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From lockdowns to travel restrictions to curfews—Canada has witnessed its fair share of business-oriented hardships throughout 2020 and into 2021. More so, the impact on restaurants and grocery stores in particular has been especially difficult.

Interestingly though, throughout all news coverage of the state of affairs this past year, little has focussed on the customer.

Now, I fully understand the reasoning—or at least I understand why the customer has been largely left out of the narrative. However, for business leaders, the customer is always front-and-center of every decision, and every story. After all, without the customer, restaurants would have no meals to serve, and grocery stores would have no goods to sell.

This is where the need to place even greater focus on the customer will be paramount to success in 2021 and beyond. In fact, businesses that began to embrace that mantra in 2020 are already reaping the rewards. And things do (and will) get even better.

If 2020 taught us anything, it’s that customers are fiercely loyal—until they are not. Whether being a local business or a national chain, location as it relates to grocery and restaurants plays a considerable role in consumer choice. Loyalty—not the program but the actual human trait—is what distinguishes one business from another. Loyalty will ensure people travel further to support a business, or simple choose one over another that could be virtually side-by-side.

So how does one create and—more importantly—maintain loyalty? It starts with knowing the customer on an individual basis—the reason why data is now king and why all businesses are adapting quickly to embrace the data revolution. It’s single-user-profile data that enables restaurants and grocers to embark on individual journeys with their respective clientele. From knowing what their favorite meal is, to what they like to drink, to whether or not they are vegan—the list is endless, and highly personal.

By embracing each and every customer as an individual, the emotional connection becomes that much higher. Here’s an example: ever morning I go out of my way to a national chain coffee shop that is approximately one kilometre farther than its closest chain store. Why? Because every morning I’m greeted by the same wonderful staff who know me by name, and know my order—even when I accidentally mess it up through their app. That personal connection is worth the trip … every time.

Now let’s take that same example and duplicate it over and over again. If you are a restauranteur with 20+ locations in a single metropolitan area—imagine having the data to reproduce the same experience every time for every customer, regardless of location. You’d know their favorite meals and drinks. Better yet, same data, same customers, different cities—all the same experience.

For grocers—same thing. What if a customer always buys a certain product, and the data shows the frequency ad potential timelines of that purchase? For example, every Thursday they show up to buy their favorite frozen desert. Not only could that purchase be rewarded, it could also be saved if/when the item is not in stock. If the same item is available at another location nearby, you could send them to that other location with a message indicating that you wanted to be respectful of their time. So not only would you know who they are and what they like: you could now interact with them on a 1:1 basis in a highly personalized manner … every time.

This is why 2021 is the year of the customer. We have all experienced hardships. We have all experienced inconveniences. Now, we must all work together to reach out and be connected like never before. Customers are seeking connections—wanting to know that they are cared about and subsequently cared for. If every interaction is special and personalized, sales increase as does loyalty, as does word-of-mouth marketing.

There is an opportunity to make 2021 an amazing year for a host of reasons, but making the customer the number-one priority is the only reason any business owner needs.