In the online world, consumers are used to experiences â in eCommerce, social networks and media experiences â that are personalized, consistent and contextual.
Carlos GĂłmez, cofounder and CEO of consumer recognition system Cheerfy, called these âperfect experiencesâ in a recent interview with PYMNTSâ Karen Webster.
âYou go to Amazon or Netflix,â GĂłmez said, âand you are greeted by name, offered something that makes sense for you. The way you are experiencing these services removes any sort of friction.â
Offline, itâs often a different story.
While much has been made of retailâs and other servicesâ shift into online spaces, GĂłmez noted that a majority of the world is still offline and that we are years away from translating the full online consumer experience into the physical world. But Cheerfy is looking to close that gap.
Cheerfy is currently concentrated in the U.K. and Spain, though there is an early presence in the U.S. by way of some restaurants in New York City. In a nutshell, Cheerfyâs system is a Wi-Fi-based customer recognition system for restaurants, retailers and the hospitality industry.
âWeâre trying to bring the beauty of the online world offline,â GĂłmez said, âthrough a technology that enables retailers to recognize customers in real time, enables them to act upon that recognition.â
Thereâs no mobile app to download, which GĂłmez noted is critical. The vast majority of restaurant-goers â 95 percent, according to GĂłmez â donât download restaurant apps.
âBut by using Wi-Fi as a way to draw people in,â he said, âyou can increase the number of people in your records, and you can engage with them. In the cases where there is a preexisting application, we help to promote and personalize it.â
Cheerfy acts as a link to turn customers who were not previously registered, GĂłmez said. Consumers looking to log into a restaurantâs or storeâs Wi-Fi are prompted to sign up for Cheerfyâs system, which then generates profiles on customers by using social media credentials and a light survey.
âWith these two components, we have a basic profile about you,â GĂłmez said. âA customer card that indicates what your preferences are. It also enables us to detect you in real time the next time you are at the restaurant, and in that case, youâll be automatically connected.â
Returning to any location in a restaurant chain, for example, will trigger action â sending a personalized message on arrival or departure, as well as notifying employees in real time that a customer has arrived and showing a customer card indicating what a consumerâs preferences are.
âYouâre going to have better service. Youâre going to have special discounts. Youâre going to have gifts on your birthday,â GĂłmez said.
On the restaurantâs end, Cheerfyâs system doesnât require new hardware and integrates with a restaurantâs existing Wi-Fi, app and CRM.
âThink of Cheerfy as an app for an app,â GĂłmez said, âenabling you to engage your customers in real time through SMS, through email or through your application. Cheerfy will not add another communication channel. We use existing communication channels to generate a bidirectional flow of information,â GĂłmez said.
Cheerfy leverages existing consumer data and intelligence that already exists about customers in a restaurantâs app and CRM. At the same time, it feeds new customer data to the existing CRM with new information.
Additionally, Cheerfyâs system relies on customer intelligence gathered by employees. The system enables employees to tag customers with particular traits and preferences when they see consistency in behavior. The next time a customer comes in, the server will see the tag in the customerâs profile.
âIf I drink sparkling water every time I visit a restaurant,â GĂłmez said, âthe server is in a position to tag me, uploading that information into a central CRM, providing them with information to help them provide the best service.â
Cheerfy fills an essential offline gap in online consumer experiences, GĂłmez said. âYou go to Yelp to decide where to go. You book on OpenTable and use Google Maps to find the restaurant,â he said.
Next in line comes payment.
For GĂłmez, the point of sale is an intriguing space on Cheerfyâs radar that could one day represent a major opportunity for augmenting the personalized consumer experience.
âIt’s an aspect of the conversation,â GĂłmez said. âYouâre in a position to detect customers in real time. If at some point you are able to access the credit card or any sort of payment, you are in a privileged position for that payment to be completely seamless.â
The point of sale represents a goldmine of information for Cheerfy, though one that, as of now, is missing a key ingredient: the who.
âThey are completely anonymous,â GĂłmez said. âIf you are able to de-anonymize that database, that can have a huge impact on consumer intelligence. For us, integrating with the elements that are around the point-of-sale ecosystem is a key driver to enhance our ability to profile people â and, by extension, to personalize their experience.â