Digital Food Marketing is Required for Restaurants and C-Stores Today

 

Do you think your company can sell for to today’s consumers like you did in 2015, 2018, or 2021? Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®, stated “If you are a Food Marketer today and not using handheld digital food marketing tools, you won’t be a food marketer for long.”  

IN a new report from Paytronix, digital food orders have risen to one-third of total restaurant and convenience store food orders, a large increase from just 12% pre-pandemic. While in-store sales remain down by nearly half, digital orders have remained elevated at 113% of pre-pandemic levels. We are talking customer relevance here folks.

Andrew Robbins, CEO of Paytronix, stated, “Our ‘new normal’ means the digital guest experience is no longer secondary to the physical experience, it’s front and center and marks one of the biggest changes I’ve seen in 20 years working with brands,”… “The opportunity for brands to use artificial intelligence to make experiences more personalized is huge. Learning directly from guests, presenting them with recommendations that resonate and instantly responding to their feedback with a personalized message from the store manager, is elevating brands that rely on their ability to connect with their guests.”

Report findings include:

·         A rise in takeout orders — While delivery was king before and during the height of the pandemic, more recent data indicates that takeout orders now dominate digital orders, with numbers even higher than they were pre-pandemic. Takeout jumped from approximately 35% of orders in January 2020 to a majority in March 2022, a trend that appears to be increasing.

·         Third-party delivery is here to stay — Third-party services will continue to play an important role in a customer acquisition strategy. To achieve success in today’s “new normal,” restaurants and c-stores need to embrace new technology and third-party options and explore how to successfully integrate them into existing operations.

·         Delivery customers are different — For much of 2021, the average delivery tip was 12.5% of the subtotal, more than double takeout order tips. Also, 2021 takeout orders included a tip just 37% of the time compared to nearly 73% of delivery orders. Delivery customers are also more loyal, with 31% of orders coming from repeat customers.

·         Customer feedback — Saving a guest relationship pays off. Paytronix data shows that issuing a coupon costs a restaurant $2.30 on average, but results in a $9.20 lift in that customer’s lifetime value. That four-times ROI means a timely guest recovery strategy is a must-have.

·         AI is key to gauging customer sentiment — Fifteen percent of reviews with a rating of 4.5 or better actually have a negative sentiment and could benefit from action, while three-star reviews most frequently contain negative sentiment.

Now here is the thing.  Customer relevance is important and nothing is more important than one on one brand messaging and marketing.

For international corporate presentations, regional chain presentations, educational forums, or keynotes contact: Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions.  His extensive experience as a multi-unit restaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert, and public speaking will leave success clues for all. For more information visit GrocerantGuru.com, FoodserviceSolutions.US or call 1-253-759-7869

Trader Joe’s bundled meal components equal quality food fast.



Ready-to-eat and ready-to-heat fresh and prepared food continues to drive top line sales and bottom line profits within the grocerant niche. Trader Joe’s continues to expand its small footprint grocerant across the US with ever increasing success. That success is in large part due too quality meal components, that can be bundled in a single or large family meal quickly.

Trader Joe’s utilizes Foodservice Solutions® 5 P’s of food marketing: Product, Packaging, Placement, Portability and Price better than any other food company operating in the US. Upon any visit to Trader Joe’s you will witness a private label single or fresh or prepared entree in most of the shopping carts.

In each store they have a product sampling and information station staffed with well trained employees that can assist you in creating a special dinner, a family meal or a main dish/ casserole of your own utilizing prepared and packed private label Trader Joe’s products. Those products reduce the meal assembly and cooking time. The outcome is a quality meal in less time, for less money in most cases. You can even sip a glass of “two buck chuck” from bottle Trader Joe’s house wine while you cook.

With dollar stores cherry picking the “center of store” of legacy grocery stores one may begin to wonder how long before the large footprint legacy store will be around. New formats and fresh prepared meal solutions are clearly leading the consumer in a new direction.

Since 1991 Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma, WA has been the global leader in the Grocerant niche. For product or brand positioning assistance contact Steven A. Johnson and Foodservice Solutions® or visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/grocerant or on Facebook at Steven Johnson, GOOGLE: Steven Johnson Grocerants or twitter.com/grocerant