Applied Reviewer Lesson V: Computer Applications in Sales, Marketing & Event Management PDF

LESSON V -- APPLIED REVIEWER **COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN SALES, MARKETING AND EVENT MANAGEMENT** ***Sales management systems*** are information systems used in customer relation management that help automate some sales and sales force management functions. They are often combined with a marketing...

LESSON V -- APPLIED REVIEWER **COMPUTER APPLICATIONS IN SALES, MARKETING AND EVENT MANAGEMENT** ***Sales management systems*** are information systems used in customer relation management that help automate some sales and sales force management functions. They are often combined with a marketing information system, in which case they are often called **CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM) SYSTEMS.** ***Marketing database*** will include actual and prospective bookings, with rapid search and sort capability to enable sales activity to be focused on target markets. Examples of attributes on which sales staff may base a search might be: ** frequency** ** market segment** ** seasonal pattern** ** last time in the city and** ** next time in the city.** ***The service history*** of a computerized system can eliminate the tedious work related to researching the productivity of groups that have used the hotel. Summary information on past performance can be stored for quick evaluation on future projections. A typical example of the use of service history is if there is an obvious gap in business in a particular period, the sales manager may refer to the computerized records for that period and request details of accounts that: ** (seasonality code)** ** (cover count)** ** (average check).** ***MARKETING INFORMATION SYSTEM*** is a management information system designed to support marketing decision making. It is defined as a \"system in which marketing data is formally gathered, stored, analyzed and distributed to managers in accordance with their informational needs on a regular basis.\" **Marketing information system** can be of great benefit to any organization whether profit making or nonprofit making, no matter its size or the level of managerial finesse. It is true today that in many organizations, marketing information system is integrated as part of a computerized system. **Components of a Marketing Information System** 1. **Internal Reporting Systems-** All enterprises which have been in operation for any period of time have a wealth of information. Information is usually categorized according to its nature. Often the entrepreneurs, or various personnel working in the functional departments holding these pieces of data, do not see how it could help decision makers in other functional areas. 2. **Marketing Research Systems**- Marketing research is a proactive search for information. That is, the enterprise which commissions these studies does so to solve a perceived marketing problem. 3. **Marketing Intelligence Systems**- Whereas marketing research is focused, market intelligence is not. A marketing intelligence system is a set of procedures and data sources used by marketing managers to sift information from the environment that they can use in their decision making. 1. **Social Media- Hotels can utilize social media sites to promote current specials and events. Social media sites allow a hotel to establish a page, upload photos and write postings about the hotel itself.** 2. **Travel Review and Local Guide Websites- Travel reviews are a marketing tool to promote a hotel.** 3. **Video on Demand- You can market your hotel in various ways through technology.** 4. **Charity Events- Allow a charity or organization to hold an event at your hotel. You benefit by getting marketing and publicity through the event.** **Event management is the application of project management to the creation and development of festivals, events and conferences. It involves studying the intricacies of the brand, identifying the target audience, devising the event concept, planning the logistics and coordinating the technical aspects before actually executing the modalities of the proposed event.** **EVENT MANAGEMENT AND COMPUTERS** **The successful handling of events and functions is of paramount importance to a large number of hotels and caterers. This is because their reputation depends on this sphere of the hospitality business. Event management software tools can be harnessed to smooth the operation of such events.** **Software tools can handle many common activities such as delegate registration, hotel booking, travel booking or allocation of exhibition floor space.** 1. **Inquiries- In order to respond effectively to conference inquiries, a rolling diary of events will need to be maintained with on-line inquiry facilities covering room availability within certain dates or date availability for certain rooms.** 2. **Event diary- The event diary of the system is possibly the most important as it permits full control to be exercised over the total number of events booked.** 3. **Staff organization- In a busy event center or hotel, an organization system will help with staff schedules, job scheduling, and allocation of staff to individual functions.** 4. **Function list- As part of the operations of the event diary, it will be useful for the computer to produce function lists as well as departmental function sheets to give detailed reporting for each department** 5. **Quotation and sales forecasting- A good quotation and forecasting package for events should enable the events manager to have access to client quotations for events.** 6. **Bookings- A single booking entry into a computerized system may cover both meetings and overnight accommodation for a day or series of days, or even specific times within a day.** 7. **Market research data base- A market research database should be tailored to a specific establishment with the intention of providing a comprehensive management information and marketing analysis system.** 8. **Marketing and mailing- A good computer system will provide the ability to interface the market research database with a word processing system for brochure mailing or personalized letter production and mailing.** 9. **Invoicing- With an interface to an accounting package, there will be ability for remote or independently controlled event centers to quickly prepare and print client bills.** 10. **Sales ledger- The event system may include its own sales ledger and credit control system that interfaces with the invoicing and word processing systems to permit automatic personal debt collection correspondence to be created and mailed** 11. **Reporting- The real power of a computerized event system lies not only with the standard reports that already exists,** REVIEWER -- LESSON VI APPLIED MANAGEMENT INFORMATIONS SYSTEM IN FOOD AND BEVERAGE SERVICE - The food service industry has benefited from the use of information technology. A proper implementation of information systems aids large and small restaurants and food service business in providing more efficient services to their guests and offer more control to prevent losses. - **Point-of-Sale Systems (POS)** 1. **Order Taking- The moment the order was taken and confirmed, it will be entered into the computer or by touching the screen.