Cold calling is a tactic that is both time-consuming and expensive. In fact, it has been estimated that only 2 percent of cold calls result in a sale. On top of this, only 28 percent of cold calls result in an actual conversation. Businesses generally dislike this tactic, and a cold call decreases the likelihood of a business working with you in the future.
Long story short, cold calling in the highly competitive restaurant market is not the right approach.
Instead of taking a shot in the dark and blindly calling restaurant businesses, use precise restaurant data analytics as your guiding light to pursue the right sales leads. You wouldn’t go into a pitch meeting unprepared for what the investors are seeking, nor should you enter a sales call lacking information on what the restaurant business is looking for.
Restaurants know that tech can greatly help their business and improve its efficiency. According to Toast’s 2019 Restaurant Success Report, 26% of restaurants use one technology vendor, 22% use three vendors, and 26% use four or more. Even if a restaurant already uses one technology, there is still room for more improvements; only 3 percent of restaurant operators reported working with no technology vendor.
Adopting new technologies was the only way to stay afloat during the pandemic for many restaurants. In 2022, this is how businesses will continue to succeed in the competitive restaurant market and what is now being referred to as the “new normal.”
After the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, technology was needed immediately to adapt to increased online ordering, contactless pick-up, and streamlined BOH (back-of-house) operations. With supply chain issues causing food shortages and rising inflation, monitoring COGs (cost of goods) is more important than ever for restaurants to track their expenses. This can be accomplished using solutions like online ordering systems, POS (point-of-sale) systems, and kitchen management software.
The demand and desire for your company’s restaurant and hospitality tech are certainly there, but it can still be challenging to sell your product to restaurants.
Restaurants run on extremely tight profit margins and do not have a lot of extra cash to spend. When restaurants commit to buying a new product or technology, it must guarantee that it will boost sales, improve business operations, or increase efficiency.
Restaurants cannot risk spending their tight budgets on a poor choice. With so many external, uncontrollable factors, operators and owners must control internal factors to the best of their ability. As a restaurant vendor, it is your job to show owners, operators, and managers how your tech makes their business better.
Selling your product to a foodservice business requires precision, persistence, and repertoire. Know that you are vying for customers against multiple competitors. You can think of data as a “cheat code” that gives you immediate insight into only the restaurants that are your ideal customers.
Researching all of the restaurants in North America would take an incredibly long time, and this process is also costly. Even though accessing data does cost money, it will save your company both time and money in the long run.
With that being said, don’t waste your money on data you don’t need – some companies offer bulk data where much of it is irrelevant to your company.
Having access to the right restaurant data analytics automatically gives you and your company the upper hand when reaching out to a potential foodservice client. Instead of trying to fish for information, you already have insight into what you need to know. Coming to a potential client with why they need your product and how it can improve their business is a clear-cut, linear way to make a sale.
Restaurant data allows you to know who exactly needs your tech, and how your product could improve a restaurant brand’s metrics.
Gaining access to valuable restaurant intelligence is one thing, but is your data up-to-date? Quick access to real-time data helps keep tabs on your competitors and see what they are missing. Your business can actively monitor what customers in your area need at any given time.
At this point, you can see why it is essential to have access to precise and up-to-date data in the competitive restaurant market. What exactly can this asset do for your business? Here are just a few benefits:
Brizo FoodMetrics provides restaurant data analytics and market research to help foodservice and restaurant suppliers make more informed data-driven decisions. Over 500,000 data sources are analyzed in Brizo’s proprietary online dashboard. Access to menu items, amenities, and contact information of decision-makers of over 1,200,000 restaurants throughout the U.S. and Canada.
With clients like Bbot, BentoBox, and TouchBistro, Brizo has a proven track record of helping its clients increase sales to foodservice and hospitality customers. The days of relying on gut feelings and luck for success may be coming to an end, as data-driven insight becomes increasingly important in finding more customers who are qualified candidates with high purchase intent.
