Collecting customer data is central to most marketing strategies. A number of methods exist, both direct and indirect, for understanding customer behaviour and preferences. QUASEP will help you decide where, what and how to collect.
Whether it’s an online reservation or a walk-in, have your customers share information such as their first and last name, email and postal code. When seating them, your server can ask how they heard about your restaurant and what brings them in that day. Or you can prompt customers on their phones as they scan the QR code for the menu.
You’ll want to collect as much information as possible during the first exchange, but if you have your customer’s email address, you can contact them to complete their profile later. In return for this additional information, try offering goods or services—a promo code in exchange for their date of birth, or the Wi-Fi password for their food allergies and intolerances.
Identity data can even include your customer’s family status, i.e. whether they’re in a relationship or have children, or socioeconomic information such as their income bracket, industry or even their job title.
Collecting information indirectly
Use your loyalty program and online ordering platform to instantly create detailed user profiles. This will give you access to purchase history, showing you how your customers are ordering (on-site, take-out or delivery), as well as when and how often. Your social media platforms and email marketing program are other great ways of collecting engagement analytics such as website traffic, newsletter open rates and conversion rates. Try analyzing each of your online platforms for device-specific engagement metrics.
Third-party delivery apps can provide you with behavioural data such as average order value or the use of delivery promotions. Behaviour analytics tools, for example Google Analytics, can tell you exactly what your customers are doing when they visit your site.
There’s also attitudinal data, which has to do with how customers feel about your restaurant. Usually collected via surveys, online reviews and complaints, these insights focus on a particular menu item’s performance, reactions to pricing or comments about a seasonal dish.
Collecting data allows you to create customer profiles, which will give you a clearer idea of who’s coming to your business, how they’re consuming and why. This means you’ll be more in touch with them, respond better to their expectations and, in so doing, attract more customers and earn their appreciation.
Highlight: Collecting data allows you to create customer profiles, which means you’ll be more in touch with them, respond better to their expectations and, in so doing, attract more customers and earn their appreciation.