topic Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything! in Back Office & Team

Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

gmgoehring — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 20:19:15 GMT

Hello, Toast Community 👋

I’m Garrett from the Product Marketing team, and I’m excited to invite you to my Benchmarking Ask Me Anything (AMA) happening from October 15-21 right here in the community.

If you’re not yet familiar with Toast Benchmarking, check out this Toast Central article or watch the video below:

What are your burning questions or thoughts about Benchmarking? I’d love to hear from you! Please share your feedback and questions in the comments below, so my team and I can better assist you.

Want to get the most out of benchmarking and get help identifying opportunities to optimize your menu and more? Schedule a 1:1 consultation with a Benchmarking expert to review your data.

Remember, the AMA closes on October 17, so be sure to submit your questions. I’ll be back shortly afterward to respond!

Looking forward to our conversation,

Garrett

Please note, This information is intended for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, and not as a binding commitment. Please do not rely on this information in making your purchasing decisions. The development, release and timing of any products, features or functionality remain at the sole discretion of Toast, and are subject to change. Also, as a product expert for Toast Benchmarking, I can only answer questions related to Toast Benchmarking.

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

Woodys — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 18:15:09 GMT

Hey - so I'm trying to evaluate how to adjust winter drink menu prices. When I go into comparisons it's showing me how much lower I am on Seltzers. We dont have any seltzers! Why is this happening and why cant I see which items / menus it is referencing?

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

THESITDOWNCAFE — Wed, 16 Oct 2024 18:58:07 GMT

Where is the benchamarking data being pulled from? Same Zip Code? City? State? Any basis on Restaurant Size? This matters when commparing volume of Sales, or Items..

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

Craig — Thu, 17 Oct 2024 22:06:29 GMT

It would be nice to see percentage fluctuations in both sales and product mix. Restaurants in the same category don't necessarily do the same volume and showing the average of the category in dollars doesn't give much insight into foot traffic. This would be especially helpful for food and alcohol sales as it would give us an idea of a product mix benchmark.

For example, we are seeing a drop in alcohol sales and an increase in NA beverage sales. It would be cool to see if that is a trend others are seeing in the area, as well as how much of a % change they are seeing.

Perhaps this is part of the upgrade package, I haven't purchased it as I don't see the benefit yet.

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

williams0912 — Sun, 20 Oct 2024 15:50:30 GMT

When picking an area is it possible to know how much the sample size Is - for example pulling from 12 restaurants? Also can it break dining casual dining in to mexican / asian etc

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

JonnyBostonsNH — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 17:08:26 GMT

Hello,

I own a fairly small restaurant with 20 seats. Looking at the benchmarking makes me want to close my restaurant. I don't think that was your intention, but the graphs are depressing...

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

gmgoehring — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 19:16:15 GMT

Hi there, thanks for your question!

The algorithm used to categorize menu items is accurate, but occasionally miscategorizes some items. We are currently working on a view that will let you see the assigned category and adjust it as needed. In the meantime, if you contact benchmarking@toasttab.com, we can help you understand which items are being categorized as seltzers.

Garrett

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

gmgoehring — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 19:18:54 GMT

Hello, good question.

The data is being pulled from Toast restaurants who match the criteria you set in the filters at the top of the page. At the moment we are only able to filter by city & strate, however, we have plans to add zip code in the future. We have heard the need to filter based off of restaurant size and are working on ways to bring that into the tool.

Garrett

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

gmgoehring — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 19:20:25 GMT

Hi Craig,

This is a great suggestion, thank you! I will pass it along to the design team and see if this is something we can add to a future release.

Garrett

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

gmgoehring — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 19:24:00 GMT

Hi there, great question.

For privacy reasons, we are not able to show how many restaurants are in the sample. As far as cuisine type filters go, I'm happy to share that we will be rolling them out by the end of the year!

Garrett

Re: Let’s Talk Benchmarking: Ask Me Anything!

gmgoehring — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 19:25:43 GMT

Hello,

Thank you for the feedback. Restaurant size definitely has a major impact on the total sales. We'd love to learn more about how we can make the tool more valuable for you and will be reaching out to continue the conversation.

Garrett