Food & Hospitality: Personalization Sealed with Predictive Analytics

The restaurant industry is experiencing its own technological revolution as well. The relationship between the service industry and consumers is changing. No longer is artificial intelligence and predictive analytics relegated to Silicon Valley or conglomerate chains. Local coffee shops and your neighborhood mom and pop breakfast diner are utilizing AI personalization to improve operations, increase revenue, and create experiences that customers never forget and keep them coming back for more.

How Predictive Analytics Applies To Food Service

The world of food service has relied upon intuition and predictability for years. Restaurant owners can take educated guesses as to what people are going to order, when they are going to show up, or how much food they need on hand. While relying upon such experience is important, having an element of predictive analytics works on a level never before seen, with the opportunity to utilize endless amounts of data to help render what future customers are going to want with absolute precision.

Food service marketing research shows that AI-enabled personalization far surpasses non-AI. From blended dynamic recommendations on menus to food ordering forecasts on small eateries, patrons tend to give higher average order values and higher customer satisfaction scores. Essentially, research shows that good food mixed with quality dynamics yields a successful dining experience, yet technology can provide an even better level of authenticity that acknowledges the nature of people - and then helps them.

Data Is Only As Useful As Its Applicability To You and Your Customer

The most important key to effective AI usage is recognizing what data your restaurant already generates. Restaurants compile more data than they realize:

• Purchase history for what's ordered, when guests arrive, and how much is paid.

• Seasonal patterns showing when peak times exist, what is purchased based on season, and purchases impacted by inclement weather.

• Customer demographics for how old the patrons are, which patrons visit frequently, and who may have special-needs dietary concerns.

• Avoided sales for which items are best sellers and which are ultimately tossed out the most.

  
  

This information drives the predictive algorithms that allow for patterns to be detected in ways that humans cannot. A specific café learns that anyone who orders an oat milk latte on Monday at 10 am is 60% likely to return for a scone on Wednesday at 4 pm. This allows cafés the ability to promote to individuals in a more natural fashion rather than a creepy one.

AI as the Means of Effective Marketing

Smart marketing isn't effective marketing alone. Restaurants gain from AI by applying it to its cheapest resources with the highest ROI opportunities. For example:

• Smart pricing options allow for dynamic menu pricing on supply and demand, attendees, and even time of day. A café that specializes in breakfast might change afternoon prices on a Tuesday to be slightly lower to encourage after-work guests while keeping its morning rates high for breakfast.

  
  

• Suggested menu items based on previous order history. If one person's order history shows they ordered only vegetarian meals, they should be suggested to try vegetarian new menu items or things that complement previous vegetarian meals.

  
  

• Offer Automation knows when regulars are ordering and sends an attributable offer right before they plan to show up. This is a nice gesture, not an obligatory one, as it happens based on customer activity.

  
  

  

  
  

Weather-Triggered Marketing sends cold soup offers when the temperature dips and iced drink offers when it's sweltering outside. Nobody should be forced to order hot soup when it's ninety degrees outside, and they'll appreciate the effort.

Using Predictive Analytics To Reduce Food Waste

Food waste has long been an issue for restaurants that impact the bottom line while trying to please guests yet is terrible for the environment. Utilizing predictive analytics can serve as an effective solution.

Forecasted Demand takes into account how many of each dish sold in the past, combined with the weather, season and more, so restaurants avoid making too much ahead of time/so they don't run out of popular dishes.

Ingredient Use Tracking watches which ingredients are used across several meals, encouraging the creation of a menu that supports multiple use and reduction of waste.

Menu Triggering allows restaurants to push meals whose ingredients are about to go bad. The system can automatically put those highlighted meals on the menu or send discounted offers to those who usually purchase similar meals.

Prep Timing assists in determining when ingredients will likely be needed, reducing waste during prep as kitchens can be better prepared.

Improved Dining Experience Ultimately, everything that goes into order placement is for the improvement of the guest experience so that they feel good enough about their experience to return.

Reduced Wait Times will be an automatic operation of predictive staffing and kitchen prep. When restaurants know when their busiest times are likely to be, they can staff accordingly and make the most popular items in advance.

Dietary Accommodation is almost effortless. The program recognizes which regulars have allergies and dietary restrictions, so when they go to order, they are comfortable doing so without explaining themselves every single time they're in the restaurant.

Surprise and Delight Moments can happen organically based on what AI learns from a person's habits. If a system sees that someone always orders a certain beverage, it might prompt them to get that beverage with a dessert they've never ordered before, even if that item is usually pushed to all customers.

Consistency Regardless of Staff means no one needs to worry that the server who served them last time won't remember their request, or conversely, that the server doesn't have access to their information. AI will ensure that customer preferences and levels of service are upheld even when human memory may fail.

How Small Restaurants Can Implement AI

Restaurants don't need massive new technology adoption to begin AI integration. Small implementations can bring value to small restaurants:

Use Point-of-Sale Systems that offer basic analytics and customer tracking; many POS systems already have some form of AI integration within them as a standard.

Implement in One Area First don't take on too much at once. Instead, begin with some form of inventory control or customer loyalty program and expand when able.

Integrate With Established Resources already exist in the market. Restaurants have delivery services, reservation systems that already compile customer information. In fact, many of these solutions even provide analytics and at this time, even some mom and pop shops can rely on them.

Train Staff on New Systems Gradually. It also puts staff in a position where they have to learn how to use systems that may not be reliable without human intervention. AI still requires human decision making and comprehension.

What's Next?

The next generation of food service is hospitality with techsavvy comprehension blended with the reliable, creative culinary offerings. Those small restaurants and cafes that find the intersection of desire and personality with predictive analytics will be able to thrive in this new competitive landscape.

Because with AI, the restaurant doesn't have to worry about getting stained clothing or talking too fast when taking an order, because the staffing will be able rely on educated guesses that help along the way. It's the guesswork and inefficiencies that AI and predictive analytics provide operational efficiencies for. Staff just need to remember how to create a dish and how to greet a guest, ensuring everyone who walks through the door leaves with the perfect experience.

Restaurants and cafes can compete better than ever. They have the resources to run as smoothly as a bigger chain while keeping the personal touch, front and center. It's no longer a question of whether small restaurants could benefit from accessing these resources, it's a question of how soon restaurants can implement them to beat the competition and stay on par with evolving consumer expectations.

Want to Make The Leap?

Implementing AI and predictive analytics doesn't need to be intimidating for your restaurant. From reduced food waste to improved customer retention and increased efficiency, if you're looking to upgrade digitally, we specialize in small restaurant and café transformation. Contact us today to see how we can tailor these possibilities to your specific café or restaurant needs - with results in weeks, not months!