Customer data, research and insights feed into impactful marketing and communications, they drive successful ranging and menu decisions, they can influence decisions around service levels, pricing structures, team training, operational issues, property decisions and so much more!
Don’t go by gut feel alone.
We live in a world where data is in abundant supply. Many large companies are drowning in it. Data is all well and good and is incredibly powerful, but with great power comes great responsibility. This is where, quite often, the passion and single-minded vision, combined with data, can lead to forced validation of pre-determined beliefs. Put simply, seeing what you want to see in the data rather than seeing the truth. Gut feel can often be the enemy of businesses. Of course, a stopped clock is right twice a day, so I’m sure there are many stories of gut feel decisions leading to success but roll the dice often enough and the house always wins.
Anyone wanting to build a successful pub company should be able to answer the following questions:
- Do you know your current and future customer?
- Do you know how they think and how they behave?
- Do you know what they like and what they don’t like?
- Do you know how they are evolving and changing as other trends change?
- Do you know where else they socialise and spend their money?
- Do you know how these ‘competitors’ are developing their offer?
Customers AREN’T always right, but they’re never wrong!
Of course, the old adage that the customer is always right is a load of balls. The customer is not always right. However, they ARE never wrong.
By listening to your target customers and lasering in on their needs you will be able to build a stronger connection to them and build a loyal customer base for your pub business.
