Running a foodservice business requires far reaching and innovative strategies for success. Beyond simply offering delicious items, leaders must also understand the needs of their target consumer. By understanding the power of data and actively leveraging relevant analytics tools, business owners can gain valuable insights into the foodservice landscape and identify opportunities for growth.
In this article, we’ll explain the key considerations for foodservice distributors and restaurant owners when evaluating an account-based analytics tool. We will focus on the features offered by tools such as Brizo, which provide a comprehensive suite of insights into menu data and restaurant tech coverage, allowing foodservice businesses to explore ever-evolving opportunities and target customers with tailored marketing campaigns and sales strategies. With such analytics, foodservice distributors can more accurately assess the purchasing behavior of customers and inform approaches to market research, sales prospecting, marketing, production innovation and data enrichment.
Comprehensive Market Insights
When selecting an analytics tool, foodservice business owners should first and foremost consider the scope of insights on offer. Without a thorough understanding of the foodservice landscape, it is hard to estimate potential areas for growth or determine opportunities for customer acquisition. A comprehensive analytics tool should offer comprehensive market insights that come backed up by a diverse set of data, allowing foodservice distributors to instantly access information on the purchasing and consumption habits of their target market– be it a restaurant, bar, or catering service. With this data, businesses can make informed decisions and keep tabs on the ever-changing industry trends.
Data Fields Specific To the Food Service Industry
In addition to comprehensive market insights, foodservice business owners should evaluate an analytics tool based on whether it’s data fields are specific to the food service industry. Having access to detailed, industry-specific data can make all the difference between an accurate bar and restaurant market analysis and an incomplete one; that is, an analysis based on generic, outdated or limited information. Having the right data on their side allows foodservice distributors to gain the marketing and sales edge they need to stay ahead of the competition.
Menu Data Analysis
It goes without saying that menu data is at the heart of any foodservice business. A great analytics tool should offer fresh and relevant menu data and have the capability to analyze the menu to uncover opportunities for growth and sales. By tracking the success of particular menu items/combinations across various restaurants over time, foodservice business owners can determine what’s working well for their competitors and replicate successful strategies. Considering menu data analysis when evaluating an analytics tool is therefore essential for success within the foodservice industry.
Sales Prospecting
Equipping your sales team with data-driven insights is another key consideration when selecting an account-based analytics tool. After all, restaurant owners and foodservice firms need data-backed insights in order to make sound decisions in the sales process. To that end, the right tool should offer comprehensive sales prospecting features that enable foodservice distributors to identify and nurture high value leads, as well as analyse existing sales data in order to gain a deep understanding of customer wants and needs.
Marketing to the Foodservice Market
When it comes to giving customers what they want, it pays to do more than just understanding their tastes. An effective account-based analytics tool should also offer enhanced marketing features so that customers can be actively engaged with through tailored marketing campaigns. In addition to understanding customer buying preferences, restaurant owners should also be able to determine the best time to reach out, what messages to use and when, and how best to convert leads into paying customers.
Find Kitchens and Expand Operations
For foodservice businesses looking to expand operations and stay competitive, an effective analytics tool should enable them to strategically plan for growth based on data-driven insights. Restaurant owners should be able to use the tool to explore potential kitchen locations that generate the highest ROI. Moreover, the tool should be able to track production trends within the industry and offer detailed information on cost and production across various kitchen types.
Data Enrichment
Finally, data enrichment is another key consideration when selecting an analytics tool for the foodservice market. Data enrichment allows foodservice businesses to update their systems with the most current information, giving them an edge in the market. An effective analytics tool should be able to provide detailed coverage of the foodservice market so that restaurants can make decisions with confidence.
