By Tyler Walton, Clutch
After nearly two straight years of declining same-store sales, McDonald’s rekindled its customer relationships with an all-day breakfast menu – and they’re lovin’ it. Announcing a 5% Q4 arch in sales, a turn toward data-driven strategy has served up better results than advertising push tactics.
Such positive results serve as a lesson for all brands. Though McDonald’s is readily available to consumers – it owns almost 16,000 U.S. stores – it’s not exempt from basing offerings on customer preferences. Seems simple, but many brands still take an “if we make it, they will come” approach that fails to entice modern consumers. Instead, products (and services) must be developed based on abundantly available digital data; point of sale terminals, e-Commerce transactions, social media and mobile apps all offer insight into your customers’ voices.
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With an ad campaign spotlighting Twitter users’ delight over the extended breakfast offering, it’s likely that social data drove the decision to keep the McMuffin on the menu 24/7. Other retailers should employ a similar strategy. After all, letting your customers buy their favorite products more often seems like a surefire way to increase your sales and brand loyalty simultaneously.
But it all boils down to data. Most brands capture it; some analyze it; few act on it. The best way to use data is to synthesize it across channels, and then align incentives and motivators to drive purchases. Once a foundation for collection and analysis is laid, brands can go a step further, using data as a customer listening tool to understand their likes and opinions, and preferences for interacting with the brand.
Synthesizing cross-channel data becomes particularly important in a franchise business, like quick service restaurants (QSRs). Do your customers in the South want the same thing as your customers in the North or on the West Coast? It’s not likely they do. Before betting on a “creative” new product or promotion, franchise brands must segment customer geographies, then assess age, gender and relevant demographics to determine what’s wanted where and why.
QSRs aren’t the only retailers to whom this applies. Meineke uses this exact strategy to connect with customers across its more than 900 auto care franchise locations. By synthesizing its cross-channel data, Meineke targets customers at a national level for specific service and frequency needs (e.g., a group with high-mileage cars receives promotions for spark plugs or brake lines). To complement national efforts, Meineke also leverages regional data to deliver localized trigger campaigns which are personalized to the customer and nearby franchises to build local relationships. Data drives all of its communication and promotion strategies. Nothing is left to assumption.
And it’s safe to say McDonald’s didn’t just assume its customers wanted all-day breakfast. Its data showed varied product demands in different regions of the country, and it tailored its offerings and promotion accordingly.
While most industries are (finally) recognizing that data-driven business decisions yield fruitful results, the food industry must embrace that the same is true for marketing and menus. Just because the McRib worked well in the 90s doesn’t mean it will work well now. For a franchise business, segmenting customers based on sales trends is imperative to delivering the right products to the right people – and enticing consumers to buy them. In today’s social marketplace, consumers bet on brands responding to their demands. The brands who do will win big.
Tyler Walton is the Marketing Manager for Clutch (clutch.com), a marketing platform that empowers B2C brands like New Balance, Meineke, Godiva, and Pandora understand and motivate their best customers. He’s responsible for presenting Clutch’s complex capabilities through a simple marketing message and generating qualified leads.
