• Khanom Jeen Namyapoo used data to study food ordering behavior, develop its menu and choose appropriate locations for its new branches
• The eatery differentiates itself as a vendor for premium fresh rice noodles by combining traditional recipes with digital marketing to overcome the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic
• The eatery uses dtac OneCall service from dtac business to serve customers and organize incoming calls from every branch

 

April 7, 2022  When it comes to the restaurant business, Chiang Mai is a challenging place. New restaurants may do good business when they first open, but if they are slow to adapt to changing customer tastes, many end up closing. But Khanom Jeen Namyapoo has impressively turned this narrative on its head.

Specializing in traditional rice vermicelli noodles with crab curry sauce, this business is proudly entering its fifth year with four branches across Chiang Mai, and two more in the works. Citywide expansion aside, this once-modest eatery has established a thriving food retail business called Khanom Jeen Namyapoo Chiang Mai Co. Ltd. and also has a robust CSR program to give back to society.

What’s the secret to their success? Let’s find out.

The restaurant’s founder, Mr. Max, quit his full-time job in research and marketing at a leading national organization to become a Khanom Jeen merchant. He saw a way to differentiate his business by combining his aunt’s traditional recipes with a chic, contemporary presentation, involving herbal colors, photogenic bite-sized noodle cubes, and home-grown organic vegetables.

But that’s not all. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Mr. Max leveraged his interest and experience in market research and data analytics to become the number one Khanom Jeen restaurant in Chiang Mai. With techniques such as the Five Forces Model, Canvas Model, and SWOT Analysis, he was able to understand customer needs, food ordering behavior, order frequency and lots more. This enabled him not only to develop new menu items, but also identify suitable locations for new branches with appropriate delivery distances.

Data analytics ­– the key to understanding customers

According to Mr. Max, prior to Covid-19, 80% of his customers were local and 20% were tourists but after the pandemic, all the tourists disappeared. Business wasn’t affected too badly since it did not rely on a single customer segment. The pandemic did highlight the urgent need to expand the local customer base and adjust communications channels, both online and over the phone, as customer behavior was changing drastically. For example, before Covid, 70% of customers would sit and eat in the shop, but during Covid, only half would sit in while the other half would order food to be consumed at home. (Fortunately, Khanom Jeen travels well and can be enjoyed at home as well.)

Catering to individual customers and their habits, all while serving them remotely, requires special attention. Mr. Max said, “I looked at profiles of customers to see who likes what on the menu and how often they order.” By paying close attention to customer profiles, Mr. Max made important discoveries about his menu. “Some customers order every day, and I ask why,” he explained. “Most of them loved the taste and the variety on the menu, because in addition to Namyapoo, we also have Nam Pla, Namya Krati, Red Curry, Green Curry, Khanom Jeen with Nam Ngio (traditional Lanna curry), as well as Som Tam (papaya salad) and desserts.”

Mr. Max also analyzed market trends in Chiang Mai for particular periods and discovered that during the surge of Covid-19 infections, people didn’t leave the house, and high infection rates correlated with strong sales. He also saw that Chiang Mai people are quite traditional and prefer to place an order over the phone, rather than wait for staff to reply via chat or use a cumbersome-seeming food delivery app.

Using technology to meet logistical demands

Data analytics gave Mr. Max business-boosting insights, but problems arose when order calls couldn’t be picked up in time, or if the line was busy because of call overload. Mr. Max said, “We needed to find a solution with an automatic answering machine where customers could order with a single number for all branches that is easy to remember and looks more professional.”

“Using a fixed telephone can lose customers when the line is busy and is inconvenient for the mobility of staff who may not be flexible,” he continued. “With dtac OneCall, using one number when communicate is easy to remember and it transfers calls to available staff to pick up. It can also take messages, and also acts as a customer relationship management tool to recognize calling customers and communicate new promotions to them.”

Meet changing business trends with technology

Traditional and heritage businesses can combine time-honored recipes and crafts with new technology to keep up with changing customer behaviors. dtac OneCall service from dtac business provides this solution to all kinds of SMEs who face a loss of in-person customers due to the Covid situation and other disruptions. In Chiang Mai and Thailand’s other laidback towns, where customers prefer to place their orders over the phone rather than via chat, dtac OneCall facilitates relationships in the palm of the hand. dtac OneCall takes care of small businesses by professionalizing their management styles with technology solutions. These solutions not only help to manage and streamline mobile phones conveniently and quickly, they also reduce the costs of working in the new normal.

dtac business reaches, understands, and serves the needs of each individual business, no matter what kind of problem you may have. dtac business also offers freedom and flexibility whether you want to retrieve usage information, add or change packages, or pay for various services – you can do this yourself as needed. Last, but not least, dtac’s after-sales service system supports all inquiries and problems, continuously improving and developing its system to be better and more satisfactory.

Learn, develop, and grow with us. View information and apply for dtac OneCall service at dtac Business Call Center 1431 or visit https://business.dtac.co.th/en/products/onecall