Imagine this: a customer pulls into a drive-thru at their favorite restaurant, craving a snack. Something salty, like french fries, or maybe a little more portable—a milkshake? They’ve only got a few minutes to decide before the car behind them honks, pressuring them to make an impulsive decision. Wouldn’t it be nice if the menu board already knew what the customer wanted?

While the restaurant industry has undergone a significant digital transformation in recent years, standardizing advanced online and mobile ordering, it still hasn’t attained the same high level of personalization that consumers have grown increasingly accustomed to from services like Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon.

Despite its promise, misconceptions around personalization’s implementation and available use cases have left many organizations in the space feeling too overwhelmed to get started with the practice. This comprehensive guide is meant to demystify personalization so that restaurants can kickstart their journey in delivering seamless, tailored, and empathetic experiences across all channels, which will reap the transformative rewards of long-term customer loyalty