As a marketing manager with Olo’s Professional Services team, I field questions from restaurants every day about setting up loyalty programs or fixing programs that aren’t working. Restaurant marketing teams often get a mandate from leadership to implement a loyalty program, and in their rush to comply, they overlook important considerations.

Catering isn't just an add-on; for many restaurants, it's becoming a crucial engine for growth. As demand surges and restaurants seek out new revenue streams, brands that once saw large group orders as a disruptive hassle are now viewing them as a massive opportunity.

In this volatile time for restaurants, some are successfully riding the waves of change and others are feeling lost at sea. So what are winning restaurant brands doing differently to maximize profits and unlock new revenue?

For marketing teams at emerging restaurant brands, data-driven marketing ends up as just another thing on the “nice-to-have” board, shoved aside by the immediate needs of promotions, ads, or social media.