The Data Your Business Creates Everyday Is Smarter Than You Think.

You can learn a lot about people by analysing, for instance, how they eat. Not just what they choose, but when they order, how much they spend, and how often they return. Recently, during my postgraduate studies in Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas in Austin, I had the chance to study a real-world dataset from a food delivery platform in New York. The numbers didn’t shout. But they told a quiet, powerful story.

It was an assignment designed to build foundational data analysis skills. However, as I worked through it, I kept thinking about ‘Order and Eat’, my own mobile food business here in Ghana. Although it is FDA-registered, I shut it down temporarily, until I could either run it better or find someone who could manage it more effectively.

In this assignment, I observed behaviours that felt familiar. I noticed customers who weren’t so different from ours. And I realised that what began as a case study was in fact a window into how we might operate better food businesses at home in Ghana.

The Weekend Effect

One pattern stood out immediately. Nearly three-quarters of all orders were placed on weekends. People were opting for American, Japanese, and Italian dishes. These weren’t quick weekday bites; they were meals that people sat down to enjoy, often shared and indulgent. This suggests that food delivery thrives most when people feel unhurried. They aren’t chasing deadlines or battling traffic. They’re unwinding.

This has shaped how I think about scheduling for Order and Eat. Fridays through Sundays are no longer just part of the week. They are a rhythm. We have to plan our menu around them, preparing higher-demand ingredients in advance and using WhatsApp to send out quiet nudges to regulars. The numbers made it clear. Your best sales often happen when your customers are at their most relaxed.

Who’s Spending More Than You Think

Another detail stood out. Almost a third of the orders within the dataset in this assignment crossed the twenty-dollar mark. These weren’t one-off splurges. They were part of a steady flow of higher-value transactions. That matters. Too often we assume that most customers are watching every cedi. And while many are, some are not. Some are prioritising convenience, quality, or the joy of a particular meal.

In Ghana, this segment exists, even if it doesn’t always advertise itself. I’ve seen it with Order and Eat. There are customers who consistently choose the more premium options, who never ask about delivery charges, and who quietly place repeat orders. When this happens, we have to start testing small add-ons just for them. A surprise dessert. A reusable food pack. These are simple things, but they build loyalty in quiet ways.

If you run a small business, it is worth asking yourself who your highest-spending customers are and what kind of experience they are having. Are you treating them like everyone else, or are you giving them a reason to keep coming back?

Speed Isn’t Everything

There’s a widespread belief that faster delivery always means happier customers. But the data I worked on challenged that. Orders that were delivered quickly didn’t always earn better ratings. And the difference between five-star and three-star reviews had little to do with how fast the food showed up.

That was a reminder. Satisfaction is about more than speed. It is about whether the food arrived in good condition, whether it tasted fresh, and whether the packaging felt intentional. For many of us in Ghana, where delivery times can be affected by factors outside our control, this is actually good news. We can’t always deliver faster. But we can deliver better.

So, we have to start focusing more on consistency. Double-check packaging before dispatch, make follow-up calls on first-time orders, and even include small notes when we have the time. The goal is to shape the full experience, not just beat the clock.

Loyalty is Quiet Until You Listen

According to the data, one customer placed thirteen orders, while four others placed between eight and ten. These were not corporate bulk orders, but rather individual customers using the platform repeatedly. Yet, there was no mention of loyalty rewards or special offers for them in this assignment.

This is a lesson many of us overlook. Not all loyal customers are loud. Some don’t leave reviews. Some don’t tag you on social media. But they come back. Again and again. If you’re not tracking their behaviour, you may never realise just how important they are.

So start tracking basic customer behaviours. Nothing fancy. Just a spreadsheet with names, order frequency, and preferences. It will help us know who to thank, who to offer a new dish to first, and who to message when something goes wrong. Loyalty is built in moments, not marketing campaigns.

Only a Few Vendors Stand Out

Out of nearly 180 restaurants in the dataset, only four met the platform’s criteria for promotion: at least fifty ratings and an average score above four. That was startling. It showed how rare consistent quality and customer engagement really are.

