There are 3 BASIC PATHS to winning the customer.
The restaurant can choose the path that best fits their needs, but has the opportunity to shift paths as needed.
Financially or Economically Driven
Provide exceptional value for money - offer competitive pricing, loyalty programs and special discounts that appeal to budget conscious diners. Efforts driven by the goal of driving additional transaction volume.
Manage costs and optimize menu pricing so customers feel they are getting the best deal for the quality. Align financial incentives with customer satisfaction to build a loyal customer base that balances quality with economic benefits.
Intellectually or Analytically Driven
Leverage customer data to personalize and enhance dining experiences by analyzing customer preferences, dining habits and feedback. Analyzing this data helps brand tailor menus, promotions, and their services to meet their needs.
Passionately or Emotionally Driven
Build a deep emotional connection with customers by aligning with their values and passions. Create a strong brand identity that reflects shared values like sustainability, community involvement or culinary innovation.
Engage in storytelling, authentic interactions and a unique dining atmosphere to create a sense of belonging and loyalty. Build a lasting emotional bond with customers so they choose the establishment not just for the food but for the meaningful emotional experience it represents.
Multiple Paths to Winning the Customer
Explore critical tools that provide different levels of communication with your audience.
It's About
Transaction Driven
Data Driven
Brand Driven
This framework identifies methodologies and tools for restaurateurs to win the customer and effectively compete with their competitors.
Step 2
Setting Yourself Apart
Step 1
Winning the Customer
STEP 1
Tools to Win the Customer
After choosing a path, consider the ways to provide different LEVELS of COMMUNICATION with your audience.
Speaking To
Conversing With
Relationship With
Speaking to your audience, one-way communication
Having a two-way conversation with an individual
Building an ongoing relationship with an individual
Speaking
Conversing
Relationship
TACTICAL TOOLS
Driver
Catalyst
Benefits
STEP 2
Transaction Driven
Data
Driven
Brand
Driven
Decision based on convenience
Decision based on data
Decision based on customer affinity
Postive Perceived Value
Relevant Engagement
Loyalty & Brand Recognition
LEVELS OF COMMUNICATION
PATHS OF COMMUNICATION
Social Media Proactive
Digital
Marketing
Website
3rd Party
Delivery
Email
Marketing
POS/KDS
Mobile
App
Kiosk/
Tabletop
Online
Ordering
Social Media Reactive
CRM/CDP
Loyalty
Defined as an activity that utilizes a restaurant's tools in a wholly unique manner in order to gain customers in a potentially novel way. These tactics are separated by creativity by the absolute uniqueness of disruption. Creativity allows for ideating from already established ideas and practices. It is also worth noting that a disruptive act does not need to be successful – just absolutely new in some way.
Defined as an activity that changes the way the industry functions in some way.
When thinking about Winning The Customer, it is important to consider disruption. The steps and tools that have been outlined for Winning The Customer allow a brand of any size to meet the industry standards towards those ends. The more brands who accomplish these tasks, the more diluted restaurants may be among others who have achieved the same. While we cannot specifically outline a disruptive strategy (as it, in itself, defies generally accepted processes), it is important for restaurants who seek to become disruptive to create an environment of innovation and trial & error. In environs where teams cannot experiment, they are unlikely to disrupt.
In order for a brand to set themselves apart, it may be useful to utilize disruptive tactics.
As so, it is important to define the spirit of disruption within this framework.
Disruption of
Customer Attention
Industry Disruption
This situational disruption may grow into Industry Disruption if the activity is found to be replicable, scalable, and universally useful in some way.
Following, you'll find a timeline of activities that were once considered disruptive, but are now considered SOP for a large portion of the restaurant community. This timeline should seem commonplace to you now, but at the time each of these items were brought to market, they were nothing short of revolutionary.
Capturing Customer Attention
Changing the Industry
Drive up/
Carhop
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curab ipsum. Nam arcu est.
Drive-Thru
Restaurant
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risus, venenatis quis arcu id.
Franchise
Model
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risus, venenatis quis arcu.
Electronic
Cash Register
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risus, vene.
Touchscreen, POS,
CC Payment
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risu vel arcu est.
Online
Ordering
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risus, venenatis quis arcu id.
Self-Order
Kiosk
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risus, venena.
3rd Party
Delivery
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risus, venenatis.
Virtual Brands
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risus, venenatis.
Ghost Kitchens
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
TV Ads & Brand Characters
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
Happy Meals
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
Co-Branding
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
Reputation Management
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.
Jingles
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
Slogans
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
Collaborative Marketing
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
Influencer
Virtual Brands
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur mauris risust.
