What’s stopping restaurant managers from going digital? We explored behaviors and mindsets to help our client prioritize what matters to their customers.
The Challenge
With a major migration approaching, a leading restaurant management company needed to know where to focus their product development. Which features were most used by customers? Which workflows created friction? And how did their existing personas match up to their customers today? They asked Sutherland Labs to uncover the answers – by grounding in how front of house management teams run their restaurants day-to-day.
The persona-led approach helped the product team prioritize which features to migrate first – based on what their customers rely on most.
Our Approach
We ran contextual research with restaurant owners and managers across the UK. This included both long-time users and those new to the platform, as well as those who might still used ‘pen and paper’ solutions.
Through a mix of in-person in-workplace and remote sessions, we explored how they set up promotions, manage deposits, and complete day-to-day tasks. We tested prototypes, validated existing personas, and mapped out key moments where the experience left them delighted, inspired, or frustrated.
Why this approach? By combining observation, user needs research, prototype testing, and persona validation we could build a rich and rounded picture of not just what customers do, but why. For example, why were some managers reluctant to move from pen and paper to digital solutions?
With this insight, we helped our client really understand how the platform should be designed to meet customers where they are, not where they thought they should be.
The Outcomes
Our Insights-to-Action report delivered findings and recommended actions through the lens of the behavior-based personas – immersing stakeholders and placing them in the shoes of the restaurateurs we interviewed.
Taking a persona-led approach helped the product team prioritize which features to migrate first – based on what their customers rely on most. We identified where workflows could be simplified, particularly for customers that are less confident with tech. And we showed how customer needs varied by business size and tech fluency, helping to evolve their personas for better product-market fit.
Planning a platform rebuild or rework? Let’s discuss how understanding your customers first, could help you build smarter.