Why Owning Your Customer Data Matters

In today’s digital world, people produce a ton of data wherever they go. Whether it’s their own mobile devices, their purchases—both online and in-person, phone calls, loyalty program sign ups, and other actions that essentially leave a trail of data.

Sadly, many restaurants fail to collect or analyze any data, and even if they do, they often don’t actually own it. That information normally lives inside delivery apps, the POS system, and the company’s website and an online ordering platform (if they have one). All that data is often owned by the companies providing the apps, POS system, etc. And they rarely share this data with the restaurants who use them. 

You’ve likely experienced the results of data ownership if, for example, you've ever wanted to send a promotion to your regulars and realized you don't actually have their contact information. The truth is that owning your customer data can be the difference between building a real relationship with the people who eat at your restaurant and renting access to them from someone else.

Let’s take a closer look at what data ownership looks like, what it costs you when you don’t own it, and how to start taking control of it.

What Owning Your Own Customer Data Looks Like

There are many things you can do when you own your customer data, bringing your business plenty of advantages. 

For one, direct marketing is possible if you want to reach out to your customers without having to pay a platform's fees every time you want to send an email or text. An email blast about a new menu item or a text reminder about a weekend special costs you nearly nothing to send once you have the list. And compared to running ads through a third-party app, it’s the most affordable method of marketing to current customers available to you. If you use Uber, Deliveroo, Just Eats, or other online ordering app, you are NEVER able to do this. 

When you can see your own data, you can better understand your customer base: who's a regular versus a one-time visitor, when your peak times really are, and which menu items keep people coming back. Those insights are hard to get when a third party is the only one with the full picture.

And data can also enable personalization. Use customer frequency to develop and run a loyalty program that actually rewards return visits, rather than treating every order like it's the first one. What’s more, you can use this data to inform your marketing, sending personalized offers to individuals rather than blasting out generic offers to everyone.

But What Does Data Ownership Cost?

Of course, nothing in this world is free, and owning your customer data does come with some costs, but the true cost is more about what you lose rather than what you’re gaining.

Delivery apps and many third-party ordering platforms keep customer contact information away from the restaurant by design. The customer who orders through one of these apps is, as far as the platform is concerned, their customer, not yours. That means you can't build a direct relationship with someone who's already eaten at your restaurant multiple times, because you have no way to reach them outside the app.

This exposes your business to greater risk. If a platform raises its fees or changes its policies, you're not in a position to respond, because you have no fallback list of customers to contact directly. You're simply stuck absorbing whatever change comes down, since the relationship with your customer lives inside someone else's system.

Switching vendors makes the problem even more obvious. Restaurants that change POS providers or move away from a delivery platform often discover they can't always take their customer list or order history with them. Years of transactions and relationships stay locked inside a system you no longer use, and you're left starting over.

How to Start Owning Your Data

Getting started doesn't require an overhaul, just a shift in what you prioritise when choosing tools and building habits. Start with the systems you already use or are considering. When evaluating an ordering platform, kiosk, or POS system, ask the provider whether you can export your customer data or whether it stays locked inside their platform.

You can also start building a direct line to your customers by collecting email and/or phone numbers for marketing purposes. An email list or SMS program doesn't need to be sophisticated to be valuable. What matters is that it's yours, not something you're renting access to, and can be used to engage customers when and how you see fit.

Make asking for contact information a normal part of settling the bill. Offer a small incentive, like a discount on a future order or early access to a new menu item, to give customers a reason to share their email or phone number.

Finally, be selective about the platforms you build your business on. Choose tools that treat your customer data as your asset, not theirs. The convenience of an all-in-one platform isn't worth it if the trade-off is losing access to the people who keep your restaurant running.

Ready to Take Ownership of Your Customer Data?

With Appy, restaurants own all their customer data, without exception. Get Appy now to see how we can help you take control of your customer data.