Leveraging location technology for curbside pickup, instore order delivery, and payments Project partner
Leveraging location technology for curbside pickup, instore order delivery, and payments Marc Wallace, CEO and Cofounder of Radius Networks, discusses how location technology represents the future of customer service in restaurants and retail... WRI T T EN BY PRODUCED BY
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D al e Bent on Cr ai g D ani el s
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T
echnology has and always will
offer the same level of seamlessness that
be used to solve problems.
we experience in our own homes. The
At the very basic level, tech-
interesting thing however, is that this isn’t
nology is developed and used to make
necessarily a new challenge for restau-
things simpler. Just look at our day to day
rants and retail stores; these businesses
lives and the way that technology has,
have been looking to enable the most
for the most part, made our experiences
seamless and effective customer service
simpler which has changed the way
since the very beginning. The only real
we as consumers engage with retailers
thing that’s changed is the tools that they
and restaurateurs. We now expect and
have at their disposal.
outright demand that the businesses we enter and purchase food and items from 4
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“At the end of the day, you really need to understand the problems that
your customers have, and then solve
table and the service staff has to locate
them,� explains Marc Wallace, CEO and
and identify the corresponding table to
Cofounder of Radius Networks, a location
that order. In some instances, more than
technology service provider. “In our case,
most, they may even walk throughout
customers are businesses, such as restau-
the entire restaurant before arriving at
rants, grocery stores, retailers or casinos;
the right table with the right customer.
so we are tackling very specific problems.
Through wireless-enabled location tech-
In most cases, those problems are taking
nology, Radius Networks has transformed
wasted time out of the equation.�
the customer experience by allowing busi-
Picture the traditional, and maybe even
nesses to track customers, improve profit
stereotypical, restaurant environment,
margins and ultimately increase customer
where a food order is ready to go to the
retention. 5
Customers have, and will always, vote
server’s attention to pay for your bill can
with their feet, and in order to retain those
be frustrating for the customer. It leaves a
customers, businesses need to be able to
bad taste in their mouth at the end of their
remove the pain points. As Wallace noted,
dining experience,” says Wallace. “We’ve
wasted time is one of the single biggest
developed solutions for making payments
pain points in customer service. Radius
remotely without contacting the server.
Networks offers location-based curbside
The server is notified when the bill is paid,
pickup, in-store and table service solu-
and they can focus their attention on
tions, as well as mobile payment technol-
real problems that other customers have
ogy to remove not only the one pain point,
instead of shuttling credit cards back and
but multiple pain points. “We’re addressing
forth.”
other key problems, such as payments.
At the time of writing, the world has
When you dine-in at a restaurant and
been gripped by the COVID-19 pandemic,
are in a hurry to leave, trying to get your
a truly unprecedented event that has
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completely devastated lives and econ-
it has risen dramatically. It was once within
omies all over the world. It has also
a business’s top ten things it needed to
completely ripped up the rulebook when
consider, and has now risen to the very
it comes to food and retail, with lockdown
top of their to-do list.”
restrictions forcing businesses to either
Radius Networks is currently offering a
close down entirely, or pivot to delivery
free version of both its FlyBuy curbside
services. Radius Networks’ FlyBuy curb-
and buy-online-pick-up-in-store (BOPIS)
side pickup solution was actually launched
software for restaurants, retailers, and
over 12 months ago, but it has fast become
non-profits during the COVID-19 crisis.
a key technology offering that is solving
By its very definition, location tracking
an unforeseen problem. By automating
technology appears to be very intrusive.
the curbside delivery service for custom-
It is tracking locations and using that data
ers, FlyBuy provides a turnkey, end-to-end
to inform decision making, after all, and
solution that uses the customer’s location
naturally that can cause a little fear and a
for a faster, easier order pickup experi-
hesitation. Wallace acknowledges these
ence. “There was already a pre-existing
concerns and understands them whole-
return on investment (ROI) with FlyBuy
heartedly. “We had a decision to make
because we were reducing the wait times
early on in the company whether we
for customers when ordering for pickup,
were going to harvest data and use it for
which results in more frequent visits” says
marketing purposes, or whether we were
Wallace. “Throughout this pandemic, curb-
going to be a privacy-centric company
side delivery has become the only channel
and focus on providing a solution,” he
that people can do, so the importance of
says. “We chose to be a privacy-centric
“At the end of the day, I think this goes for business philosophy in general, you really need to understand the problems that your customers have, and then solve them” Marc Wallace, CEO & Co founder, Radius Networks
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company, mostly because all of us, as individuals, wanted that for ourselves.” “When it comes to us being a location company, we are very transparent with our customers, so that they can be transparent with their consumers about what we’re doing with their location data, what we’re using it for, and how long we’re keeping it.” This transparency is built into the very DNA of the company. FlyBuy will only ever use the location data to alert the store when a customer is on the way and then has arrived onsite to pick up their order, and only after the customer has opted-in to sharing that information. After a period of time has passed, they will then delete that data entirely. Its policy dictates that it does not, and will never, share that data with any third party, giving customers peace of mind that their data is safe and used only as agreed when they opt-in. Wallace believes that, while the reluctance and fear is understandable, consumers have access to services’ policies and can ‘do some homework’ in order to allay them. “I think, given the amount of options we are given today, customers can no longer just assume every location company is tracking or doing something devious with their information. They need to be aware when they approve location usage and when they don’t,” he says. “If 8
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Marc Wallace CEO and Cofounder
they can be sure that sharing their location brings value to them, whether it be to have a car service come to their exact location, or
Marc is a serial entrepreneur. He is
their groceries meet them at their
the co-founder and CEO of Radius
car immediately upon arriving in
Networks, Inc., located in Washington,
the pickup zone, they will happily
DC. Prior to Radius Networks, Marc
share their location. Once they
co-founded several other success-
have established a level of trust
ful startups, such as District Taco,
in the people that are request-
a Mexican-food fast casual chain in
ing location permissions, and see
DC, where he serves as Chairman,
the benefits it brings to their lives,
and SwapDrive (backup.com), an
there is no problem.”
