Personalization Is Driving QSR Loyalty Growth

By: Ray Chelstowski

For the most part, QSR’s did more than just survive the pandemic. If they didn’t deliver YOY growth during Covid they saw their annual revenues hold. Much of this can be tied to their ability to maximize drive through options which in turn made QSR’s the preferred the dining out destination. Now as other dining options have begun to open many brands are turning to loyalty as a tool they can use to re-engage customers and maintain revenue. Most QSR brands loyalty programs are tied to mobile apps. Brands in effect buy space on their customer’s phones and can monetize that space with everything from advertising to saving on delivery.

“Ads don’t scale as quickly as the needs do,” said Mark Finnegan, chief marketing and information officer for WaBa Grill. But loyalty programs, whose reach grows with the number of customers, can. Finnegan said that WaBa analyzes purchase habits, redemptions and more to target loyalty members with offers that are most relevant to them. That targeting is enabled by the loyalty program, which ties purchases to individual customers. The loyalty program also incentivizes customers to download WaBa’s app, which creates a direct line of communication between the brand and the customer.

Julia Baker, VP of marketing for CoreLife, said the brand is walking away from segmentation altogether and is using data gleaned from the loyalty program to create unique advertising profiles for each loyalty member. Toppers Pizza, which recently launched a loyalty program, is moving in a slightly different direction. While the brand intends to take full advantage of its mobile app, the brand is trying to attract members with exclusive offers like early access to LTO’s, again personalized to their preferences.

This kind of customization is expanding engagement and is keeping QSR’s ahead of the market. At Kognitiv we see that kind of personalization as the first step in being able to develop collaborative ecosystems. There the kind of incentives that QSR’s can offer their best customers will provide them with a competitive advantage that will only allow lifetime customer value to grow.

ray.chelstowski@kognitiv.com

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