Restaurants
Big Data is more than just a buzz word. Restaurants, hotels, and casinos all utilize advanced business intelligence solutions to increase revenue and manage relationships with their customers. Data science has made it possible for businesses to market to their customers in ways they never thought possible. Gaining a deeper understanding of their customer base allows restaurants to create highly targeted campaigns leading to more guests walking through their doors. However, the value of data-driven technology does not stop at marketing efforts. Big Data can be beneficial for tracking employee performance and improving operations as well.
Data collection can be especially beneficial for restaurants seeking to gain insight into their customers’ dining habits. Loyalty programs originated as a marketing tool to encourage diners to visit a restaurant more often. Now restaurants are using loyalty programs to track customers over multiple visits while gaining valuable knowledge they can use to offer customers more personalized incentives. When a customer scans their loyalty card, for example, a restaurant can capture data pertaining to the number of people in that customer’s party, the time of day they are most likely to come in, and more. Similarly, Point of Sale systems have become powerful data collection tools, tracking everything from menu item popularity to table turnover rates.
The ability to track employee performance has made it possible for restaurants to improve their training and provide diners with a better customer experience. By identifying which servers are doing a better job of pushing daily specials, bottles of wine, or other upsells, restaurant managers can strategically schedule their top employees to work during the most important shifts and zero in on staff members that may require additional training.
Restaurants that have implemented advanced data tracking systems are better equipped to predict their customer flow on any given day. For instance, restaurants can identify how the weather or a local event impacts customer traffic and plan accordingly in the future. From an operations standpoint, the ability to forecast a spike in business is very beneficial to inventory managers. Data improves the capability of purchasing specialists to safeguard against inventory shortages during an increase in customer traffic and avoid product waste during times when business is slower.
As technology continues to evolve, Big Data will become essential to all businesses looking to be competitive in the hospitality industry. To learn how the professional procurement consultants at Source1 Purchasing can help your restaurant use data-driven technology to lower your hospitality supply costs, contact us today.
