Sponsored by Dinova
The digital revolution continues to spin, completely tilting longstanding habits and institutions off their axes. As a result, the restaurant industry is undergoing a particularly painful amount of upheaval right now. Millennials are leading the charge in disrupting how society has traditionally interacted with businesses, and other generations are following suit.
As a restaurateur, you are competing not only against your conventional restaurant peers, but also with the likes of food delivery services, grocery stores, and gas station buffets. And you aren’t the only one trying to reach consumers through traditional and digital marketing tactics. It’s hard to know what to do. Should you stay focused on reaching the end consumer, who seems only to want to “Netflix and chill” rather than spending a night out at your restaurant?
Maybe there’s a silver lining somewhere else …
Business dining represents an astounding $77 billion in annual industry revenue in the United States, and yet most restaurateurs are not specifically targeting this customer. Business diners are high-margin customers who aren’t as price-sensitive, and they’re frequently dining in the middle of the week, bringing sales to an otherwise slow time. Can you say score?
So how do you get this guest into your restaurant? Until recently, there’s been little to no light shone on how this guest behaves and dines. Luckily, Dinova and the Global Business Travel Association partnered together on a first-of-its-kind study that uncovers the habits and behaviors of employees dining on official company business.
Many of these diners are out to share a great meal with clients or colleagues; when traveling for business, 52% of Baby Boomers, 36% of Gen Xers and 36% of Millennials said they reserved their evening mealtimes for treating their clients to dinner. And though they’re looking to impress these contacts, they’re not only eating at fine dining venues. These diners say they’re spreading the spend across all segments – 34% QSR, 52% fast-casual, 64% upscale casual, and 29% fine dining.
When dining in a large party, this customer is not as worried about price and often orders appetizers, desserts and alcohol – leading to higher ticket averages. Why, you ask? Because they are dining using a company credit card. While employees tend mostly to be good stewards of their company’s money, they also recognize that at the end of the day, business dining is a corporate expense. They care more about experiences and growing client relationships than they do about the final tab.
In this unique study, you’ll dive into the world of the business traveler and see how they dine while they’re on the road for their jobs. For example, did you know that 63% of business travelers do pre-trip research on restaurants before even leaving the office? Half the battle is catching them before they arrive in your city. And, this study offers even more insights into how habits differ among generations and how these could shape the future of business dining. Hint: Millennials may be more sensitive to spending company money than their Gen X and Baby Boomer counterparts.
You can download the full study for free at www.dinova.com/bite.
About Dinova: Dinova is a uniquely business dining-focused marketplace that connects restaurants with valuable expense account diners nationwide. We have behind-the-firewall access in three distinct channels – Fortune 1000 enterprises, the U.S. Government, and a consortium of small- and medium-sized businesses – and bring insight into which target group will most benefit your restaurant.
Employees of these companies find Dinova partner restaurants through our useful web and mobile app which provides the ability to make reservations, book catering, reserve private dining spaces or order online for every business need. As a restaurant partner with Dinova, owners and operators see a rise in midweek traffic sales within the first 12 months of being in the marketplace. Having access to millions of business diners allows for higher than average sales and the program is operationally invisible with a no-risk ROI. Learn more at www.dinova.com/restaurants.
