Using Data Analytics to Get to Know Your Customers

The key to running a successful business is understanding who your customers are. So you can tailor your products or services to suit them. Going beyond vague age and gender brackets, data analytics can give you an accurate breakdown of exactly who is visiting your restaurant. As a result, you can make informed decisions on how to market what you do and to whom. Learn more about how you can use data analytics to get to know your customers in and out.

In the digital age, it’s never been easier to find data analytics to use to your advantage and get to know your customers. In fact, even social media can tell you the average age of your followers. Even more, when they are most active online, making it simple to build an overall picture. More advanced data analytics can even share how often your customers visit you, how much they spend with you and what their interests are.

Such insight matters, because it’s the best way of getting in sync with what your customers really want. By doing so, you can improve your business model and streamline your overheads too. 

Read minds

No crystal ball required. By having your customer data presented in a way that’s easy to toggle between, you can ensure your marketing hits a bullseye every time. For example, if pizza is the most popular item ordered in your restaurant. You can deliver deals to your most loyal customers. When it comes to social media marketing, you could use storytelling to show your customers how your famous pizzas are made. 

Compared with generic content you put out to try and boost your followers with no real insight behind it, this tactic is a lot more likely to generate ROI. That’s because you are getting to the heart of what your customers come to you for. If your analytics show people are searching for ‘pizza in Edinburgh’, then you can even tailor your paid posts to pick up on these keywords too. 

Identify your best customers

It’s not a question of picking favourites here. Studying your data analytics can paint an interesting picture when it comes to your acquisition costs. In particular, who is responding best to your marketing. For example, if you are spending the most money trying to attract students. However, find out that your biggest customer base is working professionals coming in on their lunch break. This gives you a chance to reassess your marketing strategy. So that overall it’s a lot more cost-effective. 

You can also understand who is spending the most money with you, and what are your most popular products or services. As a restaurant, this might be a particular meal deal you serve that’s popular with the lunchtime crowd. If your analytical tools are even more advanced, you can even identify what each individual customer orders most often, to create tailored marketing. 

Further reading: https://stampede.ai/blog/personalise-your-customer-journey-at-your-restaurant/

Target their location

Geography is huge when it comes to marketing your business. If your customers are coming from far and wide but your marketing is only concentrated to a 1-mile radius of your restaurant, you could be missing out on vital trade. Similarly, if you advertise nationally but 90% of your customers live within 5 miles of your restaurant. This could be eating up your marketing budget providing a poor ROI. 

The great thing about data analytics is that you can find out the towns and cities closest to you that are pulling in the most customers. You will be able to access both the reach and engagement, as well as the potential reach if you were to extend your campaign from the city to the whole county.

Maintain steady business

The thing about analytics is that it shows both upwards and downwards trends. By studying your data regularly, you can see when certain demographics aren’t purchasing as regularly. Or when the business as a whole is receiving less traffic to its social media pages, which is impacting bookings. Going beyond simply noticing less cash in the till, the specifics of who isn’t buying from you and why can allow you to take informed action. 

For example, you might notice fewer students are visiting because it’s the end of the summer term. You can prep for freshers week to bring in even more trade than usual, to make up for the shortfall. In addition, you could switch to marketing towards families who are more likely to be receptive in the school holidays instead. Therefore, your data analytics can assist both your business forecasting and recovery too. 

Conclusion

Do you know who your customers are? Answering this question accurately can be really tricky for any restaurant business. After all, customers tell you their order not their date of birth or any other key information that would help you tailor your marketing strategy better. Then there’s the challenge of getting this key information in the first place, especially in the age of GDPR. 

Our branded WiFi portal allows your customers to keep connected. While simultaneously allowing you to be more connected to your customers too. By monitoring the connection closely you can get insight on how your business is performing. But also how to improve it. On the same time, you can use data analytics to get to know your customers better and reach out to them in a more tailored way.

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