How to make personalisation work for YOUR business!

As industry leaders continue to talk about personalisation being the key to progress in the dining industry (myself included), I understand that for small businesses, it may be something they are unsure of how to implement. It’s all well and good telling someone to improve their offerings and give customers more choice, but today I want to give you the four steps you should take to get it done.

#1 Assess what your customer base is looking for

We all have our own unique customer base. So, if you are drawing in Gen-Z customers, you’ll certainly be looking for separate personalisation steps to a business whose main proprietors are the older generation. Different groups are looking for different things, and it’s important we start our personalisation journeys here.

There is no point implementing a new system or crafting a new menu that your consumers wouldn’t be interested in – it just won’t gain traction. But, if you are able to breakdown what it is that your customers might be desiring, you’ll be able to fill the gaps with personalisation.

For example, perhaps a younger audience might be interested in more unique drinks options, like being able to get CBD drops in drinks. Or, maybe your consumers would love to have more control over your menu and be able to make more dishes vegetarian/vegan upon request.

But if you don’t know what they want, the best thing to do is to ask them. With social media, it’s easy to engage with your consumer market and get feedback from them. So, why not ask what customers would like to see from you in return for a discount or free drink?

#2 Consider where your business can best offer a personalised experience

Once you know what your clientele would benefit most from, you should look at the areas of your business where it can be best implemented. By knowing the budget you have, what changes you are willing to make and what changes might not be possible for you at present, you will be able to determine where upgrades can be made.

For example, if you rent your space, you may be limited to what interior changes you can make. Or, if your menu is created from all local ingredients, it may go against your business model to expand your offerings too much.

Knowing what you can change, what you are willing to change and what you can afford to change will help give you a route to go down and a direction to focus on. And by teaming this up with your customers’ desires, you’ll be in a great position to start planning.

#3 Take steps to improve your personalisation

The most important part of mastering personalisation in actually putting the plan into action. So many times I have seen businesses sit on plans because ‘the timing just isn’t right’ or ‘it’s complicated to get started’. Why put all of the work in to not follow through? It’s just a waste of time, money and resources.

Hold yourself accountable for the upgrades. Whether this means telling your staff what to expect or even sharing your plans with your customers. Yes, it may mean you need to take some time out from normal day-to-day business, but if you have done steps one and two right, the rewards will be great for you and your customers.

#4 Continue the journey when you are finished

Like everything else in our business, personalisation is not finite. Your menu will continually update, you’ll redesign your space, maybe you’ll even add new offerings and services. Just like every aspect of hospitality, the personalisation options you offer to your customers need to constantly adapt and stay with the times.

Once you’ve taken the first steps towards implementing customisation, you cannot just stop there. You must listen to customer feedback, listen to your employees at every level and constantly look for ways to streamline your service, or even level it up.

Perhaps there is new technology which could help you? Or, perhaps one aspect isn’t working properly for your wait staff and they have a suggestion for making the experience more cohesive? We should constantly look for new ways to adapt and excel, and listening to the market around us (by reading articles like this) and our staff and customers is one of the best ways to do that.

About the author:

Kamila is a bestselling author of  “Bespoke. How to radically grow your bar and restaurant business through personalisation”, and passionate trend-spotter for the UK Eating Out market with thousands of followers on her widely popular blog kamilasitwell.co.uk.

With a decade of hands-on experience collaborating with hospitality influencers and insight experts and background in setting strategies for leading brands, Kamila has become the industry champion for truly bespoke and guest-centric experiences.

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