In Ghana, where digital food marketplaces are growing, the same problem exists. A lot of vendors get listed, but few are truly dependable. Many shine for a week and fade the next. The food platforms promote whoever brings in volume for them, not necessarily whoever delivers consistent quality to the customers.

There’s an opportunity here. If you’re a vendor and you can maintain high standards, gather regular feedback, and respond quickly to issues, you can rise above the noise. And if you’re running a platform, it’s worth thinking about how your algorithm promotes vendors. Are you rewarding consistency and satisfaction, or just sales spikes?

The Small Percentage That Can Ruin Your Brand

Just over 10% of orders in the case study took more than an hour to deliver. This is not a majority. Not even close! But they still matter. These are the orders that frustrate people. That causes complaints. That creates screenshots that end up on Twitter.

In Ghana, we all know logistics challenges are real, so this is a warning to those in the food sector. You don’t need to fail often to lose trust. You just need to fail noticeably.

So create a simple fallback plan. If we know a delay is likely, reach out first! I am always disarmed when I get a call that my delivery will be delayed, because then, what do I have to complain about now? They just told me it’s going to be delayed. It reduces my anxiety, especially when they offer options. So explain yourself. Sometimes offer a discount on the next order. The goal isn’t just to fix the immediate problem. It’s to show the customer that you’re aware, you’re present, and you care.

The Bigger Point is Your Business is Already Generating Data

What struck me most during this analysis was how much I learned from such a simple dataset. It showed me that you don’t need artificial intelligence or some big tech infrastructure to do the things I’m writing about. All you need is genuine curiosity. You need patience. You need the discipline to ask good questions and listen to the answers that the data spits out.

Every business is producing data. It might be WhatsApp orders, POS receipts, delivery logs, customer texts, or simple cash books. You don’t need complex tools to start learning from it. You just need to start.

The insights are already there. They’re in the time orders come in. They’re in which dishes get finished and which ones get binned. They’re in who buys again and who disappears. Once you begin to track, even loosely, patterns emerge. Those patterns lead to better decisions.

A Note to Ghanaian Entrepreneurs

This study took place in New York, but its lessons travel easily. People everywhere respond to care, consistency, and good food. The platforms may be different. The traffic patterns may shift. But the human behaviours remain familiar.

If you run a restaurant, a delivery business, a grocery, or any service that deals with customers regularly, you have more insight than you think. And if you don’t have the time to crunch numbers, find someone who does to do it for you. The decisions you make from what you learn can shift your business in quiet and powerful ways.

This wasn’t just an academic exercise. It was a chance to test how well business theory travels. And more than that, it was a reminder that smart business isn’t about guessing. It’s about paying attention to the data and what the data says. Then you can make informed moves.

I hope you found this article both insightful and enjoyable. Your feedback is greatly valued and appreciated. I welcome any suggestions for topics you would like me to cover or provide insights on. You can schedule a meeting with me through my Calendly at www.calendly.com/maxwellampong. Alternatively, connect with me through various channels on my Linktree page at www.linktr.ee/themax. Subscribe to the ‘Entrepreneur In You’newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/d-hgCVPy.

I wish you a highly productive and successful week ahead!

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The author, Dr. Maxwell Ampong, serves as the CEO of Maxwell Investments Group. He is also an Honorary Curator at the Ghana National Museum and the Official Business Advisor with Ghana’s largest agricultural trade union under Ghana’s Trade Union Congress (TUC). Founder of WellMax Inclusive Insurance and WellMax Micro-Credit, Dr. Ampong writes on relevant economic topics and provides general perspective pieces. ‘Entrepreneur In You’ operates under the auspices of the Africa School of Entrepreneurship, an initiative of Maxwell Investments Group.

Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Dr. Maxwell Ampong, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or beliefs of Maxwell Investments Group or any of its affiliates. Any references to policy or regulation reflect the author’s interpretation and are not intended to represent the formal stance of Maxwell Investments Group. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Readers should seek independent advice before making any decisions based on this material. Maxwell Investments Group assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the content or for any actions taken based on the information provided.

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