In 2022, data is playing a significant role as restaurants rapidly adapt to the digital landscape

Over the past two years, there has been a significant shift in how restaurant operators use technology. This trend is expected to continue in 2022. Here are the key restaurant data trends for the upcoming year.

• Restaurateurs are facing common challenges such as supply chain issues, staff shortages, higher costs, and competition for customer attention. However, some innovative restaurateurs are using customer data to boost sales and revenue.
• As restaurants utilize data more effectively, they can decrease expenses, boost efficiency, establish online sales platforms, and enhance customer interactions in unprecedented ways.
• In 2022, restaurant data trends focus on utilizing the data collected by restaurants to optimize operations, develop profitable menus, and enhance guest interactions.

When the right data is available to align your teams

Data has become an essential part of the restaurant industry to help restaurant operators discover customer insights that can enhance your operations and marketing. Having timely access to accurate data is crucial for restaurant operators seeking to expand and develop their business.

Modern restaurants are equipped with advanced technology, such as cloud-based point-of-sale (POS) systems that include online ordering, eCommerce outlets, loyalty programs, third-party applications (like delivery), and guest WiFi.

Understanding this data without an expert and the right tools, such as a turn-key customer data platform (CDP), can be challenging and time-consuming.  What is a customer data platform?

• A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a turn-key solution organizes and understands your data from various systems, such as your point-of-sale (POS), third-party apps, eCommerce, and guest WiFi, to provide restaurant operators with a comprehensive view of your audience and core customer groups.

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Personalization has been proven to boost revenue and sales performance across various in-store and sales channels.  With a data-driven personalization strategy, restaurants can then leverage the insights to create unique touchpoints for each customer groups throughout the guest lifecycle. Here are a few examples:

• Designing optimized menu lay-out and accessibility
• Creating personalized and targeted marketing campaigns
• Understanding the best follow-on or win back strategies
• Defining the profile of your ideal loyal customer

The value of a customer data platform (CDP)

What is a CDP? A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is an emerging technology platform that assists businesses in gaining a better understanding of their audience and the buying patterns within different customer groups. It collects, organizes, and stores customer data from multiple sources into a single database. A CDP allows businesses to gain deeper insights into their customers' preferences and behaviors, create personalized experiences, and make data-driven decisions. 

How much does it costs to use a CDP?  The cost of using a Customer Data Platform (CDP) can vary greatly depending on the specific features and needs of the business. Generally, the cost for a CDP will range from a few hundred dollars per month for basic services to several thousand dollars for advanced analytics and predictive modeling capabilities. The exact cost will depend on factors such as the number of users, storage requirements, and dynamic data sources it needs to connect to.

Both Walmart and Amazon have made significant investments in CDP. Both companies hired data scientists, engineers, and analysts for platform maintenance.  What sets these businesses data strategy apart from their peers?

• The digital shopping experience is fully integrated with their loyalty programs and apps.
• This means both brands are able to offer a seamless omnichannel shopping experience.
• Resulting in deep customer insights that are associated with each brand's unique algorithm for product recommendations, offers and guest engagement email marketing or SMS marketing campaigns. 

At GoGoGuest, we believe that restaurant operators of all sizes can pinpoint actionable insights with the right data and actionable insights. With a customer data strategy and the right customer data platform, restaurant operators can glean value-driving use cases to align operations, marketing, finance and the front-of-the-house team. 

Know your target audience and core audience groups

When your team is able to definitively describe your audience and top core customers, you could easily unlock the answers to critical business questions. Here are a few examples:

• We just opened a new location. Our audience growth rate is not where we'd like it to be. What should we do?
• We plan to open a new location every 5 miles. Is that a sound growth strategy?
• I'd like to allocate advertising Dollars for each location. What budget will deliver a solid ROI?
• What brand voice and content resonates with our audience? Who is our audience?

A proper customer data strategy would make it possible for the management team measure business performance, predict the sales performance for each business and create a growth marketing playbook for your restaurant business.  Learn more about audience management.

Guest personalization in every touchpoint

Implementing a customer data strategy with an effective data management solution can help reduce the need for mass marketing email or SMS campaigns. It can be challenging to break this practice when email marketing platforms make it extremely convenient to unintentionally spam your audience.  

Establishing a personalization strategy using your own data is powerful.  Imagine when your own data can empower your marketing team to:

• First-time customers are re-engaged with a tailored welcome experience based on their location, preferences, and buying history.
• Customers receive gifts when they reach certain spending and visit thresholds.
• Repeat and loyal customers are surprised with their favorite menu item.

Access to the right data and a customer data platform makes it easy and seamless for a lean restaurant marketing team to consider a personalization strategy for email and SMS campaigns.