Winning the Wallet
Winning the Mind
Winning the Heart
Drive up/
Carhop
Drive-Thru Restaurant
Franchise Model
Electronic
Cash Register
Touchscreen, POS, CC Payment
Online Ordering
Self-Order Kiosk
3rd Party Delivery
Ghost Kitchens/ Virtual Brands
AI-driven Solutions
TV Ads & Brand Characters
Happy Meals
Co-Branding
Jingles
Slogans
Collaborative Marketing
Influencer Virtual Brands
Reputation Management
Choosing the right path that fits your needs while
winning the customer helps you set the foundation
for a successful business strategy for years to come.
Ensure restaurant info is...
Use data to define and select...
Cultivate emotional connection with...
Cultivate emotional connection with...
For organic discovery, use...
Use data you have to identify...
Make ordering easy to use from...
Use behavioral analytics to...
Use your website to interact by...
Keep your menu limited for...
Promote high profit items to...
Use brand voice to highlight...
Increase frequency and AOV with...
Send different emails to...
Use gamification and facts to...
Ensure restaurant information is on socials and people can order immediately.
Ensure your Kitchen Display System (KDS) is..
Use Point of Sale (POS) to gather...
Leverage near mealtime notifications to...
Improve marketing by using...
Integrate loyalty offers and orders via...
Engage customers often
to remind them...
Enable mobile payment for......
User ordering and daypart use data to...
Use lower clicks to order and...
Customize their experience based on...
Use the brand voice to display the...
Integrate your brand into your online...
Make it easy for your customer service...
Use customer sentiment and sales trends to...
Review success of offers to run or not run...
Gather data from disparate locations...
Use quick, engaging responses in...
Use customer data to push...
Use loyalty to accrue...
Use loyalty to better understand your...
Use loyalty to engage with your...
Use data to define and select your target market.
Cultivate emotional connection with customers through shared values.
Multi-channel interaction with fans to remind them of who you are.
Use the data that you have to identify best channels to engage.
Geo/Store location listings. Actively update. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for organic discovery.
Use your website to interact. Ask Me Anything with your mascot or Behind the Scenes Blog.
Behavioral analytics - menu insights and personalization opportunities.
Make ordering easy to use from menu browsing to payment completion.
Integrate loyalty offers, orders via app.
Use Point of Sale (POS) to gather info - Product Mix (P-mix) for popular items, volume changes and use to inform marketing.
Enure your Kitchen Display System (KDS)/printers layout strategically designed for your busiest times but can change for slow times.
We’re here! You should come visit us. Gamify or add neat facts about the restaurant.
Send diff emails w/ diff voices/offers to diff segments.
Increase Frequency/AOV - next time you come in use this offer.
Use the brand voice to highlight most popular items or things that represent the brand best.
Promote high profit items to absorb delivery costs and products that travel well.
Easy/quick to execute. Bundles w/appetizers or dessert. Limited menu for ease of ordering.
Engage customers to remind them that they like your brand.
Market using segmentation, personas or churn predictions.
Near Mealtime Notification, few clicks to order.
Integrate your brand into your online ordering options to highlight your brand personality.
Customized experience based on your segment or order history.
Low clicks to order. Bundles for less decisions. Stored payment for quick checkout.
Use the brand voice to display the tone and manner of your brand.
Based on ordering and daypart use data to upsell and cross sell.
Low clicks to order. Bundles for less choices. Mobile payment for faster checkout.
Use loyalty to engage with your customers in a creative way. Loyalty only rewards or contests.
Use loyalty to better understand your customers and target marketing based on personas.
Use loyalty to accrue “points” toward a discount or free item. This should increase frequency to accrue more points.
Use customer data to push exclusive experiences and identify and nurture brand ambassadors.
Gather data from disparate locations, wifi, credit card, loyalty, to market directly to the customer. Consider creating personas.
Analysis opportunities. Review success of offers to run or not run based on past performance, optimize marketing efforts based on sales uplifts. Your core place to segment and personalize from.
Quick, engaging responses in the brand voice to both positive and negative postings.
Use customer sentiment and sales trends to understand how important the issue is to your customer and if a response is warranted.
Make it easy for your customer service department to recover dissatisfied guests and delight satisfied guests.
How are you winning the customer?
We want to hear your success stories! Whether you’re a restaurant operator or a technology supplier, please share:
Twin Timelines of Disruption in the Restaurant Industry
Disruption
Advanced analytics can help predict trends and optimize operations to ensure that customers receive high quality consistently. Boost customer satisfaction and foster loyalty as customers get an improved, personalized experience.
Data driven means making changes based on what the customer and transactional data informs, iterating with tests and reflecting on results to improve experience.
Winning
the
Customer
Winning
the
Customer
setting
yourself
apart
1920s
1930s
1940s
1950s
1960s
1970s
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Adoption of the recommended strategies
Increased customer loyalty and engagement
Innovative or disruptive practices
Email your success stories to info@restauranttechnologynetwork.com
KEY CONTRIBUTERS
CLICK TO EXPAND
Robert Peterson | Tim Tang | Mark Mullinax | Cacy Merrifield | Eric Soll | MaryBeth Maskovas | Crystina Clauson