The restaurant sector represents a colossal market often under-exploited by B2B companies. With more than 200,000 establishments in France, from the small neighborhood pizzeria to Michelin-starred restaurants, each establishment generates constant needs: equipment, supplies, services, digital solutions, maintenance, training.
Yet, most suppliers in the CHR (Café-Hotel-Restaurant) sector struggle to build quality prospecting files. Specialized directories cost a fortune and often contain obsolete data. General databases mix restaurants, caterers, and company canteens without distinction.
Google Maps revolutionizes this approach. Each restaurant maintains its updated listing there with valuable information: cuisine type, price range, hours, photos, customer reviews. This data allows qualification impossible with traditional directories.
Better yet, unlike purchased files that your competitors also have, extraction from Google Maps gives you access to fresh prospects that no one else is targeting. New restaurants, ownership changes, recent renovations - everything appears in real-time.
In this guide, we detail how to transform Google Maps into your personalized restaurant prospect generator. You'll discover sector-specific targeting techniques, key information to extract, and commercial approaches that work with restaurateurs. Whether you sell equipment, services, or digital solutions, you'll find here the method to build your ideal customer base.
Why restaurants are golden prospects?
The restaurant sector presents unique characteristics that make it a particularly fertile prospecting ground for B2B companies.
Multiple and recurring needs A restaurant constantly generates needs: kitchen equipment, furniture, linens, cleaning products, food supplies, payment solutions, management software, maintenance services, staff training. This diversity multiplies commercial opportunities for very varied business sectors.
Unlike other sectors where purchasing remains punctual, restaurants regularly renew their equipment. A professional oven lasts 7 to 10 years, furniture changes every 3 to 5 years, digital solutions constantly evolve. This recurrence builds long-term customer relationships.
A constantly evolving sector Restaurants move a lot: new establishments, takeovers, renovations, concept changes. Each movement creates prospecting opportunities. A new restaurateur fully equips their kitchen, a new owner modernizes the establishment, a franchise sets up and multiplies sales points.
Rich and qualifying data Google Maps reveals valuable information about each restaurant: culinary specialty, price range, number of covers (estimable via photos), age (via reviews), commercial performance (rating and traffic). These elements allow qualifying your prospects before even the first contact.
A Japanese Michelin-starred restaurant won't have the same needs as a neighborhood pizzeria. An establishment with 500 positive reviews presents different potential than a restaurant struggling to take off. This preliminary qualification drastically improves your commercial conversion rate.
A local and accessible market Restaurateurs often favor local suppliers for logistical and relational reasons. This geographic proximity facilitates physical meetings, reinforces local credibility, and simplifies logistics. Google Maps excels in this precise local targeting, neighborhood by neighborhood.
Types of restaurants to target according to your activity
Not all restaurants present the same commercial interest. Your targeting must adapt to your offer to maximize your conversion chances.
Fast food vs gastronomic
Fast food (fast-food, sandwich shops, kebabs) prioritizes efficiency and price. These establishments seek robust equipment, solutions that speed up service, and controlled costs. Perfect for suppliers of standardized equipment, quick cash solutions, or delivery services.
Gastronomic restaurants focus on quality and customer experience. These restaurants invest in high-end equipment, noble products, and accept higher budgets. Ideal for premium suppliers, exceptional product suppliers, or specialized training services.
Chains vs independents
Restaurant chains often centralize their purchases at national level. Difficult to prospect locally, but contracts are voluminous. If you target this segment, identify local managers to understand field needs before going up to purchasing center.
Independent restaurants decide locally and quickly. More accessible for SMEs, they represent 80% of the French market. Your contact is often the owner themselves, which accelerates decisions.
New vs established
New restaurants (less than 6 months old) have complete equipment needs but sometimes tight budgets. Excellent for suppliers offering financing or rental solutions.
Established restaurants (more than 2 years) plan their investments and have more stable cash flow. They seek to modernize or replace aging equipment. Perfect for sellers of improvement or replacement solutions.
Targeting by culinary specialty
Each cuisine type generates specific needs:
- Asian cuisine: specialized cooking equipment (wok, teppanyaki grill), imported ingredients
- Pizzerias: pizza ovens, adapted cold rooms, Italian ingredients
- Grills: smoking equipment, quality meats, special charcoals
- Vegetarian cuisine: organic and local products, vegetable preparation equipment
This specialization allows perfectly adapting your commercial message and solutions to each restaurateur's real challenges.
