What’s your current process for finding target foodservice operators?
Let us guess: You go straight to the core of your market and connect with operators you know already buy a competitor’s product.
You sell bacon? You target breakfast concepts or restaurants known for brunch.
There’s nothing wrong with this approach. But it’s the exact same thing every other food brand is doing.
Today, you can access so much more data about operators. And by slicing and dicing the market in new ways, you can also uncover hidden opportunities.
At the end of the day, your actual target market is anyone who already buys or should buy your category — and that’s a bigger set of operators than you think it is.
So, how do you find promising new targets? Read on for our tips on smarter, more specific account segmentation.
When you’re in foodservice sales, you’re looking for pockets of operators where your product has real fit, which is evidenced by:
In the olden days, it was hard to find these accounts because you didn’t have much data on foodservice operators. The easiest way to target was to run with a simple assumption: “Operators that already serve what I sell are more likely to buy from me.” But that approach has two challenges.
The first is competition: If you’re the bacon brand going after diners, you’re competing with every other bacon brand out there.
The second is entrenchment: The diner already has a bacon purveyor. You’ll have to oust them to win the account.
Today, you can access a goldmine of operator data. From location details to menu items to social media engagement and more, creating groups of operators with a shared set of attributes allows you to engage in hyper-segmentation.
The bacon brand moves beyond just targeting breakfast spots and can instead look for cafes in Chicago that serve bagel sandwiches, or QSRs in the Northeast with BLTs on their menu.
As they reach out to these hyper-segmented groups with targeted outreach, they’ll notice that some campaigns get a ton of traction. These are the cohorts with the potential to be a true fit segment. And they’d never find them without those layers of data to slice and dice.
You may wonder which new attributes to assess as you build out your own hyper-segmented groups. These are some of our favorites. We find that mixing and matching across them can help you find interesting pockets of potential opportunity.
As a side note: It’s possible to super-sleuth some of this information yourself, but it’s a lot easier with a platform that houses all relevant operator data in one place. And that’s what First Bite does best. We’ve aggregated data on 1.5M+ U.S. foodservice locations. Get a taste for yourself — book a demo here!
Targeting by existing menu items allows for creative thinking that can uncover some new-to-you operators.
Like we said, the bacon brand can obviously target the diners and breakfast spots of the world.
But move one step outward, and there’s more potential. An upscale burger joint might offer bacon as an add-on. A steakhouse might need bacon bits to top their baked potatoes.
Then, there’s the true white space. A TexMex concept known for their unconventional dishes might be open to adding bacon into one of their taco builds.
Targeting high-volume locations means higher velocity and a wider audience of diners who can become fans of your brand. Certain products, like soft serve, need a minimum level of daily velocity to really make sense.
A tool like First Bite can help you segment by traffic more accurately. But you can use indicators like the number of Google reviews to gauge the size of an operator’s customer base.
If you’re just launching, you might target operators near your HQ. Alternatively, urban centers and college towns represent pockets where demand density is high.
If you’re expanding, you might target an area that has similar demographics to the ones you’re already succeeding in. Or, if you have regional distribution, you might go after operators within your distributor’s local service area.
When operators have a large audience online, it can be a signal that they’re innovative. We generally find them to be more willing to experiment with limited time offers and new items.
If you’re looking to sell your bacon to unconventional purveyors, check the ‘gram. An ice cream store that makes shakes with crazy toppings? Maybe they’ll consider creating a blueberry pancake shake, topped with your bacon.
Sometimes the best operators to approach are your existing customers. This tactic works especially well for branded products. A lot of operators are purchasing organically and can’t always connect directly with manufacturers to hear about new offerings.
With existing customers, you can pursue upsell and cross-sell opportunities. Plus, direct contact can provide you valuable information about what your customers are currently buying — which can inform the rest of your sales strategy.
***
As you test these new segmentation methods, watch how your outreach performs. Is there one audience that’s replying and requesting samples? That’s great, and it’s an early indicator you’ve found your ideal segment.
But don’t stop there: Once you’ve closed a deal, watch for velocity. The operators that keep ordering more from you are your true ideal customers. Then, your work becomes to go out and find others like them at scale.