online backup company acquired by
Radius Networks was founded
the Norton division of Symantec in
in 2011, and for the best part of a
2008. Before creating SwapDrive, he
decade, it has grown from strength
served at Orbital Sciences Corporation
to strength as a business, working
as an aerospace engineer and engi-
with the likes of McDonald’s, Five
neering manager across multiple
Guys, and Coca-Cola, as well as
successful rocket and spacecraft
being recognized in the INC 500,
launch campaigns. Marc holds a B.S.
the Deloitte Fast 500, and the CIO
in Engineering from Cornell University
Magazine’s Most Promising Digital
and a M.S. in Information Systems from
Experience Solution Provider. But
George Washington University.
none of these successes would have been made possible, without a solid and sound foundation within the business. “I’ve been told by people ‘wow you guys got really lucky.’ Luck had absolutely nothing to do with it. Our mission is to solve problems for businesses, and right now businesses need our
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help more than ever. There were a lot of really difficult times over the years where we worked hard and earned the right to stay in the game, and we are once-again earning it right now,” says Wallace. “Take FlyBuy as an example. I’ve been asked as to whether I thought this piece of technology that we developed over the last few years would ever be as important as it is right now. Yes. Yes I did, and so did everyone else on our team, and that’s key to our success as a company. Every single person at Radius Networks is engaged and believes in what we do.” In these times of crisis, the spotlight has shifted significantly onto those business fundamentals and Wallace is extremely proud of the business he has built and the people within it. “The business principles that we’ve been practicing over the last few years have paid off. We are a strong company with sound fundamentals and sound financials. We haven’t over extended ourselves, either from an investment perspective or from an expenses perspective and that’s paying off for us now,” he says. “It is tough in the current environment to point to positives, because you almost feel ashamed to do so. I think we’ve done a lot as a company to help others; we’ve given 13
our product away for free to hundreds of
communicates in an open and transpar-
small businesses, thousands of locations,
ent way with its customers, the same
with no obligation, and it’s a testament to
rules apply from within. He admits that
the work we have done to get to this point.
the pandemic has, ironically, made that
A lot of companies are doing a lot of good
communication better in some aspects,
work to help each other right now and
but it has always been a key part of what
they can do so because they are built on
makes Radius Networks tick. “We’re talk-
solid foundations.”
ing to our customers all the time. My team
Those foundations start from the very
is the best team in the world. They’re
top. Wallace is a key advocate in commu-
working in overdrive right now, communi-
nication. Much like Radius Networks
cating at such a high level, and listening
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to customer needs, because their needs
upfront about everything that may come
have changed dramatically,” he says.
up along the way.”
“As the CEO, I try to have frequent
Listening to the customer is key. That
hands-on-deck tag-ups with everybody
much is no secret. But when it comes to
to give them an update and try to be as
technology, listening to customers is abso-
transparent as possible about the status of
lutely essential when ensuring that what
the business and what’s happening. I do
you’re offering is what the customers need
this so they can feel comfortable that they
and what they want. Wallace’s role as the
have a job today, and they’ll have a job
CEO is not to sit at the top of the busi-
tomorrow. We work together to come up
ness and leave it to everyone else. He is
with our team goals, and stay aligned and
very much active and engaged at every
“It’s about persisting through the bad times, just like the good times, and trusting your business fundamentals and experience” Marc Wallace, CEO & Co founder, Radius Networks
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level to ensure that everything Radius Networks is doing is driven by the customer. Wallace is proud of the culture within his business and often finds himself sitting on a call with a major customer and beaming at how well his team listens and understands the customer’s needs and how Radius can successfully address them. “I’m so proud that we, as a team, have a culture that takes so much pride in their work,” he says. “Our people have always been solid employees, pre pandemic, but they have become absolute rockstars today.” In addition to his team, Wallace credits much of Radius Networks’ success to the partnership ecosystem that they have built over the years. “Our partners, such as AOPEN, Olo, Apple, Google, ShopperKit, Rigado, Toast, NCR, and Oracle, have been essential to our growth and success,” says Wallace. The world as we know it has changed forever and we cannot begin to predict what this new world will look like post pandemic. One thing is for certain, communication, and the way in which businesses engage with their customers, will never be the same again. Radius Networks has enjoyed success after success over the past ten years, and as we all experience great uncertainty, the goal for Wallace is to continue providing valuable location technology for many years to come. The key to succeeding, regardless of such uncertainty, remains the same for Wallace and his team. “Persistence,” he says. “It’s about persisting through the bad times, just like the good times, and trusting your business fundamentals and experience. Being transparent with employees and having a good team around you is key.”
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www.radiusnetworks.com