Specific information to extract for restaurants
Extraction from Google Maps allows recovering particularly rich data for the restaurant sector. Here are the key information to collect and their commercial utility.
Basic contact details and SIRET enrichment
- Restaurant name, complete address, phone, email
- SIRET number and executive data: essential to identify decision-maker and qualify company size
- Legal form (SARL, SAS, sole proprietor) informing structure and decision modes
- Workforce and revenue to evaluate commercial potential
Performance and reputation data
- Google Maps rating (out of 5 stars): quality and customer satisfaction indicator
- Number of reviews: reveals establishment age and traffic
- Available photos: allow evaluating size, standing, and current equipment condition
Operational information
- Opening hours: indicate service type (lunch only, continuous, night)
- Services offered: delivery, terrace, online reservation, wifi, parking
- Price range (€ to €€€€): qualification of level and potential budget
Culinary specificities
- Cuisine type: French, Italian, Asian, vegetarian, etc.
- Specialties mentioned in description or reviews
- Certifications: organic, halal, homemade, quality labels
Digital information
- Website: reveals digitalization level and potential needs
- Social networks: Facebook, Instagram to evaluate communication strategy
- Delivery platform presence: Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat
Contextual data
- Listing creation date (opening approximation)
- Traffic by time slots if available
- Precise GPS coordinates for delivery logistics
This information allows precise qualification before any contact. A Michelin-starred restaurant with 300 positive reviews will require a different approach than a recently opened pizzeria without customer evaluation.
Step-by-step extraction method
Two options are available: extract your restaurant prospects yourself or use an already built file. Let's analyze both approaches.
Option 1: Complete France restaurant file (recommended)
Génération-Prospects offers a complete France restaurant file particularly rich: 133,790 restaurants with verified and enriched data.
Detailed file content:
- 47,461 restaurants with verified email addresses (very low bounce rate)
- 84,088 websites
- 97,491 landline numbers
- 22,674 mobile numbers
- 77,121 SIRET numbers with automatic enrichment
- 55,244 identified executives (title, first name, last name)
- 73,749 legal natures and NAF codes
- 50,375 company workforces
- Plus: social networks, GPS coordinates, ratings, review numbers
Advantages of this solution:
- Immediately usable data
- Exhaustive coverage: all restaurant types (from Afghan to gastronomic restaurant)
- Professional SIRET registration impossible to obtain with classic tools
- Verified emails to avoid bounces
- Considerable time saving (ready file vs several hours of extraction)
Option 2: Custom extraction
If you want very specific targeting or a restricted geographic area, here's the extraction method.
Optimal configuration for restaurants:
Effective keywords:
- Generic: "restaurant", "pizzeria", "brasserie", "bistro"
- By specialty: "Italian restaurant", "sushi", "creperie", "steakhouse"
- By range: "gastronomic restaurant", "fast food", "traditional restaurant"
Profitable geographic areas:
- City centers: high density, diverse restaurants
- Commercial zones: chains and fast food
- Tourist areas: restaurants with investment budgets
- Business zones: company restaurants and fast food points
Tool configuration:
- Choose "France" to benefit from SIRET registration
- Keyword: "restaurant" (most encompassing term)
- Area: your target region or department
- Check all available data: SIRET, executive, workforce, email, phone
Advanced tip: Launch several parallel extractions with specific keywords ("pizzeria", "brasserie", "sushi") rather than one generic extraction. You'll get more complete coverage.
Recommendation: To start, the complete France file offers the best quality/time/price ratio. You can then segment it according to your specific needs.
Intelligent segmentation of your restaurant file
Once your file is recovered, segmentation becomes crucial to optimize your commercial approach. Here are the most effective sorting criteria for the restaurant sector.
Segmentation by size and potential
Segment A - High potential:
- Google rating > 4.2 stars
- More than 100 customer reviews
- Workforce > 10 employees (if available via SIRET)
- Website + social media presence
These performing restaurants have investment budgets and long-term vision. They represent 15% of your file but 50% of your revenue potential.
Segment B - Medium potential:
- Rating between 3.5 and 4.2 stars
- 20 to 100 customer reviews
- Established structure but moderate growth
Intermediate segment perfect for testing your arguments before attacking segment A.
