It’s Now or Never for Restaurant Marketing
Here's how data can make or break your restaurant's future.
During COVID-19, the casual dining restaurant landscape was forced to shift into a leaner economic model, where a short-term model of lower sales and higher margins became adopted. We’ve seen 43% of operators reduce menu offerings, simplify operations and reduce dining room capacity across the board. This led to lower total sales with higher margins and fewer customers. And while higher margins are great, it is not sustainable to continue operating without a steady stream of sales coming in.
Consumers are ready to get back. 63% of consumers feel safe to go to a restaurant with outdoor seating after shelter-in-place mandates are lifted and 62% of people agree that restaurant food is a treat/escape from worrying about COVID-19. [Datassential]
HOW CAN YOUR DATA REACTIVATE YOUR MARKETING?
1
KNOW YOUR CUSTOMERS.
Determining how your most loyal customers have changed pre- and post-pandemic is critical to future success.
We saw that loyalty is challenged in a bear market during the last recession and any efforts your competitors are making now are attempting to steal your loyalists. Now is the time to nurture your most loyal customers. If not, you’ll be able to find them again mid-2021 but it will cost you more to do so.
2
BUILD YOUR DATABASE ABOVE EVERYTHING
We’re seeing clients in the restaurant space shift all marketing dollars to trackable CRM systems.
This depth of data on what a customer wants and which tactics produce conversions should fuel the entirety of your marketing strategy, resulting in high conversions with low waste. Restaurants should continue to build their databases with customers coming in today. Drive them in with marketing efforts (targeted prospects too) and capture them into your loyalty, CRM or eClub for the future.
3
FOCUS ON CROSS-FUNCTIONAL MENU DESIGN.
Customer dining behavior has changed; your menu should, too.
Having a menu that focuses on profitability, easy of use, and scale across multiple dining options is more and important today then ever before.
Marketing for restaurants hasn’t gone away and consumers are looking to restaurants as a beacon of hope during the pandemic. COVID-19 has created the most volatile restaurant landscape in recent memory, and even those enjoying recent success are questioning why and for how long. However, there is a life raft in these turbulent waters: DATA. Data builds confidence, efficiency and strategy no matter the environment. Let us show you how to bridge the data gap.