Technology

The digital double-down on QSR value post pandemic

As QSRs approach the days when the pandemic is in our rearview mirrors, the importance of value offerings and a digital strategy to promote them becomes ever-more critical.

Photo: iStock.

May 21, 2021 by Hope Neiman — cmo, tillster

With mass vaccinations reaching already more than half of the U.S. population with at least a first inoculation of the standard two required, QSR leaders are well into their post-pandemic planning, even though most will acknowledge that if the past year has taught us anything, it's that predicting the future is a guess at best. In fact, the very existence of a pandemic in 2020 showcases that the most significant events are usually the ones that emerge without warning.

And in the pandemic's case, once we found ourselves in the strange new world it brought about, we tended to get our predictions wrong. Things that we didn't expect certainly happened, and things we hoped would happen, sometimes just didn't.

For instance, as most expected, home gym equipment sales skyrocketed. Still, gym memberships didn't suffer quite as severely as perhaps they could have. Also, brands like Gap Inc. lost a billion dollars without regular mall foot traffic as many sadly suspected would happen, but luxury apparel brands thrivedonline. And beyond those examples, countless articles on every major media platform unpacked the many other surprising implications of an economy turned upside-down across every industry imaginable. Included among these was the effects on restaurants which were simply devastating, with the National Restaurant Association's 2021 State of the Restaurant Industry report showing 2020 total sales fell $240 billion below pre-pandemic forecasts, among a myriad of other sad facts of the scourged restaurant landscape.

Value's critical QSR role going forward

Now, at the precipice of a return to normalcy, it seems that the long-term prospects for quick-service are very much tied to successfully applying lessons learned during the pandemic and the brand's ability to market to a post-pandemic consumer.

For example, it should be apparent to any operator that consumers will have the highest expectations for sanitation and cleanliness. Consumers will also likely continue to rely on QSRs for online ordering, delivery, drive-thru service, and curbside pickup. Consumers will surely want to keep seeing tamper-evident packaging, touchless ordering, and pre-packaged foods.

And importantly, they will still be online. The digital footprint of QSR brands advanced by a measure of years almost overnight when the pandemic struck. According to the National Restaurant Association study, 40% of operators added tech solutions to their businesses last year across six foodservice segments.

Brands and consumers alike signed up for Uber Eats, DoorDash and other third-party delivery services. At the same time, countless QSRs launched mobile apps, online ordering capabilities, and delivery programs in the face of closed dining rooms and social distancing guidelines.

Those tools are here to stay. The question now becomes how to deploy them best when things go "back to normal." And that's where the new game of value comes in, beginning with the fact that as most of us can guess, for example, people in our post-pandemic economy will continue to use digital tools to identify valuable offers. We can guess, as well, that we will soon be busier than ever as we come out of this pandemic. As our kids return to sports this summer and fall, our jobs bring us back into the office. As life in a community trickles slowly but surely, we will need fast value back onto our calendars.

As our new value-focused consumers return to the QSR marketplace for the busy seasons ahead, this moment is the perfect opportunity to expand value meal offerings to include those for more than the individual or into unique offerings at breakfasts or dinner. Then, beyond the contents of the value meals or items themselves are the tools we use to serve our visitors.

Digital adoption grew by necessity during the pandemic, as brands and consumers alike rushed to digital platforms for ordering in a contactless world. Those platforms offer essential data on ordering trends. If you have the data, you have the chance to know who is more likely to take advantage of a larger meal, a marketing promotion, or a push notification. You can dynamically serve offers that meet consumers to drive incremental visits, larger orders, and more brand loyalty.

After all, the value itself is different from consumer to consumer. Value to a hurried businessperson is different than value to a busy parent in charge of a family. Understanding your guest and building offerings that are valuable to them based on their exact situation can be achieved through the data collected from native apps, online ordering systems, touchless kiosks, and rewards programs.

If there's one thing we learned through the most challenging year in the history of QSR: Those with the most sophisticated digital tools won the pandemic. Look for this gap to continue to widen in our return to a post-pandemic world, as those with the best tools meet individual customers where they are at with the exact offer they find most valuable.

About Hope Neiman

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Hope Neiman is the Chief Marketing Officer of Tillster, a leading global player in the burgeoning restaurant technology space. Hope and her team drive outcomes by combining data and technology to expand sales and increase consumer engagement in a measurable way. Through Hope’s marketing expertise and brand vision, Tillster grew from a kiosk company into a best-in-class, metric rich engagement and ordering solutions provider for multi-unit national and international restaurant brands.