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<v Speaker 1>Hey everybody, I'm Paul Mullinari. I'm the founder and principal

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<v Speaker 1>consultant at Popcorn GTM. You know, we work with restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>technology companies to help them build and execute better brand

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<v Speaker 1>marketing and smarter go to market strategies. Today, I'm going

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<v Speaker 1>to walk you through three essential strategies that every restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>technology company needs to get right to succeed in this market.

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<v Speaker 1>This exceptionally competitive market. So whether you're a pre launch

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<v Speaker 1>or scaling really fast, these are the foundational moves that

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<v Speaker 1>drive growth, improve sales performance, and create lasting value in

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<v Speaker 1>a crowded market. So when restaurant technology founders pitch their product,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the most common pitfalls that we see is

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<v Speaker 1>being too broad. You know, selling to restaurants that's not

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<v Speaker 1>a strategy category. You need to narrow it down. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>are you targeting to quick service chains, independent full service restaurants,

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<v Speaker 1>or maybe enterprise groups with fifty plus locations. Your ICP

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<v Speaker 1>that shapes everything from your messaging to your roadmap. It

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<v Speaker 1>also allows you to find and convert customers faster because

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<v Speaker 1>your solution speaks directly to their pain points, So your

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<v Speaker 1>ideal customer profile critical. It's incredibly important to narrow your

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<v Speaker 1>focus down because when you're narrowing your focus, it enables

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<v Speaker 1>you to make much better connections with the people that

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<v Speaker 1>you're trying to sell to. This gives you a much

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<v Speaker 1>more specific opportunity to address their pain points. And most importantly,

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<v Speaker 1>from a restaurant technology perspective, you need to understand who

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<v Speaker 1>your target markets tech requirements are. So, for example, if

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<v Speaker 1>you have a middleware solution that sits in between a

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<v Speaker 1>point of sale and a KDS, a kitchen display system,

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<v Speaker 1>well you can basically eliminate everybody in the market that

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't have a KDS. So why waste your time talking

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<v Speaker 1>to people that don't have a KDS? Do you follow?

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<v Speaker 1>So what we need to do is we need to

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<v Speaker 1>hone our message to our ideal customer profile and understand

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<v Speaker 1>exactly who they are so we can talk to them specifically.

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<v Speaker 1>So why this matters. Tailored messaging and product fit drive

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<v Speaker 1>faster sales cycles and a lot stronger retention. Your sales

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<v Speaker 1>and marketing alignment is non negotiable. You need clearly defined

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<v Speaker 1>pipeline from lead generation all the way through to closed deals.

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<v Speaker 1>That means getting precise about what counts as a marketing

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<v Speaker 1>qualified lead and what makes it a sales qualified lead.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, when everybody understands the criteria and handoff points,

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<v Speaker 1>you avoid wasting time and you can forecast growth a

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<v Speaker 1>lot more accurately. This is especially critical for early stage

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<v Speaker 1>teams trying to scale efficiently. So let's get your sales

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<v Speaker 1>and marketing team on the same page. What is an

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<v Speaker 1>MQL and what is an SQL. Let's all agree to it.

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<v Speaker 1>There's already tension there between sales and marketing. Sales is

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<v Speaker 1>always looking for, you know, the glengarry leads, and marketing

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<v Speaker 1>is always trying to support sales as best they possibly

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<v Speaker 1>can with content they think they need. And the tension

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<v Speaker 1>lies where the leads that marketing generates gets handed off

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<v Speaker 1>to sales, and sales says, wait a minute, these guys

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<v Speaker 1>aren't really qualified. So that's why it's so important. When

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<v Speaker 1>marketing understands exactly what a sales qualified lead should look like, well,

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<v Speaker 1>now they don't have to bother providing leads that don't

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<v Speaker 1>match that criteria and creating that added tension. So that

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<v Speaker 1>really ensures that handoffs are smooth, timely, and a lot

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<v Speaker 1>more are predictable. Right, So why does it matter because

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<v Speaker 1>consistency builds predictability in revenue and growth. So tech partnerships

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<v Speaker 1>these are not just nice to have anymore. They are

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<v Speaker 1>major growth accelerators. If your platform integrates with major point

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<v Speaker 1>of sale systems or other digital restaurant tools, you immediately

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<v Speaker 1>increase your relevance in your reach. Partnering with complementary providers

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<v Speaker 1>can also help you co sell, It'll allow you to

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<v Speaker 1>access new marketplaces, and it even enhances your product offering. Heck,

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<v Speaker 1>it's probably enhancing your partner's product offering. So restaurant operators,

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<v Speaker 1>to them, an integrated stack is more valuable than anything,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's so much easier to manage. That's why integrations

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<v Speaker 1>should be a core part of your go to market playbook.

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<v Speaker 1>This and the many many people that I speak with

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<v Speaker 1>in the industry all the time, we all kind of

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<v Speaker 1>believe that strategic partnerships are beginning to be the heart,

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<v Speaker 1>in a lot of ways, the soul of how you

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<v Speaker 1>are connecting with restaurant brands. Here's the reason why, and

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<v Speaker 1>I alluded to this earlier, is that restaurants really value

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<v Speaker 1>an integrated technology stack. What that means is is that

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<v Speaker 1>they want to work with technologies that work well together.

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<v Speaker 1>They want to know that the integrations, the ties that

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<v Speaker 1>bind these technologies are tight and kind of bulletproof. Right.

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<v Speaker 1>So these relationships that you form with other technology companies, man,

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<v Speaker 1>they are worth their weight in gold. They really do

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<v Speaker 1>accelerate the growth. And without a solid partnership strategy where

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<v Speaker 1>you're out there working with the core technologies that make

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<v Speaker 1>your solution. Hum. I can't stress enough how important it

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<v Speaker 1>is to make friends and be part of the restaurant

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<v Speaker 1>technology community to ensure that your solution fits with the

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<v Speaker 1>greater ecosystem. Again, why does this matter? Strategic partnerships unlock

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<v Speaker 1>access to new customers and increase your stickiness. So listen.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're building or growing a restaurant tech company and

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<v Speaker 1>want support refining your go to market strategy, reach out

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<v Speaker 1>to me Paul Mullinari at Popcorn GTM. We help founders

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<v Speaker 1>accelerate growth through focused sales, marketing, and partnership strategies. And

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<v Speaker 1>be sure to check out savor fm for a ton

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<v Speaker 1>of great content, including the most awesome Restaurant Masterminds podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>where I'm actually a co host. It's packed with real

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<v Speaker 1>world insights from leaders all across the restaurant industry, hope

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<v Speaker 1>to see you there. Take care. This is Paul signing out.