Social Media Roundup: May 23, 2017

7 Payment Predictions To Watch in 2017

This infographic from Ingenico Group identifies and discusses 7 trends the company is seeing from its perch as a supplier of electronic payment solutions (smart terminals, mobile, e-payment, and security) to merchants across the globe. 1) Mobile wallets will shine in 2017.

1. Mobile wallets will shine in 2017.
2. Developers will shape the future of payments.
3. Awareness of IoT payments will increase.
4. More merchants will start bringing payments to the point of service.
5. Adoption of payment security solutions will increase.
6. Unattended payment solutions will bring new experiences in 2017.
7. Consumers will start to see an omni-channel experience.

For further details, see the infographic here.

6 Common Mistakes To Avoid When Implementing Digital Ordering

Lisa Recoussine, senior vice president of orderTalk, which provides digital ordering solutions for the restaurant industry, explores six common mistakes companies make when adding digital ordering to their customer service offerings.

1. Integration. When ordering components from different vendors, she writes, "You should demand the ability to integrate your solutions into a robust, comprehensive solution."
2. Flexibility. "Your digital ordering platform," she says, "should be customized to your look and feel, not constructed with pre-set templates."
3. Security. "Make sure your chosen vendor is complaint and request a copy of their current certificate."
4. Data ownership. "Clarify with your vendor who retains ownership of the customer relationship and data," she says. "Insist that if you decide to part ways that you retain ownership of the customer information and ordering history, and that it is available to you at no additional fees."
5. Known entity. "Typically, the longevity of a company's client relationships is a good indicator of what it is like to work with them."
6. Focus. "Once you've identified your potential partners, evaluate their focus. Discover if digital ordering is their primary business or a secondary or ancillary business."

For more details and tips from her article, which appeared in Nation's Restaurant News, click here.

9 Customer Service "Gurus" on the Future of Customer Support

"If you ask me about the future of customer support, I'll say it belongs to the companies who view customer support as a competitive advantage rather than a cost center," writes Scott Tran, organizer of Support Driven, a community dedicated to customer support as a career. He polled 9 experts on customer service for their thoughts on where customer support is heading: Jay Baer (owner, Convince & Convert), Nick Francis (CEO, Help Scout), Camille Acey (VP of customer success, Clubhouse), Micah Solomon (consultant), Shep Hyken (speaker, author), Kristin Aardsma (head of customer support, Basecamp), Jamie Edwards (co-founder, Kayako), Nancy Shenker (CEO, theONswitch), and Jeff Gardner (director of customer support and success, Intercom). Some teasers:

• "In the future, I see service people working hand-in-hand with machines. When an issue comes up that is not easily solved by the bot, it will immediately transfer to the intelligent human who can jump in without the customer waiting." (Nancy Shenker)
• "The only customer service trend you need to be worried about is this: Consciously or unconsciously, customers continue to expect better and better customer service -- in every industry, every niche, at every price point." (Micah Solomon)
• "Customer service is no longer what we view as traditional support. It's part of sales, marketing, and the entire culture of an organization. It's a competitive differentiator." (Shep Hyken)

For more on their thoughts and predictions, click here.

KBP Foods Brings Marietta's "The Big Chicken" Back to Life!

As part of a $2.2 million renovation of a KFC in Marietta, Ga., KBP Foods has renovated the city's 56-foot tall roadside attraction, "The Big Chicken." The steel-sided structure, built in 1963 by S. R. "Tubby" Davis at the city's largest intersection, was damaged by a storm in 1993 and threatened with demolition, but a local outcry kept it preserved, despite the damage. The huge novelty landmark, built by Davis to advertise his restaurant before it became a KFC, will now be seen in all its restored glory by visitors for miles around, thanks to the restoration effort. In a world shifting more and more to digital and online advertising, it's good to see a franchisee bring back this local icon.