** 2. **Food and Beverage Preparation- After the order was paid, it will then appear on the computer screen back in the food preparation area..** 3. **Inventory Management- Once the orders were completed, the POS automatically tells the inventory system that the ingredients in making the order have been used.** 4. **Reports Generation- The POS can track employee productivity, average sales per employee, what menu items are the most popular, what items are less popular, and how quickly orders are served from time of input..** - **inventory** - **food costing** - **labor management** - **financial reporting** **INVENTORY** **One of the key investments in an F&B business is that of inventory and stock. Basically, a *restaurant inventory* consists of all the items or raw materials required to prepare dishes, and managing that restaurant inventory would mean, to accurately track the use of each ingredient, in the right quantity in any dish.** **FOOD COST** ***Food cost of menu items* sold through the POS system is linked to recipes, which are made up of inventory items. Each time an item is sold, the appropriate inventory items are automatically depleted through the software application.** **LABOR MANAGEMENT** **Most front-of-the house systems have the ability to track employee working time. A back-of-the-house labour management package adds the ability to manage all of a restaurant's payroll and human resource information. A *labour management system* includes a human resource module to track hiring, employee personal information, vacation, security privileges, tax status, availability and any other information pertinent to employees working at the restaurant.** **FINANCIAL REPORTING** **The back-of-the-house and front-of-the-house systems post data into a relational database located on the central server. The restaurant manager uses these data for reporting and decision making.** **\ ** **LESSON VII -- APPLIED REVIEWER** **RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM** **A RESTAURANT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (RMS) is an essential tool for any new restaurant. These systems are designed to keep your restaurant running by tracking employees, inventory and sales.** **A *restaurant management SYSTEM* is a type of point-of-sale (POS) software specifically designed for restaurants, bars, food trucks and others in the food service industry. Unlike a POS system, RMS encompasses all back-end needs, such as inventory and staff management.** **an RMS offers features unique to the food service industry like ingredient-level inventory updates, the ability for waitstaff to send orders directly from the table to the kitchen, split billing and kitchen displays.** - **An RMS offers more features than a standard POS system. Restaurants can perform these tasks with an RMS:** - **Track sales and orders** - **View accurate, real-time financial statements** - **Manage staff scheduling** - **Access data through the cloud** - **Utilize a built-in customer relationship management (CRM) tool to build mailing lists or start a rewards program** **TYPE OF RMS** **1. END-TO-END- This is the most robust and comprehensive type of RMS. The main features include core POS, inventory control, CRM, staff, menu, order and payment management, technical support, and reporting and analytics. Depending on the RMS vendor, you may be able to mix and match features.** **2. POS- This is the core of the system and allows you to integrate it with third-party systems for inventory, accounting, marketing and other key functions.** **3. iPad or Android only- Most systems are designed to run only on one device type to maintain the integrity of the system. Determine which operating system you will use in your restaurant before choosing a system.** **4. General POS- This system is designed for businesses that have both retail and food services available. It offers seamless crossover with add-on modules.** - ***Type*. Determine what type of system need. If the business going to be running on Android devices, do not get an iPad system. If the owner wants a one-stop shop, an end-to-end system will likely be the most cost-effective option.** - ***Scaling*. If you have plans to grow or franchise your restaurant, buy a system that can grow with it. Make sure your system can handle an increase in the number of terminals and handheld devices, provides advanced large-scale analytics, offers multibranch add-ons, and can handle a large number of employees** - ***Integration.* No system is perfect, so you will most likely have to integrate your RMS with other software apps to achieve everything you need. You should make sure your RMS easily integrates with other systems, such as OpenTable or Yelp for reservations, so you don\'t waste time repetitively entering data into separate programs.** - ***Ease of use*. Running a restaurant is tough as it is. You don\'t want to waste time troubleshooting your RMS in the middle of a dinner rush. Spend a good deal of time testing the RMS out, ensuring that it is intuitive and problems are easy to fix.** **Features of Restaurant Management Systems** **1. Sales and tax tracking** **RMS should track all sales data -- such as your top menu items, busiest selling times, best-performing team members and profits to help in making important business decisions. The software should also provide detailed records for tax reporting purposes.** **2. Order management** **The restaurant staff should be able to easily manage tables, reservations, checks and menu items through RMS. The managers should also be able to control refunds, voids, and comps and view order statuses. If the restaurant operates a bar, the RMS should allow you to pre-authorize credit cards to open tabs.** **3. Inventory management** **Knowing exactly how much product have on hand will help the user to determine when and how much to reorder from the vendors. Some RMS software offers inventory management options, while others may require integration with third-party software to help with this.** **4. Reporting and customer data** **If the chosen RMS tracks and filters the sales and customer data, the user will have access to a wealth of information that help the business to grow and make better marketing decisions.** **Sapaad is robust restaurant management software with wide-ranging capabilities for streamlining restaurant operations. The platform makes the business services more efficient through SLA-driven processes and real-time data insights.** **CAKE** **Developed by Sysco, CAKE provides solutions for POS, online ordering, and guest management. The software facilitates faster order processing by making it easier to track orders from table to kitchen and process payments.** **Menumiz** **As an online restaurant management application, Menumiz provides features for menu creation, inventory management, payment processing, floor management, and other advanced POS/EPOS tools.**