Convenience. Convenience. Convenience.
We can’t say it enough here at Hangry.
People want it, and they want it now.
Especially students.
Although campus acts as the ‘hub’ for all students, it’s deceiving how little time they actually spend there. You’ll often find students arriving on campus for class, and then heading back to their homes or residence for lunch. Time spent in class or in the library act as the ‘in between’ for meal times.
A student will grab a coffee at Starbucks on the way to school, and pick up take-out from their favorite restaurant on their way home for the evening.
In the case that a student is spending extensive amounts of time on campus (i.e. studying, group work, a full day of classes), you’ll often find them bringing their own food from home so they can snack during the day.
So that brings us to the question of the day:
How do we keep students dining on campus?
- A Dining Services App
It’s time to holster the convenience of mobile technology. Students spend all day checking their phones, and its time auxiliary services takes advantage of this medium. If a student is on the other side of campus, it is unlikely they will walk all the way to other end to find out what their cafeteria or restaurant is serving that day. In addition, students with eating preferences or allergies won’t make the venture either if they’re unaware of the types of food being offered. With an auxiliary or dining services app, students are able to check menu items, restaurant hours, nutritional information and more, all from their mobile device. Through a dining services app students are also given access to daily specials, combos, and meals based on their dietary concerns. So if we look back at our original scenario, where a student is on the other end of campus; they might just walk all the way across campus if they saw on the app that their favourite type of fettucine alfredo was being offered at the cafeteria that day.
- Mobile Ordering / Line by-pass
The biggest trend (that’s here to stay) in the food-ordering business is mobile ordering. Students are 3x more likely to order food from a specific location if they can order ahead via mobile. Once a dining services app is set in place for students, mobile ordering is the add-on that will keep students on the app daily. With the ability to order from anywhere, students can choose their meals from the classroom, while walking to campus, the bathroom…anywhere! Once the order is placed, students are given a time to pick up their order and they even have line-bypass. Why would they order from the restaurant down the street when they can order from campus dining services on their phone? Line by-pass is also a huge incentive to keep students dining on campus. Once a mobile order is placed, a student is informed when to pick up their food and is given the ability to skip all the busy lines; a huge advantage during busy eating hours. This feature allows students to easily schedule eating into their day. No more being late for class after having waited 17 minutes for your burger to be made, or having to choose between eating lunch or studying for your exam that’s in 3 hours.
- Loyalty Rewards
To keep students eating on campus, a loyalty program is your strongest weapon. Even if campus dining services is the most convenient way to order food, it doesn’t always keep students from craving food elsewhere. Loyalty and rewards programs is the catalyst to students always choosing to eat on campus. Loyalty programs offer rewards to students for choosing your dining locations. If students are given the chance to earn points or prizes every time they order, they are more inclined to choose on-campus dining. Loyalty programs are also a great way to up-sell products, and sell more featured items if students are going to be rewarded for it. Auxiliary and dining services can also benefit a great deal from a loyalty program; Campus merchandise or experiences can be offered as prizes, so you’re constantly marketing the on-campus experience.
Your Brand. Your App.
The Hangry Mobile platform wants to bridge the communication gap between dining services, and their students.
Keep students dining on campus with us.