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3 rewarding realities of QSR real-time engagement

Want to see real revenue results? Reel in customers with real-time marketing and realize three benefits that can mean a new and improved reality for your brand.

Photo: iStock

August 27, 2019

By Judd Marcello/Cheetah Digital executive vice president of Global Marketing 

Queen's famous lead vocalist, Freddie Mercury, first belted out the sentiment, "I want it all and I want it now" back in 1989. But those lyrics could well serve as the mantra of just about any of today's QSR customers. 

Expectations — especially those around fast food marketing today — are at an all-time high. For instance, as HubSpot reported, 82% of consumers in a recent survey said they want an immediate response from brands when they have a question. 

What does "immediate" mean? Well, in this case, 10 minutes or less. Fortunately, QSR marketers have some help in meeting this hefty demand through technology like machine learning, which can often both delight customers and boost the overall brand's prominence at the same time. 

But, real-time engagement does more than keep customers happy. It also drives revenue. According to Forrester CEO George Colony in this Forbes blog, real-time is the missing link for companies struggling to deliver a customer experience (CX) that meets consumer expectations. And their research shows companies with the best customer experience increase revenue two times faster than those with the worst.

"Companies won't stand out unless they can monitor and improve experiences on a minute-to-minute basis and perfect themselves through a continuous Darwinian process of adaptation," Colony said.

Refining your CX with a focus on how it makes your customers feel about your brand is the key to using real-time customer engagement to drive revenue growth. Toward that end, here are three strategies to employ:

Make Your customers feel "seen"

No one likes to feel invisible, especially when engaging with a brand. By using real-time offers that are unique to your customers' experiences, your brand makes customers feel "seen." And, customers who feel acknowledged by your brand are more likely to complete orders and return to buy from you again.

Making your customer feel seen can be as easy as sending a follow-up email after they've purchased a meal or surprising them with a personalized offer based on their previous orders. After all, who doesn't love a discount? Being thoughtful in small ways can have a significant impact on your bottom line.

Make your customers feel human

While automation can make your business more efficient, customers don't want to feel like they're talking to robots. If you're not careful, automated responses can feel impersonal, thus end up being highly ineffective and damaging the trust you've built with your customers. 

Real-time "human" responses help you to engage with customers on a personal level. For example, sending a personalized SMS message soon after a guest's order can go a long way toward cultivating connection, especially if that message also is sent with recommendations for future visits/orders. Emotional loyalty drives revenue by keeping your customers coming back.

Make customers feel valued

Telecom company, Telus International, found 72% of consumers between 18 and 34 said they would be more likely to be loyal to a brand that replied to them, as opposed to one that did not. It's easy to understand. After all, how would you feel if you reached out to someone and they ignored you or took two days to respond? The answer is obvious. 

Integrating real-time engagement into your marketing strategy and investing in the technology to make it reality shows your customers that they're important to you. In return, customers will show that same appreciation to your brand by investing their hard-earned money into your food. 

With increasing consumer expectations for speed, QSR brands (and the marketing platforms that support them) must keep up. And while real-time engagement is critical, it's certainly not easy, but it can be done and, best of all, it does provide significant rewards to your brand's bottom line.  

About the author: Cheetah Digital Executive Vice President of Global Marketing Judd Marcello oversees a global team responsible for all aspects of the brand, demand generation, digital marketing, corporate communications and sales development.