Marketers share a common dilemma: How do you make the most out of lots of information from different places?
There’s no shortage of data. And no matter what your business is, using this data to serve customers better can help you succeed. Justin Bartek, who’s in charge of marketing at Dog Haus, knows this well.
The Business to Human podcast recently had Justin on as a guest to talk about:
- Using lots of data to make customers happy
- Where social media is useful in marketing
- How marketing and operations can work better together
Here’s a summary of that conversation. You can also listen to the full interview on Apple or Spotify podcast.
What’s Missing in Marketing Nowadays?
Learning from him time at Dog Haus, Justin shares that marketing for a restaurant can be challenging.
A lot of the people who work at and go to the restaurant have been around for a while. Changing things when you’ve always done them a certain way can be hard.
Justin says, “Taking those brands from 50 to 100 in our industry seems to be the hardest jump because you’ve got a lot of people that were in there from the beginning who think a certain way that’s worked to this point but they don’t understand what it takes to get to the next level.”
Even if your restaurant is doing well, taking it to the next level can be a steep uphill climb. Justin believes there a few things that can help a company go from good to great. One of those things is data.
Using data can help figure out what to do next with your restaurant. Whether it’s loyalty programs, teaming up with others, making ordering easy online, or improving your app, data can give marketers the right answers if they know how to use it.
But using data isn’t always easy. Justin says, “There’s so much data that many marketers don’t know where to start.”
First, you need to know which data matters most for your restaurant’s success. Then, you should learn about tools that can collect and understand that data, so you can use it in your marketing plans.
Making the Most of Social Media
Social media is a great way for your company to reach more people and create a strong image.
Before, restaurants didn’t rely so much on digital marketing. But when people couldn’t go out, and apps like UberEats became really popular, restaurants had to use the internet more.
Because of this, being on social media is important for restaurants now. Different platforms have different purposes, and some are more popular with certain groups of people.
For example, Facebook is good for showing ads to people who’ve visited before. TikTok is best if you want to reach younger customers. Instagram is in the middle — it’s popular with a wide range of people.
Connecting Marketing and Operations
Justin has learned that getting the marketing team and the operations team to work together can be a big challenge.
“If you’re not operating at your full potential, I don’t want to market you. Meaning if you’re not taking care of the guests and if you’re not making your food correctly, why would I want to send someone there who’s never been there?”
The marketing and operations teams need to work together. Operations need to do their job well, and marketing needs to make the business look good. They should also talk to each other a lot. At Dog Haus, they have a smart plan called “Markerations.” The marketing and operations leaders, along with the founders, meet three times a week. They talk about important stuff, changes they want to make, and ways to grow. This helps the whole company work together better.
Want to know more about marketing for restaurants, where social media works best, and how to get different teams working together? Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you find your podcasts.