Making the most of Toast with TL Connects

Toast has emerged as one of the most powerful and efficient POS systems on the market and many of our TL Connects clients utilize their platform for POS functionality. By comparison, TL Connects is an independent platform focused more on customer engagement & loyalty.

Toast Customer Communications vs. TL Connects

Toast builds a database of customer information via transactions and their optional loyalty integration (which comes at an additional fee). Just because a customer has agreed to receive transactional (payment/delivery) updates and loyalty text communications from the restaurant (via Toast), this does NOT equal legal acceptance to receive text marketing communications from the restaurant via the Toast platform. TL Connects provides a comprehensive, legal platform for easy, extensive customer engagement via text messaging. You can schedule texts in advance, target them to specific customer groups based on location & frequency, promote events, specials, new menu items, etc. Rainy day? Easily send a text to your database from your phone, to drive customers in on a day you’d typically expect a drop in revenue. Our Toast POS clients easily export their Toast database into an .XLS or .CSV file, which we upload to their TL Connects database. We then confirm with every individual in that database that they consent to receive text marketing communications from the restaurant. This ensures our restaurant client is in full compliance with TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act).

Toast Loyalty vs. TL Connects Loyalty

TOAST:

• Toast’s loyalty program is rigid: customers earn monetary discounts based on their spend. Spend $100; receive a $10 reward. Spend $50; receive a $5 reward.
• Customer must enter their full email address and credit card upon registration. Should a customer use a different card the next time they make a purchase, they’ll be prompted to go through the same process again, in order to associate an additional card with their account.

TL CONNECTS:

• TL Connects’ digital loyalty program is customized by the restaurant. Choose how many visits are required by the customer in order to redeem the offer you’ve chosen to provide (free app, $ off, free dessert, etc.).
• Customer enters mobile number and first name upon registration. On subsequent visits, only mobile number need be entered.

CONCLUSION:

Toast offers an excellent POS and is attempting to differentiate itself from competitors, not only by making regular updates and improvements to its POS platform, but also by suggesting it is a one-stop-shop for transaction, payroll and menu management, but also customer engagement. The customer engagement component is where Toast falls short. Texting a receipt or notifying a customer that their order is en route in no way equates to regular, strategic communications designed to return lapsed customers. There’s a reason so many Toast POS clients have chosen to partner with TL Connects specifically for their customer engagement efforts. A competitor to the expertise of TL Connects? No. A powerful POS? Yes.