurants create experiences so good that guests come back for more. ?? This is now In less than 3 minutes, Olo Founder & CEO Noah Glass introduces the Olo Guest Data Flywheel—a strategy for restaurants to win repeat guests & drive profitable traffic.

Catch up on the news around the restaurant industry with Alayna Sullivan in today's Friday Five ?? Subscribe to The Olo Feed: https://lnkd.in/d3-EC3rt

Launching a global catering program in a few weeks sounds crazy, right? Well, it’s not. I mean, it is. But it also isn't. Stick with me. For years, our amazing franchisees didn’t have a global, well defined catering system. Some of our best operators did what they do best and found ways to take care of their Guests, but it was inconsistent since we lacked a formal process for menu creation, orders, delivery, and marketing. That was until last year at Beyond4, Olo’s customer conference, which motivated us to capitalize on the growing catering demand. After one month of implementation, our global first party catering operation was in business, spanning all 525 locations. In the program's infancy, some locations added thousands of dollars to their sales in catering. If you are headed to Beyond4 and want to know more, I'm happy to chop it up down in Scottsdale. I encourage everyone to check out this case study with Olo. https://lnkd.in/gqaPMqMS - if catering is right for your brand, it is crazy to waste time when you can go, and it is even more crazy not to get it done, and its not crazy to take the lead from your restaurants and put your head down and just go.

Olo has long been known as a digital leader in the restaurant industry. But now, the company is taking a bold step beyond digital—aiming to become the connective tissue for both digital and in-store experiences. I had the opportunity to speak with founder and CEO Noah Glass and dive into Olo’s strategy. The company is emphatically reshaping the future of restaurant technology.

If you haven't had a Portillo's cake shake before, this is your sign. And while you're at it, join Portillo Perks, their new digital-wallet based loyalty program - just scan and earn ?? We're thrilled that Dino Northway will share more of Portillo's story next week at Beyond4, Olo's annual customer conference!

I’m headed to Scottsdale this weekend for Olo’s sixth annual Beyond4 customer conference. Without giving too much away, here are three things I’m excited to share with attendees: ? Fueling up Restaurants are sitting on a powerful resource— guest data— but without the right tools, it’s just potential energy. Olo provides the engine that converts data into action, driving profitable traffic, smarter decisions, and meaningful guest connections. Leveraging this power, restaurants aren’t just keeping up, they are accelerating the future. ??? As individuals, we go far. Together, we go even further. At Beyond4, we’re not just sharing insights— we’re building a community that learns, innovates, and grows together. Attendees will hear from 30+ of their peers from across the industry and come away with deeper connections rooted in collaboration. ?? Our vision for the future The way guests interact with restaurants is evolving, and we’re making sure our customers stay ahead of the curve. Expect big ideas, bold innovations, and a look at what’s next as we continue to shape the future of restaurant technology. Beyond4 is always a special time to reflect on how far we’ve come and look ahead to where we’re going. I can’t wait to celebrate the incredible work our customers are doing and the future we’re building for the industry.

California Fish Grill recognized it would need more than a traditional loyalty program to better understand, serve, and market to its entire guest base. Read the case study and see how the brand personalizes its dining experience and increases retention using the Olo Guest Data Flywheel: https://lnkd.in/etEdN8F6 We're excited for Mark Hardison to join us at Beyond4 next week and share more of the California Fish Grill story!

Every restaurant runs on a solar system of technology— POS systems, ordering platforms, payment solutions, loyalty programs— all orbiting around a central force. But what is the gravitational force holding everything together? Historically, the point-of-sale (POS)— the system that enables staff to input on-premise transactions and manage inventory— has been the center of restaurant tech. There was a time in our industry when helping staff execute on-premise transactions and manage other staff-facing functions was the key to a restaurant’s success. POS systems handled these tasks efficiently. While the POS system remains an important part of the restaurant tech ecosystem, the industry is changing quickly. Restaurants are beginning to see the value of leveraging transaction data to personalize guest experiences. As other verticals have shown, personalized experiences help drive sales and increase customer retention. As a result, guest transaction data is fast becoming the center of gravity in enterprise restaurants. However, POS systems are inherently limited in their ability to help brands access guest data, instead processing nameless/faceless transactions. POS systems are staff-facing, not guest-facing, and multiple vendors can exist with a brand— owned stores may use one POS system, while franchisees use others. They also don’t capture digital transactions, where rich guest insights live. While POS systems remain essential, its fragmentation and data gaps impede its role in personalizing the guest experience. As guest data gravity increases in enterprise brands, we believe the center of gravity in restaurant tech is shifting to solutions that unify guest experiences, aggregate all guest transaction data, and turn that data into personalized experiences and profitable traffic. The system that best captures, connects, and activates guest data? That’s your true center of gravity. At Olo, we’ve always had a broad view of guest data, tracking order and payment transactions across our digital channels. With Olo Pay Card Present, we can capture 100% of transactions— and match online and in-store transactions— to provide a complete and unified understanding of each guest. Amplified by marketing tools within Olo Engage, restaurants can leverage the data from a complete, longitudinal view of their guests across every interaction. With this shift, Olo isn’t just another planet in the tech system— we believe we’re becoming the center of gravity where ordering, payments, and guest insights come together. When everything orbits around a unified view of the guest, restaurants can move from simply processing transactions to building lasting guest relationships and driving profitable traffic. Shoutout to David Yuan, Founder and Partner at Tidemark and his work on control points. His insights inspired how we think about Olo as the guest data gravity control point of restaurant technology. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/e38Fb9Ax

In 1?? week, Beyond4 is back ?? Our sixth annual customer conference is where innovation, growth, and community converge. Team Olo can't wait to touch down in Scottsdale, AZ and get the party started! See you in the desert ??? #Beyond4

Not retaining guests? Get a grip. Focusing solely on guest acquisition can lead to a leaky marketing funnel. According to Olo data: ?? 20% of guests drive 60% of sales ?? 70% of guests never return after their first visit With numbers like that, it’s clear retaining and recovering high-value guests—plugging the holes in the funnel—should be just as important as acquiring new ones. Enter: The Guest Recovery Program (GRP or “grip”), a strategy for restaurants to win back guests using relevant, personalized outreach at scale. There’s a common belief that guests will let you know when something goes wrong, but in reality, most don’t. Yet, when high-value guests effectively “quiet quit” and slip away, many brands do nothing to win them back. A GRP ensures that when behaviors change, the brand can take action. 4 Strategies of a Strong GRP: 1?? Behavior-based triggers: Monitor transaction history (even beyond loyalty members) to identify when guests stop engaging. 2?? Automated, personalized outreach: When a high-value guest starts to waver, send a targeted message to re-engage them. 3?? Meaningful offers: Don’t just say, “We miss you.” Provide something valuable: a comped item, a credit, or VIP treatment like skipping the waitlist. 4?? Real-time recovery: The gold standard? Catch issues before guests leave. Integrate real-time feedback tools that alert managers when a guest has a poor experience, allowing them to resolve issues in real time. As Danny Meyer puts it, mistakes happen—how you handle them defines the guest experience. The best Guest Recovery Program is one you rarely need because your hospitality is so strong that guests never leave in the first place. When they do, getting a grip on recovery can turn lost guests into loyal advocates. Fill the top of the funnel, but first plug the leaks.