The four letter word data is ruling almost every industry today including restaurants. It can bring revolutionary changes to a restaurant business and drastically improve sales.
Restaurant data mainly signifies sales data, customer data, staff performance, and more. Scrutinizing such data helps restaurant owners treat their customers with an amazing restaurant ambiance and improve the overall restaurant management process.
In the competitive landscape of the food industry where restaurants are constantly looking for ways to improve their customer experience and the quality of food, data analytics has a significant role to play.
So what is data analytics? What is the role of data analytics in the restaurant business?
Get answers to all your queries regarding data analytics in restaurant articles in this article.
What is data analytics in restaurants?
Data analytics in restaurants refers to the process of collecting, measuring and analyzing data to generate helpful insights. Restaurant data analytics shows a clear picture of sales, customer behavior and more by analyzing the numbers that the reports reveal.
For example: such analysis can solve mysteries like why specific meals have failed to impress foodies resulting in low sales etc. Adopting the concept of restaurant data analytics is not only useful for individual restaurant owners but also for restaurant chain owners. Such data analytics gives them a clear understanding of each of their restaurant is performing and track customer behavior which they can utilize to make overall improvements to increase profit.
Bonus tip: If you want to incorporate data analytics services for your restaurant or restaurant chains, you can turn to WP Food Manager. It offers a comprehensive WordPress restaurant management solution that includes multiple restaurant management facilities with detailed restaurant data analytics.
What is Big Data?
To understand how you can collect restaurant data, you must be aware of the term “Big Data” which is commonly used to address a large amount of data presented by technical tools.
Mostly established restaurant chain owners gather big data from various sources including their website, social media, inventory management tools, etc. On the other hand, small or individual restaurant owners usually rely on real-time data that mainly influences their daily restaurant operations.
Restaurant data classification:
| Restaurant data types | Example of specific data type: | Use them to: |
|---|---|---|
| Website data |
1. Website traffic 2. Frequently visited pages on your website 3. How they found your restaurant 4. Their ordering behavior |
1. Find out if your website is search engine optimized. 2. Increase website traffic. 3. Engage audiences. 4. Boost revenue from online order. |
| Operational data |
1. Sales data 2. Table reservation data 3. Staff data 4. Inventory data 5. Menu data |
1. Find out the staff and customer volume ratio. 2. Add, modify or delete items from your restaurant menu. 3. Reduce food wastage by predicting food order amounts. |
| Customer data |
1. Customer behavior 2. Contact details of customers 3. Their food preferences. 4. customer demographics. |
1. Promote your restaurant to the right people. 2. Know your customer preferences. 3. Provide a better user experience. 4. Offer discounts and more. |
How to collect restaurant data?
Now that we know about the types of restaurant data that restaurant owners need to gather to track different areas of their restaurants, let us now find out how to collect these data.
The best way to collect restaurant data is to rely on efficient tools that not only show you the right figures but also make the task easy for you by automating the process.
1. Collecting website data:
When it comes to collecting website data like your restaurant’s traffic flow, daily orders, payment method, and more, you can use tools like an online ordering system, Google Analytics, etc.
WordPress users can opt for WP Food Manager to create a WooCommerce-based online ordering system and track orders on their website.
2. Collecting customer data:
To know your customers and target audiences closely you need to have sufficient information about them. CRM tools can be very helpful for you in this regard. In addition to that, you can also encourage them to sign up on your website for which they need to share a few details about themselves. Based on the data you collect from them you can personalize their dining experience at your restaurant.
3. Collecting operational data:
Keeping track of your online and offline orders, having detailed staff records, daily footfalls, etc can help you collect and maintain your restaurant’s operational data. Besides this, you can also create an online restaurant menu with WP Food Manager which you can manage as per your requirement and easily track, add, edit, or delete food items to your menu digitally whenever you want.
The role of data analytics in Restaurant businesses
Restaurant data analytics can radically improve the way you manage your restaurants and increase sales to a great extent. Here are the roles that data analytics in restaurants play in improving the overall restaurant operations:
1. Enhance customer experience
With restaurant data analytics, restaurant owners get to know their customers closely and find out their tastes and preferences which they can utilize in offering them personalized dining experiences.
- It helps them make changes to the menu as per their choices.
- Set prices based on that.
- Create a suitable ambiance for them and more.
Your restaurant data analytics shows you the accurate picture of the most popular and not-so-popular food items on your food menu so that you can figure out why a few food items are unable to satisfy customers whereas some items have become their favorites. All you have to do is to track your reviews, repeat orders etc to find the best-selling items on your menu and create a menu strategy based on that.
3. Reduce food waste
Restaurant analytics also gives you a clear idea about your past and current inventory levels based on your orders and revenue. Assembling this information together will help you handle your inventory levels based on your order volume to help you reduce waste and unnecessary expenses.
4. Improve staff performance
You can measure your restaurant staff’s efficiency by monitoring the waiting time of your customers, their reviews, and tips. Your restaurant data analytics will help you with this information and create an effective strategy for staff incentivization.
You can also consider reading our previous article on a restaurant staff training program to train your restaurant staff to be more efficient.
5. Increase sales
With restaurant data analytics you can streamline the entire restaurant management system by fully utilizing inventory, offering your guests their preferred service, enhancing customer experience and managing the menu efficiently. This would ultimately result in a better sales and revenue increase.
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Frequently Asked Questions on Restaurant Data Analytics
How does data analytics help restaurants?
Data analytics helps restaurants maintain a good customer experience, update food menus based on customer preferences, keep competitive prices, reduce food wastage and improve staff efficiency.
What are the benefits of data analytics in restaurants?
The benefits of data analytics in restaurants include the following:
- Improve customer experience.
- Simplify menu and price management.
- Strengthen marketing strategies.
- Optimum utilization of resources.
- Better staff management.
What are the data collection methods in restaurants?
Restaurant owners can rely on several tools that are available for data collection. Here are some of the ways restaurants can collect data:
- CRM plugins
- Online ordering system
- A dedicated search engine optimized restaurant website.
- Google Analytics
- Sales record and more.
Wrapping up
We hope that through this article, you will be able to grasp the concept and role of data analytics in restaurant businesses. If you have not yet adopted the modern style of better restaurant management, it is high time you take a step forward and incorporate it into your restaurant business.