According to the Boston Consulting Group personalized offers have the potential to grow ROI by 200%, leading to a top-line growth opportunity of more than $70 billion in increased annual revenue annually.

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Restaurant marketing has become increasingly data-driven

In recent years, many industries have adopted closed-loop reporting to enhance their ability to analyze and evaluate opportunities and improve return on investment (ROI). For restaurants, measuring marketing efficiency can elevate the strategy for customer acquisition, engagement and sales performance. Here are a few benefits:

• Hire a marketing team with the skills to implement a data-driven marketing strategy.
• Develop an actionable marketing playbook to attract and retain customers for your restaurant brand.
• Understanding the engagement channels and messaging that resonate with your core customers.
• Measuring all your marketing activities and tying it back to "how did this impact sales performance and revenue growth."

A customer data strategy combined with a fully integrated customer data solution gives restaurants the power to act on insights that grow revenue.

Restaurant businesses can benefit from actionable customer insights

Measuring and understanding campaign performance allows marketing teams to prioritize channels and efforts that contribute to sales performance. Here are a few benefits:

• Personalized campaigns that meet individual preferences, including the product mix, channel, and pricing.
• Evaluate campaign performance and sales performance that go beyond open rates and click-through rates.
• Grow your core customer groups by gaining a comprehensive understanding of their demographics, purchasing patterns, and preferences.

Restaurants can better align cross-functional teams

Aligning the marketing and operations teams can lead to improved ROI and operational efficiencies, similar to how a well-aligned kitchen produces consistently delicious food quickly and with few mistakes.

When the marketing team and operations team collaborate, it becomes easier to identify new growth opportunities, and ways to be a more efficient business.  Here are a few benefits:

• Marketing teams can use data and market basket analysis to identify menu items that are frequently purchased together, which can help increase individual purchase totals during each visit.
• Create a process to quickly evaluate menu items that have below-average sales performance.
• Train the front-of-the-house (FOH) team members on menu items that have a high selling potential when paired together, which will lead to an increase in total purchase per visit.
• Super personalize the fine-dining restaurants by auto-tagging menu items ordered to each individual's profile.  

With a customer data strategy, restaurant operators can allocate resources based on a clear, measurable ROI, and eliminate unintentional spamming of your subscriber lists. Moreover, the right data can only help elevate the entire guest experience for your restaurant business.

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It can be challenging to break this practice when email marketing platforms make it extremely convenient to unintentionally spam your audience.  

Restaurants can do more with artificial intelligence (AI) 

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the next technology innovation and frontier that restaurants will need to adapt to in the near future. AI is present in our society, although the restaurant industry is only making limited use of its capabilities today. Here are the benefits of AI:

• AI focused technologies are a step beyond gathering and curating data. AI has the ability to provide recommendations to restaurant operators, allowing them to take immediate action on a marketing campaign, messaging or target customer audience.
• A lean restaurant marketing team can utilize AI to streamline their processes by either approving recommendations or automating them entirely.
• Specific technology categories and solutions will be replaced by AI.  The restaurant marketing stack of the future will be leaner, more robust, fast and powerful. We will expand on this post  in 2023 with specific scenarios and solutions. Take an early look at GoGoGuest Express Commerce. 

Technology and innovation are seen as essential for restaurants to maximize their revenues. The integration of data-driven strategies and AI into a restaurant's marketing and operational processes can have a significant impact on differentiating a business from its competition.

Data and AI are revolutionizing the future of restaurants

By harnessing the power of restaurant data trends, you can unlock your business potential. Whether you run a single cozy cafe or a booming chain of eateries, a customer data strategy, data management and AI can help you seize new opportunities, boost customer engagement, and increase sales. Here are some sample use cases:

• Gain a complete picture of your audience and core customer groups.
• Get data-driven insights and recommendations to improve your marketing strategies.
• Improve your average spend per hour with our Guest WiFi marketing capabilities.
• Monitor and analyze the effectiveness of every email and SMS marketing campaign using up-to-date sales data.
• Understand the specific personalization factors that enhance the sales performance of every campaign.

GoGoGuest is an AI-based platform that is designed to help restaurant operators leverage their own data. We have developed proprietary machine learning models and learning libraries that use advanced AI technology APIs. Our company provides ready-to-use integrations with more than 30 restaurant and marketing solutions, including point-of-sale (POS), email, SMS, and loyalty applications.

Conclusion

Customer data platforms are a recent development in the restaurant industry.  Early adopters are learning new ways to start, run and grow a restaurant business. It is an exciting time to discover how a CDP could help your business scale and grow. 

Are you ready to reap the benefits of your own data? See actionable insights and new opportunities for your restaurant business. Book a demo.