Segment C - Beginners/Difficulties:
- Rating < 3.5 stars or fewer than 20 reviews
- New establishments
- No digital presence
Real needs but constrained budgets. Perfect for entry-level or financing solutions.
Segmentation by cuisine type
Create segments by culinary specialty to adapt your message:
- Traditional cuisines (French, regional): emphasize quality and authenticity
- Ethnic cuisines (Asian, Italian, Lebanese): specialized ingredient and equipment needs
- Fast food: focus on efficiency and profitability
- Gastronomic cuisine: maximum quality requirement
Strategic geographic segmentation
- City centers: diverse restaurants, CSP+ clientele, high budgets
- Periphery/commercial zones: family and fast food, tight prices
- Tourist areas: strong seasonality, important punctual investments
- Business districts: company restaurants, specific logistical needs
Segmentation by digital maturity
- Digitalized: website + social networks + numerous reviews = open to innovations
- Partially digitalized: basic presence, evolution potential
- Non-digitalized: traditional clientele, privileged relational approach
Pro tip: Cross several criteria to refine your targeting. An Italian Michelin-starred restaurant in city center with more than 200 reviews represents a perfect profile, while a suburban pizzeria with few reviews will require a different approach.
Specific commercial approaches for restaurants
The restaurant sector follows particular relational codes that influence your prospecting strategy. Respecting these specificities multiplies your success chances.
Optimal contact timing
To absolutely avoid:
- 11:30 AM-2:30 PM: lunch service, impossible to reach anyone
- 6:30 PM-10 PM: dinner service, maximum stress
- Sunday and Monday: frequent closure
Favorable slots:
- 9 AM-11 AM: morning preparation, restaurateur available
- 3 PM-5 PM: break between services, ideal time
- Tuesday-Thursday: quietest days of the week
Messages adapted to the sector
The approach that works: "Hello [First name], I see that [Restaurant name] is crushing it on Google Maps with [X] positive reviews! I help restaurateurs like you to [concrete benefit]. Can I stop by for 10 minutes this week during your afternoon break?"
The approach to avoid: "Hello, I represent XYZ company, market leader in professional equipment. We offer a complete range of solutions..."
Common prospecting errors
Error #1: Ignoring seasonality Restaurants make 60% of their revenue in 6 months. Avoid prospecting in January-February (difficult period) or mid-summer (work overload). Favor September-November and March-May.
Error #2: Neglecting emotional aspect A restaurant is often a life's work. The restaurateur puts their passion, identity into it. Your approach must recognize this human dimension, not just commercial.
Error #3: Selling features instead of benefits Don't say "Our oven reaches 300°C". Say "You'll be able to offer real Neapolitan pizzas that will bring customers back".
Examples of effective pitches by sector
For an equipment supplier: "I saw your Italian restaurant is crushing it with 4.5 stars! I work with establishments like yours to help them reduce energy costs by 30% thanks to new generation equipment. That often represents €200-300 savings per month."
For a food supplier: "Congratulations on your excellent reviews about product freshness! I supply gastronomic restaurants with exceptional local products. My clients increase their margin by 15% while strengthening their quality image."
For digital services: "Your restaurant shows full for weekends according to your Google reviews! I help restaurateurs in your situation optimize their reservations and reduce no-shows by 40%. ROI is generally positive from the first month."
Tips for physical meetings
- Come during off-peak hours with confirmed appointment
- Observe establishment: equipment condition, traffic, organization
- Show your sector knowledge and its constraints
- Propose free trial or on-site demo rather than catalog
- Leave your contact details even if it's no today: needs evolve quickly
Concrete use cases by business sector
Here's how to exploit your restaurant file according to your business sector, with concrete targeting and approach examples.
CHR equipment suppliers
Optimal targeting:
- Restaurants with ratings > 4 stars (investment budget)
- Recent establishments (initial equipment) or old ones (renewal)
- Presence of kitchen photos in Google Maps (current condition evaluation)
Specialized approach: Analyze Google Maps photos to identify visible equipment and their condition. An aging professional oven or poorly adapted dishwashing area are direct approach opportunities.
