Article

A&W Restaurants, Pie Five Pizza leaders help Summit attendees solve the mystery of big data

"Big Data is like a mystery novel," Brian Lee, data analytics practice director, Wavicle Data Solutions, said during a session at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit. "There's a lot of twists and turns."

Brian Lee, Wavicle Data, Jim Balis, CapitalSpring, Liz Bazner, A&W Restaurants, Christina Coy, Pie Five Pizza

April 9, 2019 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator

"Big Data is like a mystery novel," Brian Lee, data analytics practice director, Wavicle Data Solutions, said during a session at the Restaurant Franchising & Innovation Summit. "There's a lot of twists and turns."

Lee moderated the panel with panelists Jim Balis, managing director, strategic operations group, CapitalSpring; Liz Bazner, digital manager, A&W Restaurants and Christina Coy, vice president of marketing, Pie Five Pizza. The speakers shared thoughts and insight on how restaurants can use Big Data effectively.

Key challenges

While many restaurants see the benefits of tapping into Big Data, other franchisees might not be so easily convinced.

Bazner said that because A&W is a 100-year-old brand, many franchisees are older and they don't understand or see the benefit of certain data tools.

"They might say, 'Who cares about Yelp,'" Bazner said. "Well, everyone but you."

In order to get these doubtful franchisees to buy in, they need to see results, according to Bazner.

It is also get very easy to get lost in the data and gain nothing of value.

"If you don't know what you're looking for you get stuck in it. It's easy to waste time," Coy said.

How to actually 'use' Big Data

If restaurant operators just have a huge list filled with sales data, employee data and more, it can be very difficult to gain insights, and panelists said operators need to have a key goal in mind before digging into data.

"I constantly step back and say what am I trying to figure out? Pull the right data points out," Coy said. "Otherwise you drown in it."

Balis also said restaurant operators should try to triangulate different sources of data to build conclusions based on it. For example, if a certain location is losing business, look at different data points such as employee cleanliness records, speed of service and other points to develop a picture of what the problem could be.

The panelists listed other examples of use cases for Big Data such as:

• Seeing how money can be lost by misused coupons.
• Identifying waste from the kitchens.
• Integrating social media scores/reviews into an overall brand image picture.

What's on the horizon?

The panelists mentioned greater integration of data sources and facial analytics as big future trends for Big Data.

"We are trying to integrate the data so we can give a fuller picture and not have to pull from so many different sources," Coy said "I'm excited for the day we get to one data center."

Balis said some restaurants are using facial data of customers to create better customer profiles. With these profiles, they can identify based on a customer's face whether they prefer tacos or burritos.

The panelists said that while many customers might be creeped out by facial recognition and targeted ads, they can present a great benefit to customers by delivering relevant content.

Bazner said she would rather see advertisements that tie directly to her interests of "dogs, wine and food" rather than irrelevant messages.

"Whenever a company doesn't do targeting marketing well, it bothers me," Bazner said. "I'm 34 and I get ads all the time for crematoriums. That's not something I plan to look at for a long time."

Key takeaway

The panelists said one key tip is to start small, rather than trying to do everything at once.

"I can get analysis fatigue," Bazner said. "It's a good idea to start small."

Even by "starting small" you start to gain insights into the big picture. And once you do that, you can begin to transform your business.

"Data is like oil," Lee said. "It will drive every industry."

About Bradley Cooper

---

Bradley Cooper is the editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. He was previously the editor of Digital Signage Today. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing.

Connect with Bradley: