Restaurant owners know that customers are often seeking new experiences, checking for value, or wanting to become loyal to a restaurant. Understanding the types of restaurant customers that come into your eatery will make all the difference in how you design your menu and cater to these different preferences.
But it's not just about understanding your guests on a surface level. Statistics show that when you understand your customers well, it increases repeat visits by up to 20%.
We’re going to explore restaurant customer behavior and how it intertwines with your business success below.
6 Types of Restaurant Customers
1. Brand Loyalist
One of the top customer segments to have is a brand loyalist. These diners keep coming back not just for the food that you offer and the experience, but the service and atmosphere. They have also decided that you offer prices that fit into their daily budget.
As far as restaurant guest behavior, these individuals are not looking for the cheapest deal but are more focused on the consistently good experience you provide.
And one way to pinpoint these consumers is to look at your data and search for:
- Repeat purchase patterns
- Loyalty Program usage
We highly recommend that you always ask for positive reviews from these individuals. You can have them leave reviews on Google, social media or on any of the mobile app platforms that you already use.
If there is one group of consumers that you want to focus on, it is loyalists. These individuals will refer you to their friends and continue supporting your business for years to come.
2. Convenience-Driven
Some food service customer types want a smooth, hassle-free experience. When they grab lunch or dinner, they choose to order through:
- App
- Phone
- Website
Mobile ordering is common with this group, and they prefer drive-thru options when they are available. Younger generations are making this customer type more popular, as 64% prefer to order digitally whenever possible.
You can view these customers in your point of sale system by sorting through takeout and delivery options. One indicator in your metrics that will show you this trend is when consumers purchase the same items repeatedly.
If you want to cater to this demographic, opt for speed, ease of ordering and limited wait times.
Check in with these customers frequently by sending out feedback surveys or asking customers for their feedback in person. If you notice larger table turnover rates, review your average service time to see if it has increased and is causing more customers to leave tables.
3. Experience
Going out to eat for this demographic is more about the customer experience than anything else. They want to have an emotional connection with your restaurant and a sense of enjoyment that is memorable for them.
How do you create this?
You can do this in a few ways:
- Consider booking live entertainment at your restaurant
- Create a cozy atmosphere that is unlike anything in town
- Invest in unique deco items that make your eatery stand out
If you're able to create this experience that customers love, they are more likely to recommend your restaurant to their friends and even post about it on social media.
4. Experimental Explorer
Dining customer preferences change, and one of the new trends is an uptick in the number of people who are experimenting with new types of dishes. They may want something bold or are searching for trending ingredients that they have never tried before.
Gen Z in particular looks for new foods and is curious to try items that they haven't tried before.
Offering rotating specials or limited-time items is two ways that you can attract experimental explorers to your restaurant.
5. Health-Conscious
A larger group of diners are turning to health-conscious options over 50% of the time that they visit a restaurant. While they may choose a variety of different menu items, at least half of the people are looking for healthy options, such as food that is:
- Light
- Fresh
- Low in calories
One way to judge the number of health-focused sales at a restaurant is to look through your POS system and sort by the number of healthy dish items that are chosen. On your website, you may notice higher page views on nutritional information pages and for certain dishes that are considered healthy.
If you notice that there is an increase in the number of health-conscious buyers at your restaurant, it may be worthwhile to expand your menu more in this area.
6. Value Seekers
Finally, the last group on our list is called value seekers. You can identify them by looking at your sales data. These individuals are always searching for combo meals, discounts, promotions and specials. For this group, paying full price is out of the question.
A study by the National Restaurant Association found that consumers in this group are influenced by promotions when deciding to eat. This report showed that six out of 10 of these customers will choose a restaurant strictly based on promotions rather than the quality of the food or the atmosphere.
Restaurants that deal with a lot of value seekers are going to have to focus strictly on their profit margins. If you have a large percentage of consumers that are always searching for the lowest prices, your average check size will be naturally lower.
Once you understand your customer segments, it gets a little bit easier to learn how to balance discounts for your brand.
Ideally, you’ll find a balance between your price and the experience that you offer so that you can still turn a profit even if value seekers are your prominent customer base.
Understanding the different types of restaurant consumers will allow you to better prepare for changes in consumer behavior. If you notice that the majority of your new customers are all seeking value deals, it may be time to offer smaller portion sizes for slightly less to entice them to come in even if you’re not running deals.
Go through your point of sale system and learn which data points to extract to better understand your customers. Data will help you increase your profit margins by simply understanding consumer behavior.