TCMBA #26 - Why is planning without data like driving with no headlights?
Coffee’s cool.
So cool that we attract a lot of people and we get invited to a lot of cool stuff.
We sometimes even punch above our weight on cool stuff, like getting invited to serve coffee in the green room of the Oscars, or serving coffee for an event at Google's Global headquarters for a Food Innovation Summit with some of the top chefs from around the world (I kept my badge from that one for too long).
So yeah, coffee’s “cool” and “attractive”.
And sometimes the people we attracted are baffled at how we got so far with so little “businessy stuff” figured out (pshhh… Squares!).
When I worked for a well-known specialty coffee company— that I shall not name— we had a CEO come to us from an illustrious past at Oakley Sports, Specialized Bikes, etc.
When he got into our business (I call it “behind the curtain”) he literally said to a meeting room full of top leadership “Where’s the data to support any of these ideas?”
“It’s like you guys are driving with no headlights!”
“How do you know where you’re going?”
Oh shoot.
We stared wide-eyed around the table at each other secretly wanting to point at someone across the table like “It was their idea!”
Inevitably some well-meaning, passion-driven leader chimed in and said something very brave like “Well, I feel like this is the right thing because…” or “Well, we’ve always done it this way so…”, something unsatisfactory to that effect.
Friends, are you ready for a hard truth?
Just because you’ve always done something a certain way, or your feelings are special about something, doesn’t make it right.
Instincts are important, but data is important-er.
In our industry we tend to suffer from a lack of data.
Our colleagues in CPG and many other industries can access syndicated data from Spins or Nielsen’s at any time (for lots of $$$, but it’s there), and make data informed decisions.
Less true for us in coffee and foodservice at large.
So, what’s the solution?
Search for ANY DATA you can to analyze your choices, acid-test your “feelings”, and strive for continuous improvement in your outcomes.
Look for things like:
If the only data you have is through your POS system, analyze it for consumer behavior patterns. (Is that expensive ½ lb of geisha actually selling or are you all just nerding out that you have it?)
What’s the velocity of your cold brew signature drink in your cafe? Could that help you make informed decisions about your next product innovation or your wholesale strategy?
If you have any sales data– even if it’s just in Quickbooks– you can run reports and share results with leadership. If you’re fortunate enough to have an ERP, have you run the numbers by customer type or product type to decide what your sales strategy is for H1 (Q1-2) and then H2 (Q2-4) next year?
If you’re excited about national trends you can always access data from places like Dataessentials or Mintel Reports. Or just google it for goodness sake!
Your business is too important to run it on “feelings.” And just because that tricky long-time employee doesn’t want you to change what they’ve “always done”, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consult the data.
It’s the closest thing we have to a crystal ball.
It’s therapeutic (Oh, I can release my past feelings of failures because I can recognize patterns in the data)
It’s cathartic (I knew that was a good idea, take that nay-sayers! … queue release of pent-up emotions)
And best of all… it helps you drive with headlights on and make the right turns in the dark to stay on route.
You’ve got this, coffee people!!! I know that you know that data was a big missing part of your heart all this time.
Embrace the data, and the future.
Peace, love, and warm coffee mugs-
Heather
