Pizza Today - September 2020 - 28

Collecting key information
The increasing digitization of the
restaurant world has made it easier
than ever for dining establishments to
capture data. With online ordering and
mobile apps becoming more mainstream - a reality accelerated by the
COVID-19 pandemic - pizzerias have
a viable way to collect customer data,
information they can later deploy to
boost customer service, inform marketing efforts and fuel sales.
Beyond digital ordering platforms,
Karen Zaniker, a partner with Synergy Restaurant Consultants who has
been devoted to restaurant marketing
for the last 25 years, says every guest
touchpoint is a way to encourage data
collection - from tabletops, napkins and
receipts to special events, social media,
contests and website pop-ups. She touts
e-mail clubs and loyalty programs as
baseline ways stores can begin collecting customer data, adding that many
customers will volunteer personal information in exchange for a benefit, such
as a free birthday pizza or a discount on
their next order.
One important note, Zaniker adds:
gather as much information as possible
off the bat.
"Once someone's in the program, it's
hard to gather information retroactively,
so the more you can gather up front,
the better," she says.
At a minimum, pizzerias should seek
to capture name, e-mail, mobile number and physical address. The mobile
number, in particular, can be used as a
unique identifier for future activations.
Thereafter, birthdates and household
information can prove helpful and spur
unique personalized offers around children's birthdays or Mother's Day.
"The more relevant we can be with
our marketing messages, the more likely
a guest is to respond," Zaniker says.
With basic customer information
in the system, operators can then layer
on ordering information to generate a
more complete picture of each guest.
When, what and how do they order?
How often? Do they only order with a
coupon in hand?

"Brands must gather the data that
helps them know and understand their
various customer segments and how to
interact with them," says Hope Neiman, chief marketing officer at Tillster,
a leading digital ordering solutions firm.
Leveraging data to drive sales
With customer information in hand,
pizzerias can entice visits with new
product launches, limited-time offers,
seasonal specials, catering or meal kits.
Data around what customers purchase
and when, meanwhile, can help pizzerias refine their menu mix, staffing, food
prep and marketing efforts.
"Data can be the straw that stirs the
entire drink," Zaniker says.
Consider the tried-and-true birthday
gift. According to Zaniker, sending out
a special offer such as a complimentary
appetizer or dessert to mark a birthday
is a proven way many eateries have used
data to spark sales.
"And a good one, too, because virtually no one likes to celebrate alone," she
says.
Knowing when customers visit can
also prove beneficial. Instead of trying
to bring the customer who orders dinner once each week in with a coupon
for a lunch offer, Neiman says it makes
more sense to nudge that same oncea-week dinner guest toward a second
weekly dinner.
"By knowing when they like to order
out, the restaurant can target their
efforts prior to or during this period,
vying for an extra dinner visit and
doubling the customer's weekly spend,"
she says.
And if that weekly dinner guest suddenly stops visiting, then Zaniker urges
the restaurant to reach out and revive
the relationship.
Customer data also opens the door
to upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Combining the menu mix with
customer dining habits, restaurants can
share relevant offers. For example, a
restaurant might notice that a customer
orders on weeknights around 6:00
p.m. and subsequently send an offer
designed to boost check size, such as,

"Work got you hungry? Add wings to
today's dinner for only $2.99."
"After receiving this discount, the
customer may be more inclined to
increase the size of their order during
their usual stop," Neiman says.
For Barnes, who has done restaurant
repairs for the better part of 20 years,
customer data is the powerful, all-purpose tool pizzerias can use to communicate with guests, enhance service and
drive profitability.
"To rethink your restaurant, you need
to have something that drives process
and that's data," Barnes says. n
DANIEL P. SMITH, a Chicago-based
writer, has covered business issues and best
practices for a variety of trade publications,
newspapers, and magazines.

CUSTOMER DATA IS
VITAL TO PERSONALIZED
MARKETING
According to Tillster's Hope Neiman,
data is the way restaurants can shift their
operation to meet the hyper-personalized
marketing that resonates heavily with
today's consumers.
"Personalization is all about understanding your customers and interacting with
them in ways that feel familiar," Neiman
says. "Customers appreciate when you
know what they have ordered in the past
and value their time by reoffering them
their favorites."
Whether pizzerias are trying to drive a
specific outcome like an incremental visit
or letting user data drive their actions in
automated ways such as customized push
notifications, Neiman says data should be
informing campaigns in ways that make the
experience feel "more one-on-one, more
conversational."
"Restaurants who utilize hyper-personalized approaches can market to their guests
based on what they like to eat, what they
like to see, what they want to experience
[and] when they want to experience it,"
Neiman says.

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Pizza Today - September 2020

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