Restaurants turn to marketing while facing competition from coffee chains and cstores

Despite much hope of a return to “normalcy” in the restaurant industry, economic headwinds are forcing restaurant brands to do more with less, prompting new challenges for restaurant brands. It brings a wave of pressure. And it’s not just the economic climate. QSR is grappling with fast-emerging competition from coffee chains that attract customers with fast drive-thru and convenience stores offering tempting alternatives to the usual fast food menu.

Restaurant brands that have invested in on-premises and off-premises technology over the past two years are clearly well positioned to compete. Mobile strategies and automation have improved the customer experience by increasing speed and convenience, which are key to customer loyalty.

The next year will see the next evolution of the restaurant industry as smaller stores emerge with a focus on off-premises strategies such as mobile ordering and fast order pick-up. Marketing teams will be able to focus more on operations by leveraging mobile he apps and their data to create and deliver bespoke customer experiences and personalized campaigns.

Here’s what to expect in the year ahead:

A digital-first marketing strategy drives hyper-personalization.

As brands look to lure more customers into their stores and create upsell opportunities with more personalized and tailored offers, marketing will play a much bigger role. For example, brands are experimenting with personalized menu offerings, deals, and dynamic pricing based on customer loyalty data. May adopt more digital menu boards to display.

QSR competes with more than direct rivals.

Coffee chains with short drive-thru lines, convenience stores with strong foodservice initiatives, and smaller outlets are aiming for fast food by offering a faster, easier, and more engaging buying experience. . Fast food customers are also looking for greener restaurants that offer cleaner ingredients, healthier menus and biodegradable packaging. To compete, some smaller restaurants may need to offer more mission-driven, healthier menu options.

Off-premises strategies and AI voice ordering will be the focus of emerging small stores.

As mobile ordering becomes more common, some brands are buying real estate for new stores that focus on mobile ordering and pickup options such as curbside and drive-thru. As the population dwindles, there will be more distributed small stores built around order pickup, including dedicated mobile-only drive-thru lanes, curbside pickup spots, and off-premise mobile-only stores.

These restaurants will also leverage AI voice ordering at drive-thru, the ability to double-check order details, and more. Minimize staff shortages with AI voice ordering, allowing staff to focus on more complex or back-of-the-kitchen tasks.

Introducing a concept store that focuses on technology and drive-thru.

Brands deploy concept stores to measure consumer interest, demand and preferences for new menu items, genres and customer experiences. Some brands may experiment with multi-brand restaurants, cross-brand menu items, or fresh new concept restaurants offering upscale burritos and farm-to-table menus.

Multi-brand conglomerate leverages Customer Data Platform (CDP) and technology solutions to enable integrated omnichannel marketing initiatives across restaurants.

Brands leverage CDP and technology solutions for integrated loyalty programs, cross-channel marketing initiatives, and other promotional campaigns to drive traffic across multiple restaurants of the same brand. Some brands may allow consumers to use consolidated reward points or deals at multiple restaurants of the same brand through mobile apps. Consumer willingness to share data across multiple restaurants will play a key role in how brands can capitalize on this initiative.

The online experience is an extension of the in-store experience.

Brands know that the customer experience doesn’t stop when ordering on mobile or when the customer leaves the store. With highly valuable contextual data that captures customer behavior, preferences, demographics, location, and more, both on-premises and off-premises, marketing can make more behavioral decisions and Deliver a consistent and seamless customer experience. or a combination of both. It’s not just a seamless handoff between online and offline, it’s full engagement integration at the technical level, ultimately delivering a bespoke customer experience.