Technology
3 ways restaurants can leverage customer data for more targeted marketing
Restaurants have a range of new resources that offer better, more applicable insights into how customers are engaging with brands.
December 24, 2020 by Mo Chaar
Restaurants have a range of new resources that offer better, more applicable insights into how customers are engaging with brands.
There was a time when a restaurant brand could get away with minimal marketing efforts. A good location and strong word-of-mouth buzz would be enough for some restaurants to thrive for years.
That time is over.
Thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, foot traffic is virtually non-existent. Customers are being more careful with their spending and third-party delivery apps have become the primary mode by which customers select a restaurant. Even the most critically acclaimed restaurants can no longer rely on the "if you build it, they will come" marketing strategy.
The good news is customers are still there. In fact, restaurant spending has slowly but surely crept upwards in recent months. But the way customers interact with restaurants may never be the same again. It is critical, then, that restaurants get in front of customers at every opportunity and give them a compelling reason to visit or order online.
Fortunately, restaurant owners have more resources than ever before to create strategic, impactful marketing campaigns. The massive shift to online ordering, while uncomfortable for many brands, has provided the entire industry with an invaluable trove of data to guide their marketing efforts. Leveraging that data effectively is essential.
Invest in tech
In order to leverage data, restaurants must first be equipped to collect it. There is no shortage of tech solutions created specifically for gathering data, but most modern restaurant tech designed for in-store efficiency will collect valuable insights on their own. Interactive kiosks, QR codes and loyalty programs that tie back to the POS system can all improve the customer and employee experience while also capturing crucial data to guide your marketing strategy.
Tracking what your customers are purchasing, when they are visiting your store (or website, or app) and how often they are engaging with your brand is critical, but if that's where your strategy ends, you are leaving valuable data on the table.
Technology like heat-mapping provides valuable information about exactly how customers are engaging with their platform. Are they clicking the promotional flyer? Are they setting up delivery orders and then abandoning them? Are they looking at images of certain menu items before selecting them?
In order to effectively engage with customers, restaurant owners need to know how they are using their platforms and the triggers that cause them to purchase or leave.
Tailor rewards
Loyalty programs have long been a valuable tool to incentivize repeat business in the restaurant industry, but now they are an essential method of understanding customers' behaviors and keeping them engaged with the brand.
Through loyalty programs, restaurant owners can also create targeted offers and messaging tailored around the insights gathered from the buying patterns the platform collects. Modern platforms do not require a one-size-fits-all approach to rewards. Instead, restaurants can offer specific incentives to specific customers based on their buying habits.
Test, learn and restrategize
A/B testing remains a foundational element of any marketing strategy, and it is an essential method for any restaurant brand hoping to improve its customer engagement.
Restaurants should create dual marketing campaigns with specific variables such as offer type, email frequency, timing and language to see what is resonating with audiences. The results of these tests should guide subsequent campaigns, but marketing teams should never be satisfied to rely on the results of a single round of A/B testing. Each new campaign should be run with A/B variables, and insights from each campaign used to inform the next. Doing so will strengthen not only promotional campaigns but also the menu, branding and the restaurant's e-commerce platform at large.
The challenges 2020 has brought to the restaurant industry are not going away anytime soon, but like all challenges, they bring opportunity, too. As the relationship between consumers and restaurants shift, restaurant owners have more resources than ever before to understand and improve that relationship. Now, they just need to have the right tools and know how to use them.
About Mo Chaar
Since joining Givex in 2007, Mo Chaar has helped the company expand its North American footprint. He began his tenure as a Business Development Manager before becoming Vice President of Sales for North America, and then moved to his current role of Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, Chaar oversees commercial strategy and development worldwide as well as managing the sales teams within North America. His experience in gift card, loyalty and POS has played a pivotal role in the success of some of Givex’s largest partners.
