You’ve probably heard that integrationg your reservation platform with your POS system or social media accounts, is a good idea. But what exactly is an integration, and what can it do for your business?
An integration is a way of connecting apps so that they can “talk” to each other, making operations more accurate and efficient. For example, integrating Tock with your restaurant’s POS system allows you to see spend data from your POS and reservation notes from Tock all in one place. Having this information at your fingertips can help your team save time, reduce errors, and offer a seamless experience for guests.
Before your team invests time and labor in setting up an integration, it’s important to understand what problem you want to solve. Here are a few different types of popular Tock integrations for restaurants, wineries, and restaurant groups and how they can help your business thrive.
POS System Integrations
Apps: Micros, Lightspeed, Toast, Until
What they are: Connecting Tock with your POS system is a great way to handle transactions seamlessly and make operations more efficient. POS integrations automatically create a check in your POS system when a party that booked through Tock is seated—including transferring over any prepaid or deposit amounts. After the check is closed, order information is transferred back to that guest’s Tock profile. Some POS integrations also allow for real-time status updates between the two systems.
Why they work: Integrating Tock with your POS system saves time, reduces labor costs, and eliminates user error, as information automatically flows between the two platforms. Saving order data or history in a guest’s Tock profile gives your team valuable information they can use to offer personalized service. It can help you identify high-value guests.
Marketing Integrations
Apps: Instagram, Reserve with Google, Google Knowledge Panel
What they are: These integrations canlead to increased bookings by making it easy for guests to reserve directly from your business’s social media pages and Google services, like Search, Maps, and Assistant. A “book now” button takes guests to your Tock page to complete the reservation.
Why they work: Removing steps from the booking process can broaden your network and help your business capture more reservations, increasing covers and revenue.
Guest Relationship Management Integrations
App: Google Analytics
What they are: This integration supports your business’s digital marketing efforts, allowing your team to gather data and insights about guest behavior online. This information can help you better understand how guests arrive at your Tock page and inform digital ad strategy.
Google Analytics provides detailed information like how and when guests arrive on your Tock page, where they’re located, and whether they’re booking via desktop or mobile.
Why they work: Hospitality businesses can use these insights to inform digital marketing strategy and outreach in order to optimize your web presence to drive bookings.
Wine Commerce Integrations
Apps: Commerce7, OrderPort, eCellar
What they are: These integrations connect information about your wine club with Tock, allowing you to offer discounts or experiences exclusively for club members.
Why they work: Wine commerce integrations add value for wine club members while providing opportunities to market offerings directly to them on your Tock page.
These common integrations are just the beginning. Tock also integrates with event management software Tripleseat, automated text messaging app RedChirp, and restaurant marketing platform Bloom Intelligence for next-level functionality. Just remember that the integrations you invest time and effort into creating should help you solve problems—and help your business thrive.
Get more helpful tips and training resources at Tock Academy. Not on Tock yet? Request a demo.