Example message: "I noticed your pizzeria is crushing it with 4.6 stars! Looking at your photos, I see you focus on authenticity. Our new generation wood-fired ovens allow pizzaiolos like you to further improve quality while reducing consumption. Can I come show you the difference?"
Food suppliers
Optimal targeting:
- Segmentation by cuisine type (Italian → Italian products, Asian → specialized products)
- Gastronomic restaurants (quality requirement)
- Establishments mentioning "fresh products" or "homemade" in their reviews
Differentiating approach: Reference customer reviews that mention product quality. Show you understand their quality positioning.
Example: "Your customers love the freshness of your dishes according to your Google reviews! I supply restaurants like yours with organic and local products. My loyal clients while improving their margins. Interested in free sampling?"
Delivery and maintenance services
Optimal targeting:
- Restaurants with heavy equipment (cold rooms, hoods, air conditioning)
- City center establishments (difficult access for emergency interventions)
- Local chains (global maintenance contracts)
Preventive approach: Position yourself on breakdown prevention during critical periods (summer for air conditioning, winter for heating).
Example: "With summer coming, a cold room breakdown can cost a restaurant like yours dearly. I offer preventive maintenance contracts that avoid 90% of emergency breakdowns. Interested in a free equipment audit?"
Digital solutions (cash register, online ordering)
Optimal targeting:
- Restaurants without website (digitalization potential)
- Establishments with numerous recent reviews (intense activity to optimize)
- Restaurants mentioning delivery in their description
Modernization approach: Show the gap between their success and their current tools.
Example: "Bravo for your 200 positive reviews! Your restaurant is crushing it but I see you don't have online ordering yet. My clients in your situation increase their revenue by 25% thanks to our solutions. 15 minutes to show you the potential?"
Insurance and financial services
Optimal targeting:
- New restaurants (insurance and financing needs)
- Growing establishments (development, new needs)
- Restaurants with recent SIRET (business creation)
Security approach: Focus on protecting their investment and work tool.
Cross-sector advice: Always use specific data from each restaurant (name, specialty, rating, review number) to personalize your approach. A generic message has 10 times less chance of succeeding than a personalized message.
Optimize and enrich your restaurant data
Even with a quality file, some optimizations can still improve your prospecting results.
Sector-specific verification
The restaurant sector moves a lot. Before launching a massive campaign, check on a sample:
- Permanent closures: more frequent than in other sectors (10% per year)
- Ownership changes: affect contact person and needs
- Recent renovations: create new equipment needs
Complementary enrichment sources
Professional social networks: Search for the restaurant on LinkedIn to identify manager or owner. Restaurateurs active on networks are often more open to innovations.
Delivery platforms: Check presence on Uber Eats, Deliveroo, Just Eat. A restaurant absent from these platforms might be interested in delivery or digitalization solutions.
Specialized review sites: TripAdvisor, LaFourchette, Yelp give complementary information on positioning and target clientele.
Qualification by performance
Create a qualification score combining:
- Google Maps rating (30%)
- Number of recent reviews (20%)
- Digital presence (website + networks) (20%)
- Establishment age (15%)
- Estimated size via photos and workforce (15%)
This score helps prioritize your commercial actions on the most promising prospects.
Regular update
The restaurant file requires more frequent updating than other sectors. Plan quarterly verification minimum, monthly for your priority prospects.
Conclusion
The restaurant sector represents an exceptional commercial opportunity for B2B companies who know how to intelligently exploit it. With more than 200,000 establishments in France generating constant and diversified needs, every supplier finds their fit.
Google Maps revolutionizes approaching this market by giving access to fresh and qualifying data impossible to obtain via traditional directories. The richness of available information allows fine segmentation and personalization of commercial approaches.
The complete France restaurant file with its 133,790 establishments and 47,461 verified emails saves you weeks of work while guaranteeing exhaustive market coverage. SIRET enrichment and executive identification considerably facilitate your prospecting.
The essential lies in adapting your approach to sector specificities: contact timing, message personalization, respect for operational constraints. Restaurateurs appreciate suppliers who understand their real challenges.
Whether you sell equipment, services, or digital solutions, French restaurants await your solutions. While your competitors exhaust themselves on obsolete generalist files, you now have the keys to exploit this market in a targeted and efficient way.
The opportunity is there, tools exist, data is available. It's up to you to transform this prospect base into commercial